HOWELL — The Ardena School has been awarded a grant to start a school vegetable garden by the New Jersey Agricultural Society. The society’s Learning Through Gardening program will give the school materials to build a vegetable garden, as well as curriculum and training workshops for its teachers to assist them in using the garden as an outdoor classroom, according to a press release.
Ardena School will receive all the materials necessary to begin a school garden: three raised garden beds, soil to fill the beds, hand tools, soaker hoses, and vegetable seedlings and seeds. Additional garden beds, tools and plants will be given in each of the two subsequent years.
The society will provide teachers with training workshops and curriculum to enable them to use the garden as an outdoor learning laboratory where they can teach lessons in all subjects, including math, science, social studies and language arts, according to the press release.
The goal of Learning Through Gardening grants is to teach children how fruits and vegetables are grown, educate children to make life-long healthy food choices, and give teachers an outdoor classroom where they can teach agriculture as part of their everyday lessons.
A kick-off garden pep rally will be held at the Ardena School in September.