As gardeners and plant enthusiasts, we’ve always believed in the importance of “cultivating” the next generation (pardon the pun). But seriously, the Warner’s family wants to see children grow up to be people who respect the earth, appreciate the scientific marvel of plants, and understand the joy of growing flowers and food in your own garden.
It’s why we are eager to meet kids in clubs and classrooms and share what we know.
We have regular sessions of The Mud Club that focus on all sorts of cool, botany-related things – like why leaves turn color in the autumn or what happens when a seed sprouts and starts to grow. Kids who go to the club come home with a project or craft they make after the lesson.
We also head over to Sinagua Middle School each month to teach a class as part of that school’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. At the end of the year, the students visit us with a field trip out to the nursery.
We’re hoping we’ll get out to more schools soon, now that we have Warner’s on Wheels.
If you’ve caught my previous blog about “WoW,” you’ll know it’s our fitted-out trailer that we got last year. We can use it to go to events to sell plants, but more importantly, it’s a mobile workshop where we can bring interesting STEM-related lessons to schools, tailoring them to any age group.
Here are a few examples of the type of STEM topics we offer:
- Pollinators – Who they are, what they do and why they are important.
- Native Plants – What does that mean and why should we care?
- Fungus – It’s among us: Where to seek and find fungus.
- Why do leaves change color? The Fall of Chlorophyll.
- Germination Station: How Seeds Work
- Environmentalism & Sustainability –Â Taking Care of Mother Earth
We’re very excited to get out into the community more with Warner’s on Wheels, particularly to schools and events where we can share our love of the art and science of horticulture in a really interesting, kid-friendly way.
If you are interested in Warner’s on Wheels or know of a class or club we should be reaching out to, drop me a line!
Happy Gardening,
Misti