Lakeview Second Graders Dig into a Community Garden Project

Landscape Designer Carrie Hennessey was pleasantly surprised when she held up a photo of a plant, and a wave of recognition rippled across the entire second grade. 

“Cup Plant!” called out a handful of students. “It’s the tallest!” one added. 

Hennessey smiled and nodded.

She visited Lakeview Elementary’s second grade to talk about her job at Johnson’s Nursery and talked about thoughts on the second grade’s project to landscape the area around the school’s flagpole. 

It’s called a cup plant, she said, because “it literally creates a little cup” from its leaves. “Insects and birds will come and drink from it.” They’re neat, for sure, but Hennessey explained, she might not choose to put them in a small garden.

While the project is small in terms of square footage, it’s having a large impact in the classroom, said second grade teacher Christine Henneberry. Both her class and teacher Natalie Manthe’s second-grade class have worked all year digging into every aspect of the project.

“They have learned so much,” Henneberry said, gesturing around the room. “We have talked so much about soil. Last week, they were out digging and cleaning up that area, and they were very excited to share that they had found some subsoil.”

The students have explored what the soil is made of, what’s living in the ground, what kind of plants should go there, and asked if those plants would be safe for local wildlife. It’s not uncommon to hear big words like “decomposition” and “ecosystem” used by these seven- and eight-year-olds. 

“The big reward for me was when I heard the kids using the language naturally,” Manthe said.

“We tie everything to the standards. If you expose them to the language, and you have the bar high, they are going to aspire to that.” 

In between the students’ own observations, they get to hear from experts like Hennessey, who, on this day, showed the students her architectural drawing of the Lakeview project.

“Does that look a little bit like what we did today?” asked Henneberry, to a chorus of “yeah” and nodding heads.

Hanging on the wall next to a window is a poster handwritten with the project's purpose. It lists the project's goals, such as “deepen understanding about environmental impacts,” “develop communication, critical thinking skills,” “explore weather patterns,” and “foster a sense of belonging.” 

Lakeview has embraced project-based learning, principal Christopher Sepersky said. 

“Two years ago, the entire school thought deeply about and worked very hard on ideas and plans for the former Everbrite lot near the school,” he said. “Learning about and having an impact on our school and neighborhood is a deeply connecting experience. Our second grade has an opportunity this year to not just learn and plan something, but to actually do it. This learning experience will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

Hennenberry and Manthe said the enormity of what their students are working on in this small garden space is not lost on the students.

“They know it’s not just a second-grade garden. This is meant for everyone,” Hennenberry said.  

“The students know that part of their learning goal is to create a sense of belonging. They’re not saying this garden is my garden; they say it’s our school’s and our community’s garden.”