As a rule, gardening is not the first thing that comes to a high school student’s mind when thinking of “exciting” activities. But for a group of students at Memorial High School in West New York, a recent class project proved that tending a garden can be fun and rewarding, if not exciting.
Laura Zelenka, an environmental sciences teacher at Memorial, is nothing if not passionate about nature and man’s role within it. On a recent visit to Memorial, The Reporter experienced first-hand Zelenka’s infectious enthusiasm for teaching her students about nature. Her speech was loud and rapid, and as she described her class’ gardening project, she became positively effusive.
Zelenka’s plan was simple – to get her WNY born-and-bred students, kids who aren’t normally surrounded with gardens, involved in the nuts and bolts of gardening and teach them a thing or two about environmental science. She wanted the students to not only see the fruits of their labor, but to know why nature works like it does.
Said Zelenka, “We try to cultivate – no pun intended – an interest in sustaining the environment. I thought bringing them back here and having them digging in the dirt gives some valuable lessons.”
Behind the cafeteria
“Back there” is a plot behind the Memorial cafeteria that, according to the students and Zelenka, was for years nothing but a blank parcel of dirt and discarded boxes. It was a place where someone might take a smoke break and flick their butts.
According to Food Service Director Sal Velenza, who helped out with the project, “We had done this seven or eight years ago with our food service employees, but then it just kind of ended. This time around, we have some donations coming in from Lowe’s, and Home Depot said they would make a donation. We also have bake sales.”
Using donated materials such as rakes, wheelbarrows and dirt, Zelenka and her Environmental Sciences students set about to transform the parcel of land into a living, growing collection of flowers and vegetables.
Said Zelenka, “We’ve planted some plants that hopefully will attract butterflies. We’ve also planted pumpkins and gourds which will come up in the fall, and when these guys come back from their summer vacation – well, not the seniors – but the others will be able to see them.”
Zelenka is a member of the Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education. According to the organization’s web site, ANJEE is a non-profit organization including teachers and environmentalists “who care about developing and conserving New Jersey’s natural habitat and resources.”
Life lessons
Developing New Jersey’s natural habitat is important to Zelenka, but what is perhaps more important is fostering a sense of responsibility and accountability in an age group that isn’t always known for it. According to many of the gathered students, the garden project took more than just attending a 45-minute class and plodding around in the dirt. Many of the students gave up valuable after-school time, and some would bring along “ratty” clothes like old t-shirts, jogging pants and sneakers if they knew they would be wielding a spade to plant a bulb or digging with a shovel.
Said junior Evelyn Lara, 18, “I think it is a great learning experience, and there’s so much to learn. There are so many soils, and some of it has to be a certain temperature. It was fun.”
Junior Christiane Soares, 18, actually brought some experience to the project. Said Soares, “It’s pretty cool. I began gardening with my grandmother when I was younger. The only thing I didn’t know about was all the different plants. There are so many.”
The assembled students seemed to have a universally positive attitude toward the project and the class in general. Of course, there were students who remained pragmatic about it. Said Daniella Diaz, a 16-year-old sophomore, “I like it. It’s fun. It’s better than being in a normal class.”