The spirit of nature: transforming an inner city school grounds ...

This action research project began as the revitalization of inner city school grounds through the design and construction of a school and community garden. The project's intent was to give inner city children contact with nature as well hands-on learning experiences in all subjects through the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pevec, Ilene Susan
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: University of British Columbia 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0054935
https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0054935
Description
Summary:This action research project began as the revitalization of inner city school grounds through the design and construction of a school and community garden. The project's intent was to give inner city children contact with nature as well hands-on learning experiences in all subjects through the planting, tending and harvesting of vegetables, flowers, and native plants. In partnership with a landscape architecture student, I involved the children, teachers, parents and neighbours of the school in designing and planting the gardens they wanted in order to transform a grass field into a biologically diverse environment reflective of the neighborhood cultures and the indigenous wildlife. Our collaboration became the soil and seeds of an ecological and cultural restoration focused on the First Nations community of the school. People, public art, plant and animal life came together in a dynamic process of education and community change. Inspired by John Dewey's theories of learning through doing, by the work of his ...