In recognitions of their ongoing commitment to providing students with hands-on learning opportunities, Locust Valley Central School District’s gardening club teachers recently received a $30,000 grant to continue the program. The grant was presented to the team of educators by Nassau County District 18 Legislator Josh Lafazan during the district’s Oct. 18 board of education meeting.
After a presentation by the gardening instructors, Legislator Lafazan surprised the educators with the grant. The teachers and librarians have worked with groups like the Cornell University Cooperative Extension who have had representatives visit students throughout the district to help students better understand the gardening process.
“I was blown away in learning about kids being closer to nature, kids learning about agriculture and kids learning to decompress outside the classroom,” Lafazan said. “Gardening is such an important measure in help with anxiety and depression in students and helping kids learn with their hands. This program is really remarkable.”
For the past five years, the district’s school librarians have worked on the Learning Experience Academic Program or LEAP curriculum. Elementary school librarians Jennifer Farrell, Devon Gallagher, Anne Joyce and Stefanie Maura and middle and high school instructor Tina Hament and have used the program to teach students how to garden and beautify the school grounds.