Enrichment Garden Science Class

A group of 5^th and 6^th graders from across the school has been working with Andrew the Gardener, Mrs. Gigliotti and Mrs. Milks to understand our school garden, management of this and all gardens,  and how the vegetation around the garden has developed over time.  As part of the class, students completed research for and produced the following blog entries.  Service was also a major component of the course and the students participated in service sessions in which they put the school gardens to bed, turned, spread and stacked the compost, and assisted 3rd and 4th grade art classes in a soap making project.

Plants vs. Weeds    

Angela Tarracciano, Shayla Lawrence, and Nick Petrunich       

              

Plant	Weed
A plant is something that you plant!                 Some plants that you would find in the garden here at school are mint, broccoli, kale, and Brussel sprouts.	Weeds are plants that naturally grow on their own.  Some weeds you would find in our garden is dandelion and grass.

 

 

The WCS Medicinal Plant Bed

Sierra Polley

The following plants can be found in our WCS Garden medicinal plant bed.  Please see the table for potential uses.

Information taken from: Bremness, Lesley. Herbs. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2002. Print.

Plant		Medicinal Uses
Echinacea		Stimulates the body’s defenses against disease.  It is antibiotic, antiviral and restores inflamed connective tissue, treats fevers and may reduce allergies.
Mint		Stimulate digestion and reduce flatulence.  Helps get rid of colds and can relieve headaches and other pain.  If you inhale the essential oil, you can treat nausea.
Sage		The volatile oils in sage kill bacteria, making the herb useful for all types of bacterial infections.
Sunflower		The seeds can be used to treat coughs and kidney inflammation.  The root is a laxative and treats stomach pain.
Wild Strawberry		Used to relieve kidney and liver issues.  Can be made into juice that may relieve fevers.  Soothes sunburn and lightens freckles.  Makes a common herbal tea and can be used as an oily skin tone

 

Enrichment Garden Class Participates in Science-Art Collaboration

Having Fun AND Learning at The Same Time!

Danielle Urban & Shannon Loiseau

Equinox house third and fourth grade students worked with Andrew (The gardener), Ms. Baker, Ms. Amanda from Equinox, Ms. Milks, and the Garden Class student helpers  to use their math, science, art and team work skills to make a soap. They made a variety of different soaps using herbs, plants and oils.

One recipe that they developed contained yarrow, birch, lavender, ylang ylang, a bit of oatmeal, a drop of sage and a Shea butter soap base. Another recipe included birch, clove, wintergreen, oatmeal and an olive oil base. Although the classes developed different recipes, they were similar.

Some of the ingredients the students had to choose from were:

Herbs	Oils
Birch- Pain Relief Yarrow- Skin astringent (cleanser) Calendula- Skin astringent (cleanser) Oatmeal- Skin calming Rose Buds- Relieves stress Mint- Energizing Lavender- Calming scent Anise Hyssop- Scent Beet Root- Pink Color Ailonet- Red/Brown Color	Clover- Comfort and Pain Relief Rosemary- Awakening Eucalyptus- Cleansing Patchouli- Relaxing Ylang Ylang – Relaxing Vetiver- Grounding Wintergreen- Awakening

The students could choose one oil and a variety of different herbs and plants. If you want to make soap we would recommend to pick plants, herbs and oils that go well with each other.

We hope you have fun making your sensational soap!  Soap you later!