ADAPTATION (insects, birds, animals, and plants)

GRADES:  Preschool and K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  Students will learn the definition of adaptation and how nature’s life forms acclimatize to their environments.

DESCRIPTION:  Choose to focus on one particular organism depending on your current lesson plan or choose to learn about adaptation in general.  We will take an in depth look at why organisms evolve and create adaptations.  Students will examine how various organisms react to predators, seasonal change, and other threats.

AIR QUALITY; THE ROLE OF PLANTS & TREES

GRADES:  K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  Students will have fun learning the connection between air quality and plants

DESCRIPTION:  This program stresses the importance of plants and our quality of air. Students will learn about sources of air pollution, health effects that are a result of air pollution, and what action can be done in order to reduce air pollution. Learn how plants and trees help clean the air that we breathe. Explore what causes the Greenhouse Effect and what can be done to help change this phenomenon. 

FALL INTO HARVEST & SEED SAVING (Fall Specific Lesson)

GRADES:  Preschool and K-5

LOCATION:  Our Classroom

OBJECTIVE:  To help students understand that fall initiates many seasonal changes in the plant world.  Students will focus on seed dispersal. 

DESCRIPTION:  This fall specific program helps students understand the metamorphosis that plants go through in the fall.  Learn about why leaves change colors and fall, what happens in the winter, and what foods plants produce in the fall.  In the second part of this lesson, students will walk around the garden and collect seeds. This hands on component brings the lesson full circle as they get a closer look at the variety of seed.

PLANT PARTS & PHOTOSYNTHESIS 

GRADES:  Preschool and K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To help students understand the importance that each plant part plays in the survival of the species.  Students will also learn about photosynthesis: the process by which plants make their own food. 

DESCRIPTION:  Learn about one specific plant part or all of them: roots, stems, leaves, and flowers.  This lesson helps students understand the role of each plant part.  In the second part of this lesson, discover how plants make their own food.  This is an in depth look at leaves and why they are important when it comes to the survival of plants.  The lesson can include an experiment where we extract chlorophyll from leaves.  

POLLINATORS

GRADES:  Preschool and K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To educate students about pollinators and why they are extremely important in the environment. 

DESCRIPTION: What are pollinators and why are they so important in our environment? This interactive lesson will explore the variety of flowering plants, the parts of a flower, and the different types of pollinators that make cross-pollination possible.  Students will end the lesson with a further look into what adaptations different pollinators have that allow them to do their job. 

FRUITS & VEGETABLES

GRADES:  Preschool and K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To educate students about the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.  To inform students why fruits and vegetables are essential when it comes to a healthy diet. 

DESCRIPTION:  What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?  In this lesson learn what makes a fruit distinctive from a vegetable.  This is a hand’s on, edible exploration of various fruits and vegetables.  Yum!

GROCERY STORE BOTANY & WHERE DOES YOUR FOOD COME FROM?

GRADES:  Preschool and K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To help students connect their dinner plate with the botanical origins. 

DESCRIPTION:  This is a great lesson that helps students understand the origin of their food.  Everything that we eat initially comes from plants.  Students will learn about the nutrients provided by plants and the importance of including plants for a healthy diet. At completion of this lesson, students will be able to identify the relationship between nutrition and the connection between the farm and their grocery store.  

NATIVE PLANTS & NOXIOUS WEEDS

GRADES:  K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To educate students about the difference between Native Plants and Noxious Weeds. The main focus of the lesson will be on the important role of Native Plants when it comes to the overall health of our local ecosystem.

DESCRIPTION:  In this outdoor lesson, students will walk around in the environment and learn how to identify native plants and invasive species. Students will learn about the importance of native plants when it comes to our local ecosystem.  They will also discover why noxious weeds become present in native areas and the changes they create.

REASONING IN SCIENCE

GRADES:  K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  Inform students about the Scientific Method and help them apply this method of research to different situations. 

DESCRIPTION:  This lesson helps students understand the Scientific Method: the way scientists learn and study the world around them. Students will ask questions and then try to come up with answers. Students will make observations, develop hypotheses, and record experimental evidence. Choose from a variety of topics or suggest one that fits into your current lesson. 

SEEDS & GERMINATION

GRADES:  Preschool and K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To educate students about seeds and how they germinate.  Students will learn why seeds are important when it comes to the survival of plants.

DESCRIPTION:  Seeds are everywhere around us.  Learn what a seed is and how to identify them throughout the environment.  Students will also learn what elements are needed for a seed to germinate.  At the completion of this lesson, students will be able to illustrate various forms of seed dispersal. 

SEASONS & CYCLES

GRADES:  Preschool  and K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to accurately distinguish and describe the differences between the four seasons. Students will also be able to identify the stages in the life cycle of a plant.

DESCRIPTION: By learning how to consider physical change over time and analyze environmental changes, students will gain a solid understanding of the four seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres.  Students will also become skilled at identifying the various plant stages in congruence with the time of year. The second part of this lesson goes into detail about the life cycle of a plant. The lesson will culminate with the creation of a “Changing Seasons Book.”

 SENSES IN THE GARDEN

GRADES:  Preschool and K-3

LOCATION:  Our Classroom

OBJECTIVE:  To encourage the use of all five senses.

DESCRIPTION:  This is a unique interactive tour of the garden using eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and fingers to identify different elements of the gardens ecosystem.  The art of observation is a key building block in our early development and interaction with our world.

WORMS, SOIL & COMPOST, OH MY!

GRADES:  K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To educate students about the components of soil and why  it is important to growing plants.  The second component of this lesson teaches students about the anatomy and benefit of worms.  Students will learn about composting and how to start a compost pile. 

DESCRIPTION:  What is soil and why is it so important when it comes to growing plants and sustaining life on earth?  Learn about all of the nutrients and beneficial organisms that live in soil and help plants survive.  In this lesson, students learn about the anatomy of a worm, what they eat, and how they benefit our environment.  Children will learn to create a worm bin and how compost can improve their garden at school or at home. Examples of various composting methods and the stages of compost will be displayed, and students will have the opportunity to help with the composting process. Students will get to physically explore the world of the living critters in the compost. Bring gloves!

WATER SYSTEMS

GRADES: K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  To educate students about our watershed, water quality, water cycle, and the importance of conserving water. 

DESCRIPTION:  The goal of this lesson is to familiarize students with the realities about water supply. Students will learn about water conservation and how they can make a difference when it comes to conserving fresh water.  There is a hands-on experiment to test the quality of different water samples using ph sticks. Students will learn about local watersheds, the habitats they create for plants and animals that thrive in them, and how to help protect these areas. Another component of this lesson is to uncover what the water cycle is and how plants play a vital role.

HABITAT & ECOSYSTEMS of the 5 BIOMES OF SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO

GRADES:  K-5

LOCATION:  Your Classroom or Ours

OBJECTIVE:  By cultivating an understanding of the 5 biomes of South Central Idaho, students will learn to explain and identify habitats and ecosystems within these areas.  Choose to learn about all 5 Biomes of South Central Idaho in one class or go in depth with a separate class about each biome. 

DESCRIPTION:  Learn about what a habitat is and how to identify different habitats throughout our environment. Students will locate different habitat components and describe how that habitat can be preserved.  Students will also discover why it is important for ecosystems to survive in order for us to sustain life on planet earth. Each student will create their very own biome to bring home or keep in the classroom and watch it develop. You will be able to determine which climate is ideal for the type of flora planted.

5 BIOMES: Sagebrush Steppe, Lava Rock, Alpine, Montane, Riparian

EARTH STEWARDS

GRADES: 1-5

LOCATION:  Our Classroom

OBJECTIVE:  Students will demonstrate examples of appropriate behavior in natural areas and ways to show respect for living things found in natural areas. 

DESCRIPTION:  On a guided walk through the garden, students will explore the beauty and wonder of our land and learn how to protect its natural resources. By taking part in role playing and scenarios, students will identify acceptable and unacceptable behavior when in natural areas, and what respect and appropriate communication looks and sounds like. To complete the lesson, students will go on a scavenger hunt throughout the garden in order to uncover and collect all intentionally laid out litter, and understand what it means to “Leave No Trace.”