Giving Garden

Welcome to the Giving Garden

Prairie’s Giving Garden is a space on campus that serves to support our school curriculum, as well as our community at large. Driven by the efforts of teachers across all divisions, the aim of maintaining the Giving Garden is to teach students about environmental sustainability, as well as the benefits and processes of growing your own food.

Any student is welcome to contribute their time and energy to the Giving Garden. The Primary School classes (Pre-K through Grade 5) are most directly involved, using the garden spaces for classroom instruction and reading time whenever it benefits the lesson being taught. With the help of the Middle School Giving Garden Club, all Primary School students help to plant the garden each Spring and in the Fall, Early School and Kindergarten students help the Middle Schoolers harvest. Art classes even use garden spaces and all students have access to sit in the garden to read, play games, or enjoy their lunches in the sunshine. Students and members of the Prairie community may also volunteer time to help maintain the garden throughout the year, including the summer months.

Students grow, tend, and harvest several varieties of plants in the Giving Garden, as well as Prairie’s on-campus greenhouse — including vegetables, fruit, herbs, even edible flowers.

Our kitchen staff is committed to keeping our garden productive as some of the food students grow is used in the Dining Room for school lunches.  The rest of the produce is harvested and donated to our local community food bank.

Students here at The Prairie School learn about the importance of good nutrition and see first-hand where our food comes from by getting their hands dirty in the Giving Garden. These trips are supplemented by lessons in the classroom about biology, nutritional science, and environmental stewardship.  From Early Schoolers pulling potatoes from the ground to Upper Schoolers managing service projects, the Giving Garden plays an essential role in the life of the Prairie School student.

Contact Us

Christine Henke Mueller
Giving Garden Coordinator
Middle School Teacher

(262) 752-2579

Glimpse Inside the Garden