Elementary students all across Georgia, for instance, are turning dreary patches of school lawn into luxuriant native bog gardens. In collaboration with the Georgia Endangered Plant Stewardship Network, these kids are establishing seed nurseries to help save rare pitcher plants from extinction. While caring for their gardens, they learn about plant and insect ecology in their region, about the value of teamwork, and the importance of habitat preservation. They also have a lot of fun. Habitat gardens aren't so much revolutionary as they are evolutionary.
Horticulture has a time-honored place in the schoolyard.
School gardens sprouted up throughout Europe in the 19th century as an antidote to industrialization and mass migration to cities. Many educators felt that urban children weren't getting enough exposure to natural environments and that their bodies, minds, and spirits would suffer as a result. Countries such as Austria and Hungary actually mandated the construction of gardens on urban school grounds. School gardens arrived a little later here in North America, which didn't become fully industrialized until the 20th century. Ecological Literacy Schoolyard habitats build upon this tradition of providing kids with stimulating and healthy arenas for learning and play.