BLOOMINGTON (25News Now) – An alternative school in Bloomington is teaching students about agriculture and responsibility by having them grow their own food.
Regional Alternative School has held its gardening program at the West Bloomington Revitalization Project on Mulberry Street for the past three years. The program is funded by state grants, totaling around $6,000 over the past few years.
RAS Vocational Coordinator Brian O’Kaski said it’s a year-round science and work experience program where students can participate in six different classes. He said they tend to the needs of the small plot of gardens, which recently doubled in size in the past year.
“We find that our students learn best through experiential learning, getting exposure to being outside and doing hands-on activities,” O’Kaski said.
He said that in the winter, students will learn basic carpentry skills by building garden boxes, fixing the fencing, and constructing small benches. Students also start growing plants from seeds during this time, which are planted once Spring arrives. During the spring and early summer, students take care of the garden and its plots, harvesting the produce in the fall when they come back.
O’Kaski said that produce is then taken to be given out at the free school marketplace for families in need.
“[The students] see the necessity of fresh food, fresh produce. It’s something not everyone has access to,” O’Kaski said. “If we can help meet some of those basic needs for our families and students, the students appreciate that.”
He said the program is not only a lesson in science and agriculture, but also teaches kids about responsibility.
“Gardening is a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of effort by a lot of people to pull it off, especially one this size,” O’Kaski said. “It really teaches them the work ethic that it takes to make a garden be successful, or to be successful at any job, really.”
An incoming senior student, 16-year-old Caleb Senders, has volunteered to continue tending to the garden over the summer. He said the experience is fun and has helped him learn more than he would have by sitting in the classroom.
“It’s been beneficial for me. I’ve learned to be more social, work with my hands, and just overall, [about] responsibilities,” Senders said.
This past school year, around 110 students participated in the program.
RAS serves students in grades seventh through 12th in Dewitt, McLean, and Livingston Counties who struggle in traditional school settings.
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