Lilypad
Trillium: Discovery of the the Roots garden through all senses using observations and making connections. Our focus will be on what creates a garden community as well as learning about plant families and life cycles. We will explore what foods make healthy bodies through the use of Oregon My Plate.
Huckleberry: Exploring the garden’s seasons/cycles/seeds/plant growth through scientific note taking. The focus will be on exploring how cycles and seasons impact the garden and discovering plant growth from seed to fruit. We will germinate and transplant many of the cool season plants for our 2020 garden.
Clarkia: Discovery of simple machines uses in the garden, observe how weather and climate impact plants, discover ancient connections of land to food, and how to maintain soil health in the Roots garden. Clarkia will be learning the importance of composting and the best recipe for rich soil.
Alders: Studying the garden through a deeper exploration of the scientific method specifically through a design and implementation of a rain garden . Alders will coordinate Roots Day, learn about the Molalla Watershed, observe ways water moves through our campus, and develop systems to harness water to produce and design a rain garden.
Garden Cooking Elective: Creating nutritious foods using our own fresh produce from the Roots Garden and producing products for our Roots Farmers Market. This elective will include food safety, obtaining food handlers license, kitchen safety, processing and preservation food methods, baking assorted foods such as pies and breads, making salsa, kale chips, jams and more.
Youth Farmer’s Market: Students will develop and define the purpose of our Roots market. They will gain and use leadership and entrepreneurial skills to meet the needs of our community. These may include: innovating new products; marketing garden produce, plants, and seeds; setting up a market “front”; setting up displays; and playing a part in our local Molalla Community Farmers’ Market.
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Roots of Responsibility Day is a yearly celebration for the MRA community. Roots Day grew out of our desire to acknowledge and honor the hard work and dedication of our initial garden leadership group. Our day encompasses learning through our garden and through service to our school and community. Students will be engaged in learning during their time through our various rotations. They will be asked to contribute to their school by performing various service projects with their class. By the end of the day, each MRA member will know that our garden is the heart of the school; one that helps us become independent and confident life-long learners and one that can and will impact our greater community of Molalla.