Season: Spring

Unit Title: Garden Ethic

Possible sources of Integration: science, social studies

Key Words: land ethic

Link to Content Standards:

LAHS-S3C4-01: Write a persuasive composition

Brief Summary of Unit (including curriculum and unit goals):

The last unit of the year asks students to consider their relationship with the land and how a land ethic can promote sustainability. After reading pieces by Aldo Leopold, Henry David Thoreau, and Michael Pollan, students will write their own land ethic and how this ethic can encourage long-term sustainability. The students’ final project allows them to implement these ethics in creative, hands-on projects that contribute to the garden. Students will work the teacher to develop their proposal. They will need at least three weeks plan and implement their projects.

What enduring understandings are desired?

Students will understand:

  • Our relationship with the land helps to shape our cultural and environmental landscapes.
  • Our attitudes towards the land affect our long-term sustainability.

What essential questions will guide this unit and focus teaching and learning?

  • What are your environmental values?
  • How do your environmental ethics influence your daily life?
  • How might these ethics create more sustainable communities?
  • What can you contribute to the long-term sustainability of the garden?

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?

Students will know:

  • Key terms: land ethic
  • Their relationship with the land can help foster more sustainable environments and communities.
  • They are capable to contributing to their community in positive and creative ways.

Students will be able to:

  • Design and implement their own project in the garden.

What evidence will show that students understand?

Performance Tasks (summarized)

  • Garden Ethic: After reading different examples of land ethics, students will compose their own piece outlining their environmental ethics.
  • Final Projects: Students will brainstorm, research, design, and implement their own garden project that encourages the long term sustainability of the space.

Quizzes, Tests, Prompts, and Work Samples (summarized)

  • n/a

Unprompted Evidence (e.g., observations and dialogues)

  • Teacher observations of students during work on the performance tasks.
  • Participation in class discussions and reflection questions.

A Garden Ethic

Objective:

  • To define land ethic and how this shapes our cultural and environmental landscapes.

Standards:

  • LAHS-S3C4-01

Materials:

  • Leopold, Aldo. A Sand Country Almanac. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1966), 237-251.
  • Krutch, Joseph Wood, ed. Walden and Other Writings by Henry David Thoreau. “The Bean Field.”(New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1962), 219-228.
  • Pollan, Michael. Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education. (New York, NY: Grove Press, 1991), 190-196.
  • Environmental Ethic assignment

Directions:

Engaging Question:

  1. When you say you live in a community, how do you define that community?
  2. What do you think the term land ethic means? A land ethic is our perception of the environment. This term was first coined by Aldo Leopold, who wrote the book A Sand County Almanac. In it he wrote that we need a “new ethic”, an “ethic dealing with man’s relation to the land and to the animals and plants which grow upon it.”
  3. Read the excerpt from Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac. Discuss as a class:
  4. How do you think gardening fits in Leopold’s land ethic? Does gardening not exercise control and domination over nature—defining certain plants as weeds and pulling them, for example?
  5. What do you think our current land ethic as a culture is? Often our current land ethic divides lands into two categories—nature and civilization. What are the implications of this? An all-or-nothing attitude that sees parts of nature as places to be protected (parks, monuments) and other parts that are developed as void of nature (cities). Sees nature that is not protected as a resource to exploit.
  6. Do you agree with Leopold that private landowners need to take on more responsibility? How would you recommend we encourage this? What responsibility does our government have in this process, if any?

A Garden Ethic:

  1. If time, also read “The Bean Field” by Thoreau. Next read the excerpt from Michael Pollan’s Second Nature. Highlight the ten points that Pollan outlines.
  2. As a class, discuss the points of Pollan’s ethic that resonate most with them. Students should write a five-paragraph essay that outlines their own environmental ethic. They should be encouraged to use the ideas presented by Leopold, Thoreau, and Pollan, and any others.
  3. Students should be given class time to write and develop their essays. They should also present their ethic to the class.

Name: ______

Environmental Ethic

Write an essay that outlines your own personal environmental ethic. What experiences have led you to this perspective? How might this perspective help us to lead more sustainable lives?

Your essay should:

  • Cleary state your environmental ethic in 1-2 sentences.
  • Have at least 3 supporting paragraphs explaining your ethic
  • Explain to the reader the personal experiences that you have had that have lead you to this ethic—gardening, camping, eating local food, ect.
  • Explain to the reader how this ethic will encourage more sustainable communities. Why is this ethic important? Convince the audience that your ethic is good and just.
  • Be carefully written without grammatical or spelling errors

Final Projects

Objective:

  • To implement the year’s lessons in a creative project that contributes to the garden.

Materials:

  • Project proposal worksheet
  • Pending student projects

Directions:

As a way to apply the lesson’s that students have learned throughout the year, this final presentation assignment will be a hands-on exploration of topics of their choosing. Allow the students at least three to four weeks to brainstorm, research, design, and implement their projects. Project may be done in groups or individually. Projects should contribute to the garden in a positive, sustainable way. Possible ideas could include:

Design a pollinator garden. Complete a plant species list and draw a map to scale outlining the site. Include rainwater harvesting and irrigation plans, specific locations of plants, and notes on maintenance. Design an interpretative sign for the site or write a small grant for proposal.

Create a piece of art for the garden. Work with others to design and create a mural. Or make clay statues or still life pieces. Be creative and interpret the garden in a creative way!

Design and build a community sitting space for the garden. Perhaps a bench and picnic table. Or draft plans to build a gazebo. What recycled materials could be used for such a project? What kind of space would be comfortable for people of all ages.

Develop a proposal to work with senior citizens from the Peaks Senior Community throughout the year connected to gardening. Identify 8-10 meaningful activities you could do with seniors. Write a materials list, the cost of each item, and come up with dates for these workshops. Write a proposal for someone to fund this project. Include why you think this would be a meaningful project, who would participate, what they would do, when they would do it, and how they would do it.

Create a rainwater harvesting system for the garden that helps to irrigate the garden. Research rainwater harvesting techniques and design and implement a system that works for our garden.

Final Projects will need to be approved by the teacher to ensure that the project is feasible and can successfully be accomplished without significant financial investment. Students should complete a project proposal before they begin their work. They should write a two page summary of what they accomplished and what they learned. A 15-minute presentation describing their work should be presented to the class.

Name: ______

Final Project Proposal

Summary of your Presentation and Project (what is your proposed project, what purpose will it serve for the garden and/or group, list all other information will be helpful.)

______

Sketch

Materials Needed (Please list all):

______