Kathleen Boling

Boling's "Bagdad Courtyard Garden" project creates an outdoor learning environment for pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The primary goal is to teach science curriculum in a hands-on context. The environment includes a Texas Pioneer Garden with direct ties to regional history, a composting section, and several habitats: butterfly and hummingbird garden, pond, and desert habitat with a fossil dig area. Students gain experience through tasks commensurate with their grade levels and participate in clearing, planting, maintaining, and analyzing the environment. The result is a permanent teaching laboratory of lasting benefit to the school and community.