Old Storage Room Gets Revamped Into A Garden in an Oklahoma High School

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Gardens in schools are now becoming commonplace, as more and more schools see the benefits that gardens bring.

Having a garden on campus not only opens up students learning to plant healthy foods but also encourages students to learn how to use science and math in gardens and may be used towards creating healthy eating environments in some cases.

Rush Springs High School is now taking advantage of what used to be a storage room and transforming into an Aeroponic Tower Garden space.

The class that goes with the garden is an entrepreneurial S.T.E.M class, teaching students not only how to grow healthy foods, but also allowing students to use food grown as a fundraiser to pay for more class projects, S.T.E.M teacher Larry Lance explained to local ABC News.

Lance first came up with the idea of growing a garden in the school after he grew his own home garden.

Lance has set up each student with their own garden, where each student analyzes what helps or hinders growth and learn more about job experience and responsibilities.

Tyler Conley, a student from Lance’s class says told local news enjoys the class, “I think it’s just another way to learn and a better way to learn for some people,” said Conley. “It gets boring in a classroom but down here it’s new and exciting.”

The school also offers the vegetables grown from the garden towers at the school’s farmers market in the Rush Springs Tech Barn.

Offering healthier food environments through school gardens or farm to school programs is a helpful way to introduce students to healthier eating and possibly introduce students to new vegetables, especially Latino students who may not have as much access to fruits and vegetables as their peers.

In fact, research shows that Latino students often have less access to healthy offering in their schools and neighborhoods. Ensuring healthier food and beverage environments for Latino students may help ensure healthy weights for all kids at school or at home.