Alberta Rider School Garden     

Elements

This is a unique site in that it is one acre of forested property that includes a log cabin that is on the historic regirsty. This cabin will be used for pioneer and science studies.  The current property is overgrown with invasive species and will be restored to a native garden.  While most school gardens are for the use of their school's students, it is our goal to open this garden up to all schools and the public at large.

The following elements are included in Alberta Rider School Garden. Tied to each of these elements will be the curriculum goals and benchmarks to be addressed.

Too often, students sit at their desks and learn about habitats and ecosystems thousands of miles away, while their schoolyard features a barren landscape of mown grass or asphalt. However, we as educators are recognizing the value of transforming school grounds into learning laboratories that support a rich diversity of life and learning. There is no better way to reinforce concepts and skills learned in the classroom than to directly apply them to real life situations in a schoolyard habitat.

The primary goal of the Alberta Rider School Garden is to provide an opportunity for schools to teach their students elements of science and social studies through a hands on experience. The ecosystem of the garden provides an avenue to study the environment, ecology, art, math, social studies, career opportunities and physical science. Environmental studies are provided through the removal of invasive species and the restoring of natives.  Art in nature is evident through the various color palettes and is brought indoors with leaf prints, etc. Butterflies, birds, bees and other insects are attracted and studied. Social studies can be expanded with the use of the log cabin. The physical sciences are supplemented with the study of weather, and its affects on the garden. Career opportunities are explored through guest speakers.

Alberta Rider Elementary School is proud to be a Green School.

Alberta Rider Elementary School

14850 SW 132nd Terrace
Tigard, Oregon 97224

Washington County
503.431.4900

Naturescaping

This garden will be naturescped using a variety of native plants and therefore will provide habitat for wildlife. In addition, wildlife feeders and nesting boxes for endangered species are constructed to attract birds to the area.

Curriculum Goals: Understand and describe: characteristics, structure, and functions of organizations; the relationships among living things and between living things and their environment; scientific questions and hypotheses to be investigated; and conduct procedures to collect, organize, and display scientific data.

Practice writing skills through exercises related to habitat development.

Benchmarks: Be able to: plan a simple investigation; collect data from an investigation; use data collected from an investigation and explain the results; describe basic plant and animal structures and their functions; describe the basic needs of living things; identify how some animals gather and store food, defend themselves, and find shelter; describe a habitat and the organisms that live there.

Log Cabin