Entrance Slip - September 24

 When I read Dr. Susan Gerofsky’s paper about Math gardens at campuses, I started to rethink how we can utilize spaces in high schools. A school garden is not a cozy space to just have lunch and watch flowers or plants grow, it can be used as a classroom setting. 

I stopped when Dr. Gerofsky pointed out how traditional planning thinks of learning outside. Schools often try to create classrooms with whiteboards outside. Real garden learning means letting the weather, plants, and soil actively mentor the students alongside the teacher. It’s not about setting up a classroom, it is about letting nature shape the lesson. The teacher doesn’t just walk and talk, they listen, observe, and adapt. The garden isn’t a place, it acts as a co-teacher. I learned something from the lesson provided by the Evergreen Foundation. Decorative gardens or cafeteria gardens rarely stay around for long. When money is tight or space becomes an issue these extra projects are usually covered with pavement. For a school garden to stay it must connect directly with required curriculum goals. For example, it can help with math skills. This shows that the garden is a classroom tool instead of something that can be easily removed.I stopped at how a garden connects subjects that high schools normally keep separate. Rather than isolating math, science, art and history into separate period blocks, the garden weaves them together such as combining geometry, plant biology, design and Indigenous ways of knowing into one hand‑on space.

Teaching High School Math in the Garden

A garden based learning especially in mathematics is a wonderful way to make math more real. For example, for geometry and algebra, students can calculate areas and volume of raised beds or flowerpots, track plant growth, and predict crop yields using simple equations. Patterns like symmetry and the Fibonacci sequence show up naturally in leaf arrangements and seed heads. Students can also learn finances and data analysis by maintaining a garden budget and tracking weather trends over time. Tying this to the First Peoples Principles of Learning makes math practical, hands-on, and connected to real life rather than just textbook drills.

Challenges and Solutions

The biggest issue with running a school garden is the summer break, since plants grow the most in July and August when school is closed. We can work around this by planting fast spring crops like radishes or fall crops like garlic, or by teaming up with community volunteers and local groups to handle watering over the break. Another problem is working around short class periods, where dragging an entire class outside in an 80-minute block can feel really rushed. A simple fix is keeping outdoor trips super focused. Last but not the least, gardens are always at risk of losing funding or getting paved over because people treat them like extra side projects. To keep the space alive, we have to prove it is  necessary for student learning by tying every single outdoor activity directly to official BC math curriculum goals.