See May 5 Cornell Chronicle article: Class on garden-based learning develops useful products for Belize. In a nutshell:
During spring break, a dozen students working closely with the nonprofit Plenty Belize traveled to Belize to teach “children using the garden as a reference point. The class was divided into three teams, each with a different lesson plan: teaching the biology of plants found in the garden, conveying the importance of designing a functional garden and the showing the connection between gardening and nutrition. At the end of the week, the students led a training session for 34 teachers in the Toledo district on how to incorporate garden-based learning in their curriculum.
“The students returned to Ithaca with concrete ideas on how to transform their experiences into meaningful projects, which they presented at [a seminar on May 2]. Each project will be incorporated into Plenty Belize’s GATE program, though many of the projects also have relevance to the United States.”
Projects included:
- A brochure about the benefits and potential problems associated with the rapid construction of hydroelectric dams.
- A multimedia presentation for Plenty Belize’s outreach program.
- A vegetable growing guide for teachers that Plenty Belize has identified as pivotal to the success of school gardens there.
- A garden-based pen pal curriculum to be used by teachers in the United States and around the world.
- A handbook for teachers on garden layout.
“It’s exciting that the cornerstone, the benchmark for their final project, is relevant. Every single thing that they produced will be used,” said instructor Marcia Eames-Sheavly.
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