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Pine Middle School Teaches Life Skills and Environmental Stewardship in the Garden
Mike Ismari, a science teacher at Pine Middle School, is one of the strong forces behind this comprehensive program that started with the construction of fourteen planter boxes and a group of local boy scouts earning Eagle Scout badges. Students have also played a significant role through the Pine Middle School Garden Club, earning community service hours that can often translate into college scholarship opportunities through the local 4-H club.
Garden Club members have gained multiple life skills from participating in this program, such as:
- Tool use, from simple hand tools used to create birdhouses to power tools for building raised beds.
- Food growing and processing, including dehydrating and baking.
- Communication, through presentations to grant boards and the press.
- Math/economics as they market and sell their local produce.
Mike and his students have worked hard to expand this effort to other local schools, too, including the Smithridge Elementary school which is right across the road from Pine Middle School. Middle school students are now working with elementary students to teach them how to garden, grow and process food. Mike’s dream is to have a school garden at every Reno school – providing great opportunities for students to replace grass and asphalt with productive green spaces and teach students and the greater community about the value of working the land.
Pine Middle School is also working to address other key sustainability issues at their school, including reducing their energy use and working to use renewable energy sources such as solar panels. They are presently participating in a program with National Wildlife Federation through a grant from Wells Fargo. “Building Green Schools from the Inside Out” seeks to work with schools to reduce their carbon footprint. In September, Pine students were inspired and motivated by a presentation from the Alliance for Climate Education and are now utilizing NWF’s Eco-Schools USA program and Cool School Challenge to assess their current carbon footprint and determine ways to reduce their environmental impacts.