Life Skills Educational Garden

At Waxahachie High School, our Life Skills students have taken significant steps towards hands-on learning by designing and building their own cinder block test garden. This garden, planted with vegetables grown from seeds in their classrooms and plants donated by our organization, is just the beginning. We are now embarking on a more ambitious project: the Life Skills Educational Garden. This outdoor learning environment will provide students with the opportunity to learn beyond the traditional classroom walls.

The Life Skills Educational Garden will offer hands-on Earth Sciences STEM classes that cover topics such as soil preparation, composting, plant life cycles, organic gardening, healthy eating, climate and environmental issues, and water conservation. These real-life, tactile experiences will give special needs students the one-on-one learning environment they need to boost their self-esteem, enhance their learning opportunities, and succeed in school and beyond.

This project will involve students from Freshmen to Seniors (ages 15-18) in the Life Skills, Horticulture, Shop, and Culinary departments. Horticulture and Shop students will contribute to the design and construction of garden structures, while Culinary students will benefit from the harvest of herbs and vegetables, teaching Life Skills students how to prepare and cook their produce.

By bringing together these various groups, our project will facilitate collaboration and learning across disciplines, supported by qualified senior citizen teachers, Ellis County Master Gardeners, and Indian Trail Master Naturalists. The students will not only learn STEM topics but also thrive from the physical and mental health benefits of outdoor activities.