#11. Garden Museum @NetZeroLee

Hello! I am Keiko Nishino, the Garden Education Specialist at RJL. I collaborate with teachers to bring learning outside and help our children connect with nature in meaningful ways.

When we combine outdoor learning with creative educational activities, it becomes far more than a simple nature program. It’s a powerful way to nurture curiosity, innovation, and the character our learners will carry into their future lives.

Incredible journeys and unforgettable experiences are coming up, and I can't wait to share them with all of you.

Green 3, Yellow 4, and Green 4A learners created a sign for the Garden Museum using natural items during Small Group Garden Time and recess. Each letter is crafted from a single plant variety. Additionally, some learners voluntarily made drawings to add more colors to the display! 🌿🎨

Our school garden has flourished for many years, offering rich, hands-on learning experiences. This year, I aim to provide learners with even more opportunities to take the lead and make the garden truly their own.

This fall, Blue 4A, Green 4B, and Green 5 learners are taking care of their two beds, from preparing the soil and planting seeds to watering and daily maintenance. They also named their beds, such as "Team Mango" and "Team Greenbean", and created signs for their beds.

Even in today's fast-paced world, the garden doesn’t change overnight. At first, the growth is tiny and can feel slow—but those small changes add up over time, and eventually, the plants grow exponentially. In the end, everything looks transformed.

I want our learners to experience this, because many of the best things in life grow the same way—and that process builds patience and steadiness. This is a long-term project, and I’m excited to see them nurture not only the garden but also their growing minds.

Thank you to the teachers for reminding them to water and for being flexible in incorporating the garden activities into their curriculum!

B4A, G4B, and G5 have started to take care of their class beds. They prepared the soil, planted seeds, and watered them daily. The learners will experience the entire growing process, from planting to harvesting and tasting their crops. 🧑🏻‍🌾👩🏻‍🌾

#1. Soil Questions

The Learners drew the carrot seeds under the microscope.

While one group prepares the soil or plants seeds, other learners can fill out a journaling form to enhance their understanding of soil and seeds, ensuring participation for everyone in the activities. 🔬📝

After two weeks, the learners observed how the carrots had grown. They carefully thinned the little seedlings out and planted lettuce and radish seeds.

#2. Seed Questions

• How do seeds change into plants? What happens under the soil that we can't see?
• Why do you think we plant some seeds deeper than others?

I am impressed that the B4A learners come to water the garden during recess every day. When I visited the garden during their recess, I often saw the same learners watering their beds. G4B and G5 learners also water their beds every morning. Amazing job! 💦

Since school started, I have received requests from learners to help with our garden, so I decided to create a group called "Garden Gurus."

This team of fourth and fifth grade volunteers will maintain our garden and identify and solve problems to improve it. They will do the garden work or discuss issues either first in the morning or during recess, and also communicate on Schoology.

Last year, "Mice Busters," a group of fifth graders, tackled the rodent problem in our garden, and we successfully resolved the issue, allowing us to enjoy a plentiful harvest. Their initiative, strategic thinking, and communication skills transitioned to middle school, where they are now working on establishing an environmental club.

I want our members to think about what they can do for our garden and community—how they can contribute. I believe our fourth and fifth graders will gain these skills through this team activity to make a difference in their future.

The application is open for fourth and fifth graders until Friday, October 3rd, but we already have some input from our members!

2025-2026 Garden Gurus Respect Agreement

We often travel in search of new and unfamiliar experiences, which help expand our horizons. However, do we realize that new and unfamiliar things also exist all around us, waiting to be discovered right here?

If you pay closer attention to your surroundings, you can uncover interesting facts about them, which will naturally spark many questions.

This makes the environment more meaningful to you and helps you develop a deeper connection with it. Such an intellectual and emotional bond with your surroundings forms the foundation of environmental stewardship.

Blue 2 learners counted all the trees at school, spending two one-hour sessions on this task! Ms. Mohite connected this counting activity with the idea of creating a graph to develop math questions.

During their walk, they identified different types of trees, observed various creatures, speculated about the history of the trees, and compared living and nonliving things. The School Nature Walk provides numerous learning opportunities! 🌳📊🐝

B2 learners performed mental math and calculated all additions correctly! 🤩

The learners counted the trees in two ways: by counting them consecutively and by location. They wondered which method was more accurate and developed a new technique—attaching numbered tapes to the trees for counting. Can you think of a better way to count all the trees?

Why are some trees larger than others, and why do certain locations have larger trees? How can we categorize tree sizes? The tree counting activity raises numerous scientific questions. 🧐🌳

If we research how to grow strawberries, can we actually succeed? Purple 5 will test this in the real-world project. If they are successful, they will make strawberry ice cream from their harvest!

Soil Test 🧪

P5 learners has started the Strawberry Farmers project! They brainstormed guiding questions to help them grow the best strawberries and have begun their research. We also tested the pH of the soil where we will plant the strawberries. I added prilled sulfur in July to lower the pH, but it remained high. How can we make the soil more acidic?

Worms and Microbes Improve the Soil 🦠🪱

P5 learned about microbes and their role in improving soil quality and lowering the soil pH to grow strawberries. They collected worm compost, which is rich in microbes, from the worm bin to add to their strawberry garden.

Some learners looked a bit scared at first, but Ms. Voltz touched the worms as she used to do when she was a child in Canada. Her story about her childhood and farming experiences enriches this program.

Gardening offers valuable learning opportunities in real-world settings!

One of the benefits the school garden offers is experiential learning for children.

When transplanting small seedlings, holding them too tightly can damage the plants. Children learn to adjust their grip, paying attention to the seedlings and their roots. Even in a brief moment, a valuable lesson takes place.

Learners can connect knowledge from books with real-world experiences, making their learning deeper and more authentic. They discover what mint smells like, how hairy the roots appear, and how ladybugs move. They learn from their own experiences using all their senses.

This hands-on approach, combined with emotions, helps children connect with nature.

These focused Red K learners cleared and prepared the four garden beds! They also found many interesting plants and creatures while playing a nature scavenger hunt. Great job, Red K!

Critical thinking, collaboration, observation, perseverance, and joy in the real world - simple activities in the school garden are full of learning opportunities!

Practical Academics learners transplanted fall vegetable seedlings! Learning how to properly hold the seedlings and cover them with soil teaches a lesson about nurturing living things. 🌱😊

Blue K learners planted fall vegetables provided by the Child Nutrition. They touched the soil, spotted ants, spiders, grubs, and found acorns. Some learners looked scared while others looked excited. Full of experiential learning is happening in the garden!

Ms. Schlossstein guided the learners in searching for items in the scavenger hunt to enhance their knowledge! 💙

If you don't have a home garden, you can still grow vegetables using items you already have, like a yogurt cup or a mushroom container.

Simply poke some holes in the bottom of the container, fill it with potting mix and a bit of fertilizer, and plant your seeds. You can place your container indoors or outdoors as long as it gets enough light. Remember to check the moisture regularly and water when needed.

It will be a fun project to care for your plant with your family!

Red 1 learners planted lettuce seeds in equal amounts of potting mix in two pots of different depths. Which pot do you think will grow better?

Check out my blog, "Unlock Our Life" , to discover more about our garden education!

Thank you to our teachers for collaborating and being so flexible with outdoor learning!

I also want to thank Mrs. Naoko Maki, a former Lee parent, for her help with our gardening activities and for sharing her beautiful photos and videos.

In this newsletter, I have included the pictures and videos taken by teachers and Mrs. Maki.