# data[].attributes.body
Term 1 2026 Summer Plan

# data[].attributes.headline
Kids Edible Gardens Building Sustainable Communities

# data[].attributes.subject
Kids Edible Gardens Building Sustainable Communities

# data[].attributes.body
Nov 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Building Sustainable Communities - notes for padlet docx

# data[].attributes.body
Term 2 2022 Autumn Planner

# data[].attributes.headline
Value your food posters | Love Food, Hate Waste

# data[].attributes.subject
Value your food posters | Love Food, Hate Waste

# data[].attributes.body
Simple, eye-catching posters encouraging us to value food and reduce waste. Downloadable png files focusing on apples, carrots, potatos, oranges and bread. English and te reo Māori versions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Value Your Food These tiles are made for the LFHW NZ Value Your Food 2021 campaign and are freely available to be downloaded and used.

# data[].attributes.body
Composting with Autumn Leaves

# data[].attributes.body
Plants that Rely on Pollinators

# data[].attributes.body
Design a Flower

# data[].attributes.body
The Gardens Recycling Centre

# data[].attributes.body
Building a Healthy Soil

# data[].attributes.body
Matariki in the Garden

# data[].attributes.body
Pollination Super Powers

# data[].attributes.body
Pollination Super Powers

# data[].attributes.body
Plant Super Powers

# data[].attributes.body
Activity Worksheet

# data[].attributes.body
Plant Lifecycle

# data[].attributes.body
Design Idea's

# data[].attributes.body
Photosynthesis Worksheets

# data[].attributes.body
Making New Plants

# data[].attributes.body
Seed Saving

# data[].attributes.body
Be a Landscape Architect

# data[].attributes.body
Feeding the Soil

# data[].attributes.body
Fruit Tree Pruning

# data[].attributes.headline
What can be Placed in Bokashi Composter?

# data[].attributes.subject
What can be Placed in Bokashi Composter?

# data[].attributes.body
Crop Rotation Planting Rules

# data[].attributes.body
Garden Buddies - Companion Planting

# data[].attributes.body
How do Plants Make their Food?

# data[].attributes.body
Jam Jar Experiment - What are Soils made up of?

# data[].attributes.body
Move it all About - Crop Rotation

# data[].attributes.body
The Role of the Root

# data[].attributes.body
Why do we need Plants?

# data[].attributes.body
Soil Snapshot

# data[].attributes.body
How does a Seed Grow?

# data[].attributes.body
Information on how Kids Edible Gardens started, the benefits of the programme and links to the Curriculum

# data[].attributes.body
Freezing Frost

# data[].attributes.body
Eating Local

# data[].attributes.body
Seed Packet Template

# data[].attributes.body
Newspaper Seed Pot

# data[].attributes.body
Caring for your Seedlings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lesson Plan #23 Caring for your Seedlings docx

# data[].attributes.body
Structures and Frames

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lesson Plan #24 Structures and Frames docx

# data[].attributes.body
Lesson Plan #26
Insects in the Garden

# data[].attributes.headline
Helpful Websites to find Extra Information

# data[].attributes.subject
Helpful Websites to find Extra Information

# data[].attributes.headline
Research on the Benefits of Kids Edible Gardens

# data[].attributes.subject
Research on the Benefits of Kids Edible Gardens

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
School gardens might be fun, but research shows they also improve academic achievement.

Most children like getting out in the garden - and it's good for them in more ways than one.

Last year, a study in the US found that kids participating in their school's garden club achieved a 12 to 15 per cent average improvement in their maths and science test results, and had a corresponding improvement in their reading and language skills.

Their behaviour and attitude improved too - based on teachers' anecdotal observations, there was a reduction in classroom misbehaviour and an increase in attendance.

READ MORE:
* School develops medicinal garden
* School seeds a passion for gardening
* School plants an orchard in a morning

Similar results have been found in New Zealand in a two-and-a-half-year study on the impact of edible gardens in education settings in the South Island.

Conducted in 2011 and funded by the Healthy Eating Healthy Action Nutrition Fund, the research found that school gardens had many benefits for students, including helping them stay physically active and enhancing their self-esteem and sense of responsibility.

The kids' attitude to fruit and vegetables improved and their consumption of them increased.

The study also found that having an edible garden in a school context aligned well with many key competencies of the curriculum (such as thinking; using language, symbols and text; managing self; relating to others; and contributing), so it helped students achieve in their lessons too.

However, the New Zealand study also identified some barriers to success with a school garden and/or making the most of the educational opportunities that it offered to the participating students.

In particular, it identified that a lack of time, ability to maintain teacher and volunteer enthusiasm and access to resources and funding could prove problematic in creating a sustained and successful school gardening programme.

WHAT KIDS LEARN

* Maths and budgeting skills: Children measure the size of a garden, calculate the volume of soil they need, and weigh and measure what they harvest.

* Science and environmental info: Gardening helps kids learn about seed and plant growth, the weather, the seasons, good bugs and pests.

* English and literacy skills: Young gardeners read seed packets and recipes (and gardening magazines!), and keep records of how their garden grows.

* Cooking and healthy eating skills: Kids learn basic cooking skills like safe food handling, plus studies show that children who grow their own food are more likely to choose to eat fresh fruit and vegetables.

* Observational skills: Cultivating a garden and recognising the connections between the elements and seasonal changes improves kids' observational awareness.

* Life skills: Working cooperatively and sharing has been shown to improve communication.

* Practical and creative skills: Children can take part in designing and building their gardens.

* Social and emotional skills: A study by the University of Colorado found that students who participated in a one-year gardening programme showed a significant improvement in self-understanding and the ability to work in groups.

* Integration: A Canadian study found that a multicultural school garden helped immigrants to share their culture and feel a greater sense of belonging.

* Tikanga and te reo: Kids learn plant names and traditional gardening methods, and celebrate events such as Matariki.

What do you think?

Does your children's or grandchildren's school have a garden? Do you think participating in a garden club would help with their academic achievement, and if so in what way? Or do you think being part of a club is more about the social benefits of learning teamwork and communication, or picking up practical skills around horticulture or healthy cooking and eating? Let us know in the comments below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
School gardens might be fun, but research shows they also improve academic achievement. Most children like getting out in the garden - and it's good for them in more ways than one.

# data[].attributes.body
Eating a Rainbow

# data[].attributes.body
Helpful Herbs

# data[].attributes.body
Water Conservation Picture Cards 1

# data[].attributes.body
Eat Your Lawn!

# data[].attributes.body
Water Conservation

# data[].attributes.body
Water Conservation Picture Cards 2

# data[].attributes.body
Make a Rain Gauge Instructions

# data[].attributes.body
Writing a Garden Journal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lesson plan #31 Writing a Garden Journal

# data[].attributes.body
So Many Tools

# data[].attributes.body
Is it a Fruit or a Vegetable?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lesson Plan #34 Is it a Fruit or Vegetable 

# data[].attributes.body
Connecting our Community Through Kai

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lesson Plan #35 Connecting Communtities Though Kai docx

# data[].attributes.body
Creating Gardening Games

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lesson Plan #36 Creating Garden Games docx

# data[].attributes.body
Imperfect fruit and vegetables!

# data[].attributes.body
Celebrate with Kai