Sustainability Spotlight: Lora Carpenter-Janike at Dawes Middle
December’s sustainability spotlight is shining on the garden club coordinator at Dawes Middle School, Lora Carpenter-Janike! With support from The Career Academy students and the CLC coordinator, new raised garden beds were built for Dawes in 2020. Since then, they have been thriving with help from the Dawes garden club students and their coordinator. In addition to supporting the garden, Carpenter-Janike teaches 8th grade science and AVID classes and has been at Dawes for four years. This year, Carpenter-Janike partnered with Dawes FCS teacher, Kate Endorff to co-lead the fall garden club meetings.
Dawes Garden club meets once a week and has provided the opportunity for students to experience each step of the gardening process. Students prepare the soil in the garden beds for planting, observe the first sprouts in the spring and continual growth into the summer, and then finally harvest in the fall and let the beds rest in the winter. Last month, students harvested tomatoes, chard, herbs, and hot peppers. After harvesting, the club washed and prepared the produce for tasting. Endorf helped the students practice culinary skills to make salsa using the harvested vegetables. Any leftover produce is sent home with students.
“This year we got our first carrots and I loved seeing students pull out the carrots from our garden beds, you can't imagine what is underneath the green tops until you pull them up! I also like seeing students try new foods or put their own spin on the herbs and vegetables we harvest from the garden beds.”
The school garden is not only for planting, it can be used as an outdoor learning space for the students and staff as well. Taking a break outside on a nice day is a great way for the students and teachers to connect to nature. Outdoor learning spaces can provide many benefits for mental health, learning, and social-emotional development.
“It is great for students to get together across grade level groups and mix with different students than their regular peer group. They get to meet new friends that they don’t see in the classroom. I like seeing students get to work together based on an interest and share what they know and wonder about.” – Carpenter-Janike
The Dawes Garden Club has set a great example for the rest of the school district. Carpenter-Janike was a featured speaker at the most recent School Gardens Gathering for LPS and was able to share her experiences and expertise with the community. She also shares this advice for anyone interested in starting their own school garden –
“Just go for it! There are lots of resources and groups that can assist you through LPS and our Lincoln community. Gardening is a different task for students than their regular school day and lots of fun and learning comes from the work and the activities that happen in a garden.” – Carpenter-Janike
Many of our school gardens would not be possible without support from amazing staff like Carpenter-Janike and Endorf. Thanks to their leadership, the garden flourishes and serves as a motivation for garden and outdoor learning opportunities everywhere.
Updated March 14, 2024
