Fall, most widely known for the changing of the leaves, the football games, and the massive influx of pumpkin spice products; but for one class here at Carter High School, fall means a garden, yes you read that right! Ms. Jani Chollman and her Ecology class are growing a garden on school grounds this fall.
What started out as a few students applying for a grant to plant a garden; turned into a yearly project for this class of young Ecology students. I have gathered the opinions of a few members of the Ecology class, and they are rather different.
Some, like Shane Blanton, are interested in getting their hands dirty, and are excited to “catch a snake”. Others like Diana Fisher, are enthusiastic about the garden, but not so much about getting muddy while working in the garden, Fisher herself, was not available for an interview.
I also contacted Mrs. Chollman herself, this is what she had to say. “I believe the garden is a way to show different ecosystems and how to maintain those ecosystems, struggles with the garden this year is there is a giant fire ant hill that we cannot get moved; also we need a lot of dirt, we just got the money for the dirt so it will be the week before fall break before we can actually put the dirt in and start planting. A good idea is if we are able to grow things, and eat them out of the garden; and also sell them to the teachers, and make money. We will grow things like kale and spinach and that way we can teach students how to make healthy smoothies. I love the idea of a garden, but sometimes the constraints of money and time constraints pushes it back, and this year the fire ants have really hurt us. Another bit of it is it shows symbiotic relationships between plants and animals.” said Ms. Jani Chollman when asked about her stance on the garden.
pictured above: ecology class gardens, located behind the tennis courts.
No matter where you stand on the topic of a school garden managed by the ecology class, I think we can all agree that this is a very unique way of learning the subject of ecology.
Among the garden the ecology class also boasts an outdoor classroom, located only a few feet from their garden; and in the spirit of the fall, the class has plans for fixing both in some way. From minor features of the outdoor classroom, to a complete overhaul of the garden.
pictured above: ecology class outdoor classroom, located only a few feet from the garden.
Carter Corps News 