Literacy gardens and community learning spaces

Literacy Garden

The concept of a literacy garden is not new; in fact, most school or church gardens serve a dual purpose as playground and learning tool. Through the work and natural beauty of a garden, students and teachers can both learn to appreciate the wonders of science and nature. A literacy garden enhances the already magical power of a cultivated space by adding elements of verbal learning. For example, Dodds preschool in Springfield, Illinois created a literacy garden in conjunction with local area Springfield High School. The literacy garden included hand-made stepping stones created by the students. Each stepping stone bore an image or motif from popular works of literature of from class lessons. Therefore, a walk through a literacy garden entails not only communion with nature but also encounters with concepts learned in the classroom. The literacy garden is an adjunct to traditional classroom environments, enabling students to place factual information in a real-world context. Furthermore, literacy gardens relieve the pressure and monotony of the typical classroom by providing students with an open-air space in which to thrive. Because of their potential to enrich the learning environment, encourage learning and development, and because they are generally peaceful retreats for the entire community, a literacy garden would fit in well at the Holy Cross School.

The Holy Cross School (l" Ecole Sainte Croix) has grown considerably since its founding in 1927. Designed to serve a bilingual community, the Holy Cross School can uniquely benefit from the planting of a literacy garden. Removed from the confines of the classroom's four walls, students can learn new vocabulary words through visual and other sensory stimuli. For example, flower and tree names will be printed in both English and French. Just as a successful literacy garden in Providence, Rhode Island helped Hmong Laotian immigrants learn English, so too will the Holy Cross School's literacy garden help its young students grasp the linguistic concepts they learn through traditional school curriculum. In addition to promoting reading, writing, and communications skills, the literacy garden will have numerous benefits for students and community members. For example, students will learn about scientific concepts like photosynthesis, the practicalities of gardening work, and landscape design.

Literacy gardens help students to literally plant seeds for their future growth and development. Students can interact with each other and with their teachers in a fun and lively environment. Through direct contact with plants, insects, and wildlife, students gain an appreciation of nature and of the wonders of science. Through literacy gardens, students can cultivate deeper understandings of biology and botany as well as of color spectrums, sound, sensation, and perception. Students who might not have otherwise expressed interest in the sciences might be stimulated by encounters in the literacy garden. Similarly, students who would otherwise spend too much time indoors watching television would greatly benefit from the extra time spent outdoors. Literacy gardens appeal to students from all backgrounds and is designed to be equally as accessible to students with special needs through the use of wheelchair routes and when necessary, ramps.

As a spiritual academy funded by the Church, the Holy Cross School can also make sure its literacy garden has the potential to be a peaceful place for meditation and prayer. Teachers and students can both appreciate the sights, smells, and sounds of nature, which can stimulate spiritual understanding and inner peace. The literature garden will be a place of learning as well as a place of refuge. Through the act of gardening itself: weeding, planting seeds, picking fruits, vegetables, and flowers, students learn the joys of physical labor. Gardening can be a means to relieve stress and can inspire students to help their families plant gardens at home. Moreover, the literacy garden can offer students a healthy after-school hobby and means to socialize. Schools other than ours can avail themselves of the peaceful space of the Holy Cross literacy garden, and therefore the garden will serve the entire community.

We therefore envision the Holy Cross Literacy Garden as an immensely beneficial social and educational community resource that will benefit not only our parish but the entire community. However, planning, developing, constructing, planting, and maintaining a literacy garden will require hard work, dedication, and funding. We currently seek community volunteers as well as grant money to help us complete the literacy garden. We expect a large turnout of volunteer manpower from the Church and from the community. We intend to keep the budget for the garden low, to ensure immediate construction and success. Local landscaping and gardening workers may be willing to donate their services for a nominal fee. Many of the people involved with the initial stages of the project will learn how to construct community gardens on their own: by conducting Internet and library research. This grant proposal includes a list of websites that we will draw on once we commence construction. Students from the school as well as adult community members can work in preparation for the Holy Cross literacy garden, just as students helped to plan and build elements of the Dodds School literacy garden in Illinois. A literacy garden developed by Melville Elementary School in Rhode Island is another example of past successes with literacy gardens in schools. The literacy garden in Providence emphasizes the fact that literacy gardens serve the needs of the entire community in providing learning spaces for students and immigrants and peaceful spaces for all citizens. Largely because of the success of other literacy gardens throughout the world, we are confident in the future of our project.

Therefore, any investment into our literacy garden project will pay off. The literacy garden will become a valuable resource for all members of the community, not just for members of the Holy Cross Parish or its students. The garden will beautify and uplift the community. Volunteers can also feel confident that their hard work and dedication will pay off; the fruits of their labor will be visible before long.