Jennifer Madland

Madland’s innovative teaching idea, “School Community Garden,” will create an outdoor learning station in the garden creating a hands-on living laboratory for the students to explore and learn across many subject areas like science, math and language arts. It will allow the school community to have access to growing and harvesting healthy fruits and vegetables and build a connection with the land by practicing sustainable organic farming techniques. It will not only create an ideal habitat to attract important native pollinators like Mason bees and butterflies, but the garden will also provide fresh produce during school mealtimes. The Voya Unsung Heroes grant will help Madland purchase needed materials for the garden, including umbrellas, irrigation lines, soil and manure.