 Education And Resiliency Through Horticulture (EARTH) program’s mission is to integrate gardening education into the Gifft Hill (GHS) Middle School’s curriculum and eventual lunch program. EARTH is a partnership effort between GHS and Iowa State University. |
 EARTH program’s deliverables for middle school students include increased awareness and appreciation of where our food comes from and an understanding of the effects healthy, locally grown food can have on physical and mental well-being, the community, and the broader environment. Iowa State interns selected to participate spend at least 12 weeks in a residential service-learning role at GHS. They gain horticulture and landscape design experience in a tropical setting. Each of the semester-long interns will conduct an individual student project during their stay.  Each year, the EARTH program takes on a new improvement project that adds to the beauty and sustainability of the GHS campus. These projects have included the installation of half basketball court and hillside gardens, the installation of an outdoor classroom and edible landscape and finally the yearly installation of grow benches full of roots, shoots and fruits for student consumption. The 2011/2012 school year’s project is the installation of a historic terrace garden. The 9th grade history class is leading the way in creating the design of the garden with native plant species. 
|
