ETSU: County Students Learn About Gardening, Nutrition Through 'Garden In A Box'

From East Tennessee State University:

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Fourth- and fifth-grade students at Washington County’s
Sulphur Springs Elementary School have learned about both gardening and nutrition
in the fall of 2021 through a joint effort of East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health and UT Extension Washington County.

Project EARTH of the College of Public Health and the UT Extension Washington County agents created a “Garden in a Box” program using the “Learn, Grow, Eat and Go” curriculum that allows
young students to grow vegetables while learning about the importance of a well-balanced
diet.

“Many students grow food for the first time and experience new food choices,” said
Dr. Mike Stoots, Project EARTH director of operations and professor in the ETSU Department of Community and Behavioral Health. “The kids certainly seemed to enjoy this project and learned things that could improve their health for years to come.”

The program not only teaches the agricultural skills of planting, tending and harvesting
plants, but also nutritional skills, such as how to eat a balanced diet and ways to
prepare the vegetables grown through the project.

Christopher Honeycutt, a doctoral student in the ETSU College of Public Health, working
with Project EARTH, partnered with UT Extension Washington County Agents Lucy Timbs and Adam Watson to bring the Garden in a Box program to Sulphur Springs School.

Four square, raised garden beds were constructed on the school grounds by the team
and students on Aug. 26. Fall vegetables were planted on Sept. 13, and then harvested
a couple of months later. The vegetable plants used in this project were donated by
Onks Greenhouse and Garden Center in Gray.

Under the guidance of Timbs and Watson, fourth- and fifth-grade students participated
in the growing process – from planting to harvest – of such fall crops as collard
greens, cabbage and broccoli as part of their physical education class taught by coaches
Jill Fox and Brandon Qualls.

“It’s amazing how the kids could come in and try things they hadn’t tried – the cabbage,
the kale, or the collard greens that they hadn’t tried at home – and were amazed at
how much they enjoyed it and liked it,” Fox said. “I liked seeing that aspect of it,
and seeing how easy it was to grow. Just knowing how to grow it and pick it opens
their eyes to something new that they haven’t been exposed to. They told their friends
about what they learned, and their friends want to join in and experience it as well.
It’s been a positive outreach for them. It’s been wonderful.”

The Garden in a Box team hopes to not only add more raised gardening beds at Sulphur
Springs, but also to expand the program to other schools in the future.

This press release was produced by East Tennessee State University. The views expressed are the author's own.