3/8/07

CSD1 takes the classroom outdoors
By Brian Jarvis

BRIAN JARVIS/Manning Times
Tom Ferguson and Reid Evans are breaking ground behind Scott’s Branch Intermediate School for an organic garden to be maintained and harvested by students.

Famed education reformer John Dewey said that learning should be practiced rather than memorized; students from Clarendon School District 1 will soon be taking his words to heart.

Beginning this month, each class will have its own garden plot behind the school as part of “Project Hope” aimed to give students a hands-on agricultural learning experience.

“Something very positive is happening out here,” said instructional facilitator Tom Ferguson. “The outdoor classroom is a way to connect kids back to the school curriculum in a real-world setting.”

Over the next few months, students will learn how their ancestors lived off the land by doing the work themselves: clearing beds, planting crops, monitoring and recording weather, weeding and maintaining pest control.

“Half of my students have never done this kind of work in their lives. It’s something new to them,” said Reid Evans, an agricultural instructor at Scott’s Branch High School. “They always ask me in class, ‘What I do with this?’ Now I can take them out and show them.”

Described as both multi-purpose and multi-use, the plots will be home to flowering plants, fruits, vegetables and herbs including tomatoes, squash, okra, cucumber, thyme, basil and oregano. Ferguson even plans to have students decorate the garden with nature haikus written on soon-to-be-imported stones.

In May, the produce will then be harvested and distributed free of charge to Summerton residents.

“Our idea here is to use it as a tool to teach character education and stewardship by giving back to the local community,” said Ferguson, who in his off-time is working on a Ph.D in language and literacy with an emphasis on social justice.

“We want to teach our students that it’s not all about themselves,” added Evans.

To show their enthusiasm, the CSD1 Board of Trustees has already pledged $600 in start-up funds.
“We support all components of the program, academically and financially,” said board member Bernard Richburg.

Ferguson, for one, hopes this is only the beginning.

“We still need local volunteers to help manage and care for the garden,” he said. “The biggest challenge is always getting the community more involved.”

For more information, contact Tom Ferguson at 803-478-7818 or email tfergus3@ peoplepc.com.