At Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden We Love to Teach!
by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
Here at Lewis Ginter, one of the causes nearest to our heart is education. Education of children, education of parents, education of gardeners (amateur and expert alike) and education of teachers. We love it that the Richmond community sees us as a valuable resource and uses us to further their knowledge about plants. After all, we have quite a few experts here! Maggie Southwick and our volunteers in the Library can help guests find books on gardening topics, and members have borrowing privileges. If you have a plant you need to identify, you can email digital photographs to [email protected] and the library staff will help you solve the mystery. Also, the library is a great place to find plant and seed sources and the entire library catalog is available online. Plus we do our best to make you feel welcome, with newly installed WiFi and a place to relax in our Reading Room by the fire. Did you even know we had a cozy Reading Room with a fireplace in the library?
The cozy library fireplace
Our new class & course catalog just came out. Not surprisingly we have some great classes on everything from how to create your backyard oasis to how to make an organic vegetable garden or how to make an expert cutting garden.
But the really cool thing I found in browsing the class offering were the very special events planned for teachers this winter and spring. On Friday, January 15th, we ‘ll host a free class offered especially for teachers who want to bring more agriculture in to the classroom. In fact, this class is provided by a non-profit called Agriculture in the Classroom, to help get more teachers excited about teaching agriculture to their students. Also, this spring we’ll offer our seasonal Dinner in the Garden for Teachers. Last year, as part of our 25th anniversary celebration and symposium on No Child Left Inside, we hosted a dinner for nearly 200 elementary teachers. This year, we’ll host a smaller event and the focus is on middle and high school teachers. Our presenter, Lisa Taranto, of Tricycle Gardens, will talk about “The Dirt on Worms”
Here are the details — we hope you can join us!
Agriculture in the Classroom: A Day in the Garden
Friday, January 15, 2010, 9am to 3pm
Details:
For educators looking for new ideas, resources for the classroom and tips for your own instructional garden to grow strong learners, this FREE workshop is just the ticket! Instructors bring science, mathematics, and social studies together while presenting hands-on activities designed to introduce students to the importance of agriculture in Virginia. Enjoy a tour of the Garden and learn more about resources available to teachers. Workshops are provided free of charge by Agriculture in the Classroom, a nonprofit organization, www.agintheclass.org and sponsored by the Farm Bureau.
Free; complimentary luncheon and refreshments included. Space is limited; the deadline for registration is January 8, 2010.
Dinner in the Garden Workshop for Middle and High School Science Teachers
April 22, 4:30 – 7:30pm
Details:
Celebrate Earth Day at an enlightening late-afternoon workshop at the Garden, where you’ll acquire inspiring ideas for your classroom and enjoy dinner with fellow life science and biology teachers. Join Lisa Taranto and other representatives of Tricycle Gardens as they discuss vermiculture and the fundamentals of building healthy soil. The importance of healthy soil, current issues surrounding the health of our soils, and a demonstration of how to build a worm bin will be part of the workshop.
Presented in partnership with the Center for Life Sciences Education at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Limited to 20 teachers. While the workshop is free and includes complimentary dinner, registration is required.