March 2024

One of the ways garden clubs can help sustain a school garden is that they can provide ownership. Garden “ownership” ensures that the garden will be maintained, planted and harvested. Whoever the owner of the garden is has a vested interest in its upkeep. While a garden club may serve as the “owner” of the garden, their tutelage offers unlimited opportunities for subject area teachers to use the garden for classroom instruction.

School name: Patriots STEM Elementary

Club name: Garden Club

Club advisor: Maria Murray

Q: How long have you had a garden club? 

A: Last year (2022-23) was our first year as a garden club! We started small (quite literally) with microgreens and moved on to kale and radishes in the garden. We successfully grew sweet potatoes and harvested them in September.

Q: Tell us about the Garden Club at Patriots.

A: We just kicked off the 2024 club in October and we meet the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month throughout the school year. 

Q: Who are the garden club members?

A: We invite 3rd - 5th graders to complete an interest form and offer membership to the first 30 who turned in the form. We also have 3 volunteers to help manage the club.

Q: How does the club use the garden? 

A: The club helps with the upkeep of the garden, including weeding, planting, maintenance, research and planning for new areas. In addition to the club’s garden use, the STEM class uses the garden and other teachers are encouraged and welcome to bring students to observe the garden throughout the year. We offer the garden harvest to staff and parents.

Q: Do you utilize fundraisers or sponsorships to support the garden? 

A: At the moment our funding comes from school funds, donations and money raised from sweetpotato harvest sales.

Q: What are the benefits of the garden club, from your perspective? 

A: The garden club allows students to have a more hands-on experience in the garden. The club members can help to plan the garden logistics and learn about plant growth and gardening benefits.

Q: What is a memorable experience you’ve had with the garden club?

A: We are currently expanding our garden to be able to produce more and expanding the pollinator garden. We harvested about 400 sweetpotatoes this year. All the students were able to have some part in this process. In fact, we were able to offer a tasting for the entire school (nearly 1,000 students). The students voted by class on how they would like them prepared, and with help from another teacher, we prepared them as desired and delivered them to each class. It was a great experience! I want to add more types of produce throughout the year for the students to have more harvest experiences.

One of the less stressful aspects of using the school garden with a garden club is that the teaching/learning can be much more informal

than in a class setting. Maria has observed an increased opportunity for experiential learning in the garden. If you are considering establishing

a garden club, contact Doug Vernon at dpvernon@ncsu.edu. We’d love

to help you!

In our school garden work, we often encounter teachers or schools who would like to plant a pollinator garden but are fearful that attracting bees will result in students being stung. It's essential to recognize that bees play a crucial role in pollination, facilitating the reproduction of flowering plants, including many of the fruits, vegetables, and flowers in our garden. By observing and understanding their behavior, we can coexist harmoniously with these valuable pollinators.

One common misconception is that the majority of bees are aggressive and likely to sting. In reality, most bees are docile and only sting when they feel threatened or provoked. The risk of a sting from bees in your yard or garden is very small, especially with a bit of advanced knowledge. You can safely get within a few inches of a bee visiting a flower and not get stung. Bees are focused on foraging for nectar and pollen to sustain their colonies.

Bees encompass a diverse range of species, each with unique behaviors and characteristics. While some species are solitary and rarely encountered, others, like honeybees and bumblebees, are more social and may build colonies in proximity to human activity. However, even within social species, the instinct to sting is primarily a defense mechanism rather than an aggressive behavior.

“Bee” informed with these fun facts:

• Native bees are mostly small and go unnoticed. Bumblebees are colorful giants compared with most bees. 
• Less than half of the world’s bees are capable of stinging. Only female bees sting. 
• Foraging bees collect pollen and nectar to feed their young and themselves. They are not flying around looking for someone to sting!
• You are completely safe watching bees as they fly from flower to flower.
• Most bees only sting if you pinch them, step on them, or if they get caught in clothing.
• Honey bees and some bumblebees are defensive within 10 or 20 feet of their nests. Observe where they return to after foraging and keep back from that area. 



As stewards of our school garden, let's embrace a deeper understanding of pollinators and bees. By dispelling myths and fostering a culture of coexistence, we can create a nurturing environment where both humans and bees feel safe and thrive together. For more information on inviting pollinators to your school garden check out this brochure from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign.

Remember honey bees aren’t the only pollinators! Use this printable Pollinator Matching Game developed by the University of Georgia to learn about the flower traits that attract specific pollinators. Dive even deeper with this Flower Traits Slideshow for some amazing photos that show us what pollinators are looking for or how different flower traits guide them to the right pollen/nectar source.

This integrated demo lesson meets many 3rd grade standards in ELA, math and science. It starts with an anchor text, allows you to explore plant parts and the plant life cycle using anchor charts and concludes with a seed planting activity. In a few weeks time, you’ll be saying, “Pass the peas, please.” 

Click here for the lesson plan.