Grade 5: Cultivating Tower Gardens
This month, Mrs. Meggan Dodge’s Grade 5 students welcomed a guest speaker from Farm Box Foods to discuss the global impacts of hydroponic farming. Farm Box Foods started in Colorado and is now a global organization that aims to bring food security and sustainability to communities in need around the world through portable, hydroponic farms grown in shipping containers. Grade 5 has been growing their own vegetables in their tower gardens for a while, but when Mrs. Dodge invited Farm Box Foods to talk with her students, they had the opportunity to consider how sustainable food production can be applied on a larger scale. “We wanted the students to see how the same technology they use in our classroom can have a phenomenal global impact,” Mrs. Dodge said.
The students were engaged from the very beginning, asking thoughtful questions about sustainable agriculture and posing potential solutions to the tons of food wasted every year. “Fifth graders are just beginning to understand their place in their world, and they’re so imaginative about the possibilities of food production,” said Mrs. Dodge. The students recently harvested their vegetables and packaged them in boxes to share with the community, complete with fun facts about food production. In the spring, Mrs. Dodge hopes to bring her students to visit Farm Box Foods, where they can continue to expand their understanding of farming and food security in a global world.
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
