Barbara Hall

Hall began “Go! Learn! Grow!” to have students gain a connection to the natural world and the food chain. Through her program, students will put into practice cooperation, creativity and innovation. She wants her students to become advocates for the environment, learn and appreciate the health benefits of fresh food and ultimately impact achievement through hands-on, project-based learning. By using math, literacy, science and social studies skills, students will grow vegetables and learn healthy eating habits and responsible gardening practices. They will eat and sell the produce they grow and share what they learn with the school community. The program includes cross-age mentoring with older students assisting younger students in the garden, ongoing garden maintenance activities for the older students and parent and community events that include meals cooked by students with the produce from the garden. Additionally, students will share their observations and findings via a blog and create podcasts. Hall also hopes to further involve and unify the community through outreach, communication and exchange of ideas about the community garden. Hall resides in Little Rock.