Author Archives: The School Garden Doctor

Women’s Herstory: The Origins of the Dirt Girls Program

It’s especially meaningful for me to share the story of growing Dirt Girls at start of Women’s History Month. Pictured below are two girls from the last cohort of a “pandemic proof” version of the program offered last spring alongside a journal entry from one of the original Dirt Girls participants. In 2016, I beganContinue reading “Women’s Herstory: The Origins of the Dirt Girls Program”

Plant(ing) Empowerment: Lessons from Ruth Bancroft

For a time, I was ‘wintering‘ through the month-long stay-at-home order and rainy weather just fine. But when the sun came out again, I took advantage of the opportunity to socialize outside with a close friend. We visited the Ruth Bancroft Garden & Nursery for a self-guided tour of an impressive display of drought-tolerant plants.Continue reading “Plant(ing) Empowerment: Lessons from Ruth Bancroft”

New Year, New Leaf: Nurturing a Houseplant Habit

Sensory experience–a hallmark of science, nutrition, and environmental education–is much harder to deliver via screen. However, a few months ago I was inspired me to turn over a new leaf.

STEAM Project: Fun for the Fall Faire

DIY Scarecrows are a fun STEAM Project that promotes creative solutions, teamwork, and interdisciplinary thinking. Four different teams constructed unique and imaginative scarecrows. They collaboratively fashioned outfits from ripped nylon hammocks, scavenged props from the toolshed to rubber band in scarecrow’s gloved hands, and bent wire into eyeglasses that even had tape lenses!