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Knoll Gardens

The vision of the Knoll Gardens project is to create a fully-equipped outdoor laboratory where students learn many subjects in an integrated curriculum. Our main Life Lab consists of 13 raised beds, an outside classroom, potting table, sink with cabinet, storage, citrus trees, and other native plants to help students experience nature close-up.

 

Cassie, our garden coordinator, utilizes the Life Lab program to teach children to develop their green thumbs directly and actively in the Knoll Gardens through a 12 week curriculum of planting, weeding, harvesting, and even tasting what they grow.  Integrated Next Generation Science Standards support many subjects like math, science, art, health, and physical education.  The curriculum includes lessons in caring for the environment, creating a sustainable garden, and nutrition education.

 

We at Brook Knoll want to connect our kids to the source of their food so they can learn about healthy garden practices, natural pest control, plant life-cycles, water cycles, composting, and different nutrient sources to feed the garden and, in doing so, help make our school, community, and world a better place.

Cassie Timmer's Bio - Our Garden Coordinator

- Cassie received her degree in Environmental Biology from UC Davis in 2002

- She taught outdoor science education for eight years at Mission Springs Outdoor Education in Scotts Valley, where she ran a small educational garden

- Cassie has a son in 6th grade and a son and daughter in 3rd grade at Brook Knoll

- She believes the garden classroom provides a unique, multi-sensory setting for student to learn

- She looks forward to continuing to develop the Knoll Garden program to enrich our students learning experience at Brook Knoll

Knoll Gardens Learning Goals

Grade Level Curriculum Goals

 

TK/K Learning Goals:

 

  • what plants need to grow

  • sun, soil, water, and air

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1st Grade Learning Goals

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  • six plant parts

  • plant life cycle

  • vermiculture basics (worms help turn plants back into soil)

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2nd Grade Learning Goals:

 

  • pollinators help spread pollen so that fruits and vegetables can grow

  • observation skills: attention, inspection and consideration

  • biodiversity is variety. It fosters adaptation and creates a strong ecosystem

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3rd Grade Learning Goals:

 

  • how to measure and record patterns of weather over time

  • a healthy soil retains water and nutrients, is porous, contains organic matter, and is habitat for fungus, bacteria and invertebrates

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4th Grade Learning Goals:

 

  • resources are finite

  • systems conserve their limited resources by recycling them.

  • the major cycles that support an ecosystem

 

5th Grade Learning Goals:

 

  • we can take action and influence our communities to help protect the earth’s resources and environment

  • climate- the average weather of a region over time- has various effects on plants and animals

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