Chelsea's Wildlife-Friendly Gardens

With every school in the Sheepscot Valley RSU 12 district committed to educating their students using school gardens, Chelsea Elementary is no exception! Not only does the district see these spaces as areas to grow plants, they also view them as living classrooms where students engage in hands-on, real-life learning which enrich education by connecting lessons to the world around us.

Here are some examples of how RSU12 integrates school gardening in different subject areas:

Science becomes real as students observe plant growth, ecosystems and weather impacts.
Math comes to life when students measure garden plots and track growth data.
Language arts flourish through garden-inspired writing and journaling.
Beyond academics, gardens teach teamwork, problem-solving and resilience. Students learn to plan projects, overcome challenges and celebrate shared successes which prepare them for future endeavors.
School gardens promote healthy eating. Studies indicate that students who garden are more inclined to eat fruits and vegetables, fostering lifelong healthy habits.

The RSU12 gardens are supported by teachers, students, families and local volunteers which strengthens community bonds and enhances the learning experience. To continue this growth, RSU12 seeks partnerships with local farms and experts to enrich their programs and provide sustainable, meaningful learning opportunities. They invite community members to join this initiative whether they have gardening experience, volunteer time or simply a passion for education because their involvement helps nurture a love of learning, connection and curiosity in their students one garden at a time.

Chelsea Elementary is a Pre-K to 8th-grade school located in Chelsea, Maine. Students spent the last two years building their school garden with support from community organizations such as Age Friendly Chelsea, FoodCorps, UMaine Extension’s Master Gardener Volunteers and SNAP-Ed. The result is an accessible garden space that provides food for their school community and offers opportunities for environmental leadership, social and emotional learning plus intergenerational connection. Chelsea’s Wildlife-Friendly Gardens also provides a habitat for all creatures who share the school grounds while also growing nourishing food for their students. The gardens include a vegetable garden, pollinator gardens, an orchard with a StoryWalk plus a certified wildlife habitat area.

Students practice biodynamic gardening, a holistic, ecological and ethical approach to gardening, food and nutrition. They compost food waste, practice vermiculture, plant cover crops, learn about companion planting and how to rotate gardens to maintain healthy soil. They learn about how gardening practices affect the world around us, including the wildlife on their school campus and beyond in their watershed.

Students from multiple grades created a habitat trail where they added missing habitat elements to achieve certification through the National Wildlife Federation’s School Yard Habitat program. This included building bat and bird houses, creating a water garden, learning about nonpoint source pollution and integrated pest management (IPM), growing and planting native plants and more!

Students practice season extension in the vegetable garden and experiment with growing food indoors year-round. They grow microgreens and mushrooms and have a hydroponic system for lettuce. Taste testing is also an important part of their gardening activities. Students sample and learn to cook the food they are growing, learn about edible native plants and forage wild foods available in their certified wildlife habitat area.