2024, Milford, VA, USA
Caroline middle School Environmental Science students created a plan to use an area of the school grounds to begin a school garden. Sustainable gardening practices would be explored and taught to students to then be applied to home gardening. They started by using rain barrels rather than city water to teach responsible water use to students. The use of rainwater reduces the amount of treated water running off into the nearby stream, reducing the accumulation of pollutants in the environment.
Teaching students how to grow food sustainably will lead to lifelong skills needed in a county that has over half of its families qualifying for free and reduced school meals. Partnership with the agriculture class ensures that this project will not be “one and done” but instead an ongoing growth opportunity for the school and students. The success of the projects is expected to expand to the high school across the street.
SDG: 2: Zero Hunger
Targets: 2.1, 2.4