Join us as we dig deeper into how Lake Oswego School District is planting the seeds for a greener, more sustainable future through education and learn about our blossoming elementary school gardens. Our special guest, Sarah Vannice, one of our dedicated elementary innovation teachers, shares her insights and experiences in fostering our green havens of learning and discusses the development and impact of outdoor learning spaces across our schools. Accompanying Sarah are two passionate fourth-grade gardeners, Devyn Barney and Rowan Carper, from River Grove Elementary. They share their firsthand experiences of the joys and learnings of gardening at school.
Dr. Jennifer Schiele, Superintendent, LOSD
Mary Kay Larson, Executive Director of Communications, LOSD
Sarah Vannice, Elementary Innovation Teacher, River Grove Elementary
Devyn Barney and Rowan Carper, Students, River Grove Elementary
MICHELLE ODELL:: [00:00:00] Welcome to Learning in Lake Oswego, a podcast providing educational insights for an engaged community. Lake Oswego School District Superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Schiele , will discuss what's important to our learning community. She'll be joined by experts examining various topics, answering important questions, and sharing upcoming events and activities you won't want to miss.
And now, it's your host. Lake Oswego School District Executive Director of Communications, Mary Kay Larson.
MARK KAY LARSON:: Welcome to the 11th Learning in Lake Oswego episode. I'm Mary Kay Larson, your host. Here with me is our superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Shealy. Today, we're shining a light on our growing elementary school gardens.
Yes, pun intended. With us is Sarah Van Nuys. She's one of our outstanding elementary innovation teachers who is also helping develop our elementary outdoor learning spaces [00:01:00] program. With Sarah, we have two fourth grade students from River Grove Elementary who are also gardening enthusiasts. That's Devin Barney.
And Rowan Carper. Jen, let's get started. Thanks,
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Mary Kay. I love spending time with my sisters here in Lake Oswego at our family plot at Luscher Farm. So this is going to be a real fun conversation for me today. Welcome, Sarah. Thanks for having me, Jen. Absolutely. And those who don't know, I want to make sure you all understand that Sarah has been nominated for Oregon's Teacher of the Year this year.
So we're so proud of her. Congratulations.
SARAH VANNICE:: Thank you.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: You're very welcome. Before we dig into the dirt, could you share a bit about your journey as a teacher and how you landed here in Lake Oswego?
SARAH VANNICE:: I was actually hired before I even graduated, so I was hired in June and I graduated in August. I came home, packed up the car, and moved to Lake Oswego.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Fantastic. We are so lucky to have you. How did you transition from helping develop our garden [00:02:00] curriculum? Like, what sparked that interest?
SARAH VANNICE:: Well, as a first and second grade teacher, I always grew plants and flowers with our students to meet science standards and also for fun. So the students were always in awe of growing and planting.
We had an old greenhouse at River Grove, and we would spend every spring going out there and planting things for Mother's Day. And so it just became natural once I took on a specialist role and got to see every student in the building that every child would have that experience.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: I love that. So where do we stand right now with our school gardens?
Like, where are all of our elementary school gardens and more importantly, where is the garden at River Grove?
SARAH VANNICE:: Oh, this is so exciting. So by next fall, every single one of our schools will have an outdoor learning space. Westridge is being built this spring break and the other middle school will have theirs done this summer.
River Grove, we have 14 new garden beds that are going to be nestled in between [00:03:00] the two playgrounds. So it's actually become part of the playground. So it's gonna be fully accessible. So students will have access to it during recess time or during community times before and after school. Bye.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: That's great.
That's so exciting. And I know you're going to be moving to this brand new River Grove school. So that's going to be fun to have those beautiful spaces to work in. So what's the inspiration behind outdoor learning spaces? Like especially the gardens, as far as educational initiatives.
SARAH VANNICE:: Well, it's definitely part of our Lake Oswego strategic plan.
It's very explicit. But what, more than that, we want to have that connection to science and connection to the real world, knowing where our food comes from and having that community. Also the equity. Not everybody has the opportunity to have gardens at home. They don't have outdoor spaces. So this ensures that every student in Lake Oswego has the experience.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: So can you give some examples of how these gardens [00:04:00] enhance our students learning experiences? And, like, how do they tie into social studies or science and health?
SARAH VANNICE:: Oh, it's wonderful. Larry Z. and I have been working with Stephanie Wagner, and she's amazing. And she has helped us align our mystery science, our adopted elementary curriculum for science, with our garden and our outdoor learning spaces.
And Not every grade level, for example, fourth grade, doesn't specifically have a tie from the science standards with the garden, but our social studies does. So in fourth grade, we're going to be learning about the three sisters gardens and every student will help develop a little mound where we can grow the corn and the pole beans and the squash.
For example, the kindergarten this year just planted sunflowers and as kindergartners, they're going to work on labeling and looking at the little sprouts. They're going to document that And then when they come back in the fall, as first graders, our science standards are all about structure and function, and they'll be able to compare the sprouts [00:05:00] to the parts of the mature plant.
And we also hit things like pollination, social emotional learning.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Great. And speaking of curriculum, how do you make sure that all students, regardless of their background or abilities, can engage with our garden curriculum?
SARAH VANNICE:: That is the most exciting thing about this new River Grove Garden. Everything is fully accessible.
Not just our playgrounds, but our gardens. So physically and emotionally accessible. Every student will have the opportunity because every student engages with the Innovation Labs and we will ensure that they will have the time and the space to grow and to grow and to be able to go out into the gardens with volunteers and have that, that really rich science talk.
And that's every student a couple of times a year. And then we'll of course then tie that in with their classroom learning.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: And you mentioned the innovation lab, and I know you're the innovation teacher and a lot of people who listen to our show, they don't know what that is. So do you mind just talking a little bit about what is an innovation teacher here in Lake Oswego and you know, [00:06:00] what does that space
SARAH VANNICE:: look like?
It's magic. It really is. So, a lot of people call it STEM learning or the STEM lab or the STEAM lab. I go for STEAM. So, of course, we, we enrich everything with science. We do a lot of scientific inquiry. We do a lot of engineering. We bring in technology as tools, but that isn't what we're focusing on, right?
That's the tool for the learning. We bring in art, student voice, and choice. We try to create spaces where children feel empowered. Where they can learn something new and be able to cooperate and work together, which is pretty cool. challenging. There are a lot of adults that have a hard time with that as well.
So when you're working with groups of two and three, you know, how do you compromise? How do you decide how to take all three ideas and enrich them into a single product?
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Which is very exciting. And I've been in your classroom numerous times actually, and it's very active and it's, Loud, but in a good way and kids are problem solving.
So I think it's, it's [00:07:00] fantastic to see the students and their interactions with you. But more importantly, the interactions with each other. So I think that's fantastic. When we talked about elementary gardens, how do you see like the next step of that? Like how would they be used in middle school or high school?
Kind of continuing what they started in elementary school.
SARAH VANNICE:: Oh, I think that passion, my hope anyway, right, is that children are going to be passionate about this and have the basic skills for understanding the life cycle of plants and hopefully where they know their food comes from. I know our middle schools and high schools not only have spectacular spaces, including greenhouses, and they also have a lot of food.
A lot more classes about agriculture and nutrition services, the culinary arts. I know like our high school is doing a farm to advanced school to farm works toward our CTE pathways. That's very
JENNIFER SCHIELE: exciting. And we do have those big solar flowers at both of our high schools that, you know, actually bring in enough energy to power all of our greenhouses and those outdoor [00:08:00] spaces.
So that's pretty exciting for us as well. Oh, it's gorgeous. Yeah, it is, it is very beautiful spaces. And we're actually going to be naming our outdoor space at LO High after one of our past superintendents in the next couple months, so that will be very exciting for, you heard it here first, everyone. It's going to be very exciting.
Community obviously is key to all of this. Could you share your experiences with how families and the community contribute to the success of our outdoor learning spaces?
SARAH VANNICE:: Well, everything comes down to being a village. Right. I've been in the district a lot of years and I can tell you that we have these, these waves where we'll have, you know, some really gung ho PTO enthusiasts and we'll get grants and we'll rebuild or we'll have, you know, a really passionate teacher that comes through and so we'll have this.
So our hope is that we're going to end up with a very systemic program where we could have volunteers that are trained, that are district wide, that can come in and help teach [00:09:00] us. Thanks. about how to garden. And so that regardless of somebody's comfort level as a gardener, we can still facilitate that with our students.
So it doesn't take a single person doing it. It's going to be the PTOs. It's going to be the the innovation specialists. It'll be the principals, it'll be the district, it'll be the facilities, right? Everybody's kind of working together to make sure that this can. can become something really powerful and equitable.
So each school of course still has room for their own flair for it and their own passions. But if we can just provide a basic framework, a place for people to start, regardless of whether or not they're comfortable, do I feel like I have a green thumb or they don't? I don't. You know, we just keep going.
We can make it happen.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: And you had mentioned earlier Stephanie Wagner, who, by the way, for our listeners, is getting an Educational Excellence Award from our Rotary, which is fantastic, and she sits on the School Board Sustainability Committee, which is fantastic, and she's a great example [00:10:00] of a volunteer here in Lake Oswego that gives her time and talent to our elementary gardens and really has helped with this curriculum.
And we're very, very thankful to her for all of the work that she's done with that, as well as Larry Zerker, who you did mention. He's also fantastic. So how do these gardens, like, how do they really align with our strategic plan, particularly regarding sustainability and curriculum integration?
SARAH VANNICE:: Well, the strategic plan, of course, explicitly states that we're going to use outdoor learning spaces to empower students and enhance their curriculum and their experiences as students.
You know, if we're looking at sustainability, we want to look at compost, we want to look at worm bins, we want to look at how we can do a chop and drop to prepare for winter and how do we weatherize things. We also want to look at, you know, how can we do organic farming. pest management or things that kind of take us beyond the basics.
You know, how can we take that next step? And so that's, that's, what's exciting. That's, that's coming. And I think, again, that's [00:11:00] part of that village idea. So, you know, I might say that and it might spark someone else to say, Oh, Hey, let's, you know, let's add to that.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Fantastic. So as you kind of mentioned, looking ahead, what's next for our gardens and then How will we measure the success of these programs?
Like, how are we going to be able to tell if what we're doing is working and the students are getting, you know, what we want from those outdoor spaces in the gardens?
SARAH VANNICE:: Well, again, my hope is that we can lift this into being a systemic program that is district wide. So, again, that we have this equitable experience beyond, you know, between and among all the elementary schools.
But my hope is that it will also then be able to run For years and years and years, where, you know, much like Art Lit, where it just kind of takes on its own life, and it continues to be passed down from, you know, one generation to the next, if you will. And I would say in terms of measuring success, I would look at participation clearly, but I think more than that, if we start [00:12:00] seeing children who are talking about it, you know, I was walking down the hall today, I was watering the plants and a fifth grader stopped me and said, Hey, these sunflowers are looking better than they did last year.
You know, that's that success. They noticed, they remember a year from now that, you know, last year, the sunflowers, we only had one variety this year. We have three and they're growing fantastic. So, you know, noticing what the conversation is. And. And one of the things I want to do next year is I want to build a sensory bed because, as you know, River Grove is going to be an inclusive school and I want to make sure that we, you know, our students that are impacted with sensory issues can maybe access that during recess time.
You know, so if we have things that you can touch and feel like lambs ear and herbs that you can smell and things that you can interact with, I think that that could be really beautiful.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: I think that's a great idea and you should definitely give that to all of our other schools. One thing I love about it is the idea that, you know, you mentioned earlier that sometimes you get a teacher who's really passionate or a parent who's really passionate, but we're trying to make [00:13:00] something that is consistent across every school and sustainable.
you know, well beyond both of us being in the district so that all Children from now to however long in the future could enjoy this. So I think that's what's super forward thinking and awesome about having our gardens in our outdoor spaces. And I would be remiss if I didn't Say one thing about the Three Sisters Garden, because as I mentioned earlier, I have two sisters in Lake Oswego, Patty and Angela, and the three of us have this garden at Lesher Farbs, so now I'm thinking I could do a Three Sisters Garden plaque for my little Lesher Farbs.
The only thing about that then is everybody who walks by there will know it's mine.
SARAH VANNICE:: Well, my students could make it for you out of clay. We are happy to do it.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: I would love if they do that, and I will hang that in our garden, and I, it's so much fun to be out there and be in that space, so I'm super excited that we're having this opportunity for all of our kids, so.
Thank you so much, Sarah, for being here and talking with me, and I'm really looking [00:14:00] forward to talking with the students now.
SARAH VANNICE:: Thank you.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Now let's hear from our youngest gardeners. Hi. Hi. Can you both introduce yourselves? Hi, my name is Rowan. Hi, my name is Devin. Hi Rowan and Devin. It's so amazing that you're here with us today.
Can you, Rowan, start off by telling me what do you love most about the gardening program? I
DEVYN:: really like that you get to Plants from seed and watch them grow and see all the hard work that you put into it and see it in progress and see the final product.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Fantastic. Good. How about you, Devin? What do you like?
Can you please introduce yourself and say what school you go to? Hi, my name is Devin and I also go to River Grove. Can you tell me what you love most about gardening program?
ROWAN:: I think it's really fun to also just like be able to just [00:15:00] interact with planting and knowing you can do something like this. And it's very fun to plant and watch it grow.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Sure. And Rowan, what's your favorite thing to grow?
DEVYN:: Some of my favorite things to grow are like very leafy plants, like kale and spinach. I also like growing carrots and root vegetables because you get to see plants. Okay, this is part of the plan, but the whole other part that's the big surprise. is underground and still growing.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Very cool. Yes, absolutely. And Devin, what is your favorite thing to grow?
ROWAN:: Last year I remember growing rosemary and that was really fun. It was really fun just to plant it and then it was really fun to see the like ending of what it looked like and what it was.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Yeah, and the way it smells, [00:16:00] right? Because rosemary has a really potent smell.
That's fantastic. So what other cool things have you learned in your innovation class? Why don't we start with you, Devin.
ROWAN:: I've learned a lot about building and a lot of cooperation comes with iLab. There's a lot of, like I said, building. There's a lot of Teamwork included. There's a lot of like planning included and going step by step
JENNIFER SCHIELE: really.
That's fantastic. Kind of problem solving with the team. Okay Rowan, how about you? What is your favorite thing to learn in iLab?
DEVYN:: I really like it when we get to like build and I like a lot of the art projects which is really fun. And getting to use the garden is also fun.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Now did you guys know that your teacher, who's right there with you right now, Ms.
Van Nise, is up for Teacher of the Year in Oregon? Did you know that?
ROWAN:: No.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: I know. Isn't that exciting? Yes. She's [00:17:00] fantastic, don't you think?
DEVYN:: Yeah, definitely.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Absolutely. 100%. Alright, and so I would be remiss if I did not ask you this, because next year you're moving into the brand new River Grove School. What are you most excited about, Rowan?
DEVYN:: I'm really excited about having a bigger field area. I'm also excited about having an upstairs, and I'm excited that, like, we're gonna have more room. And a huge P. E. area.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Absolutely. The building is fantastic and it's very large, so there's going to be a lot of space. How about you, Devin?
ROWAN:: I'm really excited for it to be a two story also.
And I'm really excited that, well, We get to have all those garden beds, and we do have a lot of, a lot more opportunities to like, at recess, not just play. We have opportunities to now garden, we have opportunities to read, and we have just more opportunities to do at [00:18:00] recess.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Yeah, I think you all are going to love your new school.
And there's all these little raccoons everywhere running around, not live ones, but in the walls. And it's super cute. So I think you guys are gonna love it. And you're gonna love the new iLab. And you're especially gonna love those brand new gardens. So thank you so much for being here today with us. I really appreciate you being on the show.
And I think that that's it. So have a wonderful day.
ROWAN:: Thank you
MARK KAY LARSON:: It's so inspiring to hear from our students. I just remember when we first moved to Lake Oswego and the gardens were starting off at a few of our elementary schools as passion projects and it's amazing to see how far the, the program has come and, and where it's heading.
So, really exciting to see what we're able to do in our passionate, creative community that we have here in LOSD. We're going to shift gears now to Where's Jen? Where's Jen? And we have so much going on that I think we're only going to be focusing on the next two [00:19:00] weeks. So Jen, I'll let you tee it up.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Yeah, we have some fantastic events coming up.
First, I want to encourage all adults in our community to attend Dr. Craig and Usher's. teens and screens presentation hosted by our very own L. O. S. D. CARES team at Lake Oswego Middle School on April 16th from 7 to 8 30. Since 2010 he has served as a program director for the child and adolescent psychiatry training at OHSU and it is sure to be enlightening.
I Every day life for us. So it's good to know as much as we possibly can about it. And then later that week on Saturday, April 20th, hold on to your hats, because there is so much going on that day from sunup to sundown at 1230 to three at our Lake theater. Our school resource officers with the city of Lake Oswego are hosting a documentary screening word is bond about empowering [00:20:00] young black men.
After the screening, there's going to be a panel discussion with members of our high school's Black Student Union. So we're really excited about that. Also, later that afternoon, head over to Lake Oswego High School for the third annual Asian Cultural Festival. This student organized event is a favorite of mine.
It features amazing, terrific food, arts and crafts, and entertainment, and before both of those events, from ten to one, our district is co hosting the 30th third annual Lake Oswego Sustainability Resource Fair at Lake Ridge Middle School. And this event brings together more than 30 organizations sharing resources and providing services to help us all become better stewards of our environment.
And in conjunction with the Sustainability Fair is a wildly popular Shifting Gears and Gifting Gears event. That event organizes and collects gently used bikes, scooters, helmets, and other recreational items for kids, and then it re gifts them all for free. So at that event, the Lake Oswego Police and the [00:21:00] bicycle specialists help outfit kids with properly fitting helmets and bikes.
So it's, it's going to be an amazing day in Lake Oswego. You will always find something to do between those four huge events on the same day. That was
MARK KAY LARSON:: all on Saturday, April 20th. So mark your calendars. My daughter is in the high school farming program and she's very proud of the tomatoes that they are growing.
So hoping that they'll have some to share with the community at the events that day. That wraps up our episode of Learning in Lake Oswego. Join us next time as we discuss school safety and. Explain our standard response protocols in detail.
JENNIFER SCHIELE: Until then, keep exploring and stay engaged. Class dismissed.
MICHELLE ODELL:: We hope you found this episode informative and helpful.
While our discussions are general, we understand each family's experience is unique. If you have specific questions about your child, please contact your [00:22:00] school principal. To learn more about the topics we discussed, visit us at Ask a question or share ideas for future episodes, please visit LOSDSchools.org. And remember to like and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for engaging with Learning in Lake Oswego. We appreciate your support and look forward to having you with us for our next episode.