Well developed curriculum materials are available in both Canada and the U.S. to help teachers make school garden programs flourish. Precedent has been established at a few schools in the province, and the University of British Columbia now has a model children's garden to which teachers can turn for example. Fragmented curricular offerings in schools can become focused and integrated through school gardening programs. The children's drawings and writings which illustrate this booklet are an example of the language arts potential inherent in the school garden. Science, mathematics, art, industrial education, environmental studies, health and home economics curricula can all be enriched through garden related units and activities.
Gardening can be a transforming activity for young and old.
It can move us from ignorance to understanding and appreciation, from passivity to action, from consumption to production, from silence to dialogue, and perhaps most importantly, from a state of dependence to one of independence with nature and others in our community. Those of us fortunate to have been involved in the resurgence of urban agriculture in schools have come to know children's gardening as a wondrous phenomenon. In school gardens we see a great potential for learning and for more full, healthy lives for our children.