Abstract
This chapter is a review of school gardens and their potential for deepening children’s connection to nature. School gardens are currently experiencing a resurgence in popularity in many Western countries following their decline after WWII. Rationales for contemporary school gardens are focused on issues that today’s children face, such as inflexible education systems, obesity, diminishing experiences with nature, and a lack of physical activity. Although lauded by their champions (e.g., researchers, educational and landscape professionals, celebrities), the school garden remains a tenuous construct both as an entity and an educational tool. This is due to lack of consistent empirical evidence about their role in learning, plus their reliance on teacher knowledge and commitment, fundraising potential, and volunteer assistance.
Yet school gardens can provide spaces for many experiences in nature ranging from play, exercise, and socialization to learning in maths, science, and environmental education. The focus of this chapter is examining their potential for environmental learning and fostering positive environmental experiences and attitudes.
It is proposed that many current school gardens may be limited both in their scope and levels of children’s participation, especially in areas such as planning and design. It is recommended that partnerships between schools and their wider communities (e.g., landscape architects) could result in more diverse school garden models that go beyond “vege” gardens in contributing both to environmental learning and promoting biodiversity. Empowering children through inclusion within such partnerships can lead to transformative learning. This type of learning could contribute to building resilient children who see themselves as future guardians of the Earth.
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Wake, S.J., Birdsall, S. (2015). Can School Gardens Deepen Children’s Connection to Nature?. In: Nairn, K., Kraftl, P., Skelton, T. (eds) Space, Place and Environment. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 3. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-90-3_1-1
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