With the help of a major Vista Neighborhood grant from the City of Boise Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant program in 2017, Hawthorne Elementary School was able to turn over a half-acre of unused and expensive grass space on the North and East sides of the school into the revolutionary and innovative Idaho Native Plants Learning Landscape & Teaching Garden. In it, you can find several themed areas in the garden including an Artists Garden, Sensory Garden, Pollinator Garden, Experimental Area, Teachers’ Garden and a sandstone amphitheater Classroom Space.
Hawthorne Elementary School’s natural and creative landscape fosters an exploratory and inquisitive environment for our students and neighbors. We encourage place-based learning by providing a landscape that features native Idaho plants, their pollinators, examples of regional geology, and opportunities for hands-on applied learning. In this way, we are able to enhance the curriculum by connecting it to the natural world. We are also preparing students to be engaged citizens on a local and global scale. There is a strong correlation between whether people have nature experiences as they grow up and whether, as adults, they will be concerned about policies that affect our environment.
So many thanks to our community partners and grantors, including:
City of Boise, Vista Neighborhood Association, Boise Schools, Dennis Professional Technical Education Center, ERIG Native Plants Society, Idaho Botanical Gardens, Idaho Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, University of Idaho Aberdeen branch, Hawthorne Elementary School Garden Committee, Hawthorne Elementary School PTO, Draggin’ Wing Farm, Stephanie Inman Design, artists Sue Latta and Kenneth McCall and special thanks to Holly Hovis, Botanist, BLM, and Amy Pence-Brown, School Garden Coordinator.
Learn more about the creative use of our education space beyond the brick walls by exploring these links:
Great Little Video Interview from Idaho Education News
Check us out:
Facebook: Hawthorne Elementary ID Native Plants Landscape Gardens
Instagram: @HawthorneSchoolNativeLandscapeGardens
The Hawthorne School Garden Committee consists of parents, teachers, students, local experts, administrators and welcome volunteers. If interested or if you have further questions, please contact the school at (208)854-5000.