Getting Fresh and Local in D.C. Schools

June 23rd, 2010 by Andrea
Local lettuce and berries for school lunch being prepared at CentroNia

Local lettuce and berries for school lunch being prepared at CentroNia.

Carl Rollins with Common Good City Farm shows a strawberry plant to a group of pre-K students at Simon Elementary School.

Carl Rollins with Common Good City Farm shows a strawberry plant to a group of pre-K students at Simon Elementary School.

Chef Oliver Friendly of Eat and Smile Foods makes home-made granola and local strawberry parfaits at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School.

Chef Oliver Friendly of Eat and Smile Foods makes home-made granola and local strawberry parfaits at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School.

If you walked into a D.C. school cafeteria on June 3, 2010, you may have been surprised at what you saw on students’ trays! Over 150 schools in DC featured fresh, locally-grown strawberries and salad greens as a part of their school lunches. This was part of an event called Strawberries & Salad Greens, organized by the D.C. Farm to School Network and in partnership with participating schools and food service providers.

About 40,000 students in all 8 wards of the District gobbled up juicy, red berries and bright green lettuce in their lunches. Approximately 7,300 pounds of local strawberries and 2,400 pounds of greens were purchased and served for the event, contributing about $20,000 to our local food economy. The produce was grown on farms in Virgina, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. To find local growers in your neighborhood visit DC Farm to School.

In addition to helping schools find sources of fresh, local produce, the D.C. Farm to School Network coordinated “Where Food Comes From” tables in 16 school cafeterias. At these tables, volunteers and parents displayed plants, posters, pictures, and gardening tools. As students enjoyed their meals, they were able to see, touch, and smell where their food came from!

In twelve schools, local chefs performed interactive cooking demonstrations using local strawberries and salad greens. Kids were able to help professionals prepare recipes, taste samples, discuss the importance of eating fresh, local, healthy foods, and bring home recipes to try with their families.

The D.C. Farm to School Network is a program of the Capital Area Food Bank that works to get more healthy, local foods into Washington, DC school meals.

Learn more at DC Farm to School.

Additional Resources
Farming and Gardening Related Teaching Resources – Bay Backpack

Filed under: Field Studies,School Spotlight,Teaching Resources
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Andrea Northup is the coordinator for the DC Farm to School Network.

Five Grant Writing Tips for Teachers

June 21st, 2010 by Krissy
2004-02-29_Ball_point_pen_writing

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons, Ildar Sagdejev

Are you thinking about writing a grant this summer to fund a project for your class? These five  grant writing tips will help you get started!

Read and Follow Directions

  • Closely follow the grant criteria and guidelines
  • Do not assume the reviewer knows about the proposal
  • Call the grant administrator if you have any questions

Carefully Organize Text

  • Use bullets, headers, photos to organize and emphasize the key points
  • Proofread to reduce redundancy and grammatical errors

Create a Plan not just a Proposal

  • Explain all the steps needed to accomplish your project goals
  • Clearly explain how you will evaluate the success of your project

Show Authentic Partnerships

  • Name and define the role of each partner in the project

Submit an Effective Budget

  • Highlight your project match to show leveraging of funds
  • Detail the costs in easily understandable terms
  • Use an itemized, easy-to-read format
Filed under: Funding
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Krissy Hopkins is part of the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship Team and Education Workgroup.

Find Professional Development this Summer

June 14th, 2010 by Krissy
Through hands-on fieldwork you gain the confidence to teach about the environment and even handle the pinches on a blue crab.

Through hands-on fieldwork you gain the confidence to teach about the environment and even handle the pinchers on a blue crab.

With the school year winding down to a close it’s time to start thinking about opportunities for professional development this summer.  There is no better way to boost your confidence for teaching about the environment than attending a workshop or training.  So get those continuing education credits while learn about our bay! Check out these opportunities this summer.

NOAA’s Environmental Science Training Center Workshops
NOAA posted its summer schedule of trainings offered at the Environmental Science Training Center on the Eastern Shore. The Center offers half-day and multi-day workshops on a variety of topics from phytoplankton monitoring to water quality testing to collecting data with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).  Check out the schedule and register online or email cbtraining@noaa.gov for information.

Virginia Chesapeake Bay Academies
The Virginia Resource-Use Education Council is offering four week-long Chesapeake Bay Academies this Summer. The Academies are a standard-based, learning experiences for middle and high school science teachers.  Attendees will receive training, field experiences and hands-on resources that emphasize watershed issues and the Chesapeake Bay. Upon completion of the Academy you will have the confidence to integrate meaningful field investigations into your classroom instruction.  To find an Academy near your visit the online schedule or email Paula.Klonowski@doe.virginia.gov for more information.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Summer Immersion Courses
Every summer (June-August) the Chesapeake Bay Foundation offers in-depth FIVE day immersion courses. These courses equip you with the tools, knowledge and confidence to teach about your local environment.  Through hand-on activities you will explore the connections between the land and water in your watershed.  You will use scientific instruments to  determine how environmentally friendly your schoolyard is and the health of your local stream. All participants of these courses return to their schools and communities with the knowledge and confidence to complete a successful restoration project in your neighborhood.  So immerse yourself by registering online or emailing chesapeakeclassrooms@cbf.org for more information.

If you can’t find a professional development workshop near you contact your local community college, university, nature center or watershed organization.

Additional Resources
Professional Development Calendar – Bay Backpack
Pennsylvania Teacher Workshops – Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education

Filed under: Training
Krissy Hopkins is part of the Chesapeake Bay Program's Fostering Stewardship Team and Education Workgroup.

Gardening for the Environment

June 7th, 2010 by Kacie
Students sow seeds for their garden in the classroom.

Students sow seeds for their garden in the classroom.

The Washington Youth Garden is a nonprofit one-acre organic children’s garden that has been on the grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum since 1971. Programming in environmental and nutrition education is offered year-round at local schools, community organizations, and on-site.

Washington Youth Garden staff help Center City Public Charter School install planter boxes at their school.

Washington Youth Garden staff help Center City Public Charter School install planter boxes at their school.

During the past school year, we brought our Garden Science program to six third and fourth grade classrooms at three elementary schools in Ward 5 of the District. For eight weeks, we teach how to use gardening as a tool to teach environmental science. Along with lessons in the importance of plants, soils and composting, and insect life cycles, we start seeds in the classroom with the help of a grow light. After the eight weeks, Washington Youth Garden staff and DC Master Gardeners support the school in designing and installing a schoolyard garden. Those seedlings that we started in the classroom are transplanted out in the school garden come springtime. To cap off the program, each class comes out to our site at the Arboretum for a full day gardening and a cooking experience.

Students tend to their schoolyard garden.

Students tend to their schoolyard garden.

Though our Garden Science program is limited to elementary schools in the District, schools from the entire Washington Metro Region can experience the Youth Garden through our SPROUT Program (Science Program Reaching OUT).

The US National Arboretum sits right on the Anacostia River, with a dock and access point through its Asia Valley collection. We often take groups down to this part of the Arboretum to see the river and conduct watershed education activities. There are many connections between gardening and caring for our local waterways. We utilize organic growing methods for many reasons, but one reason is that we don’t want chemical fertilizer or pesticide runoff from our garden entering our neighboring Anacostia River. Just like the DDOE’s River Smart Schools Program written about below, we hope to further establish the connection between gardening, the fruits of which are healthy for our bodies, and the health of our environment.

Additional Resources

Filed under: Field Studies
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Kacie Warner is the Education Coordinator at the Washington Youth Garden.