The garden as a learning environment
The garden as a learning environment is in the spirit of modern times
What is now Finland’s only seminar (teacher’s college) garden was established on the Rauma Campus at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time teaching was considered too theoretical and alienated from real life but in the garden one could get their hands dirty and learning was concrete. The gardens also promoted public health and well-being.
Today, hundreds of millions of people in the world practice urban farming. Farming guarantees a regular, varied diet and is often a livelihood for many of the poorest people in cities. Urban farming is also trendy.
The garden is an inspiring learning environment in which practicality is combined with knowledge and deepens learning. Gardening plays an important role in building a relationship with nature and increasing environmental awareness for our pupils.
Garden activities enable realization of the curriculum
Participation, making a difference, and building a sustainable future:
Green Flag is a program that complements teaching. The Rauma Teacher Training School has been approved as an Eco-Schools Green Flag school based upon its operations and will continue to implement both national and local plans designed to strengthen a sustainable lifestyle. The school gardening activities help build active citizenship and pupils learn to recycle and use nature as a source of experiences and materials.
The University of Turku is a brave builder of a sustainable future and the pupils of the Rauma Teacher Training School are brave contributors to this future.
Taking care of yourself and life skills:
When gardening one learns about cultivation and how to grow, care for and repair things. A harvest that you have grown yourself can be processed and enjoyed. The garden teaches you how to produce food organically and responsibly. Coping with life in the future can be contributed to the ingenuity that often arises through one’s own experiences.
Food that you grow yourself is ethically sustainable.
Skills for working life and entrepreneurship:
Gardening enables entrepreneurship education. Classes can grow herbs, make apple jam, raise bees, and collect honey then sell their products or use them during home economics classes. It is also possible to make flower arrangements for everyone to enjoy or to sell or to grow flowers in the greenhouse to give as a gift.
The school’s pupils participate in national garden days, the school has a Christmas market, the Green Flag group sells products, classes raise money for field trips and children get to experience how to earn money through their own work.
The University of Turku is an entrepreneurship university and the Rauma Teacher Training School teaches entrepreneurship in order to develop knowledge and skills. All pupils participate in gardening activities at their own level. The activities develop ingenuity and the pupils grow into active citizens. Entrepreneurship requires creativity.
The garden serves as a high-quality learning and research environment
Pupils and teacher training students study the life of plants and do experiments with different growing conditions. Teaching through the garden provides motivation in many subjects, in the implementation of multi-disciplinary learning modules, and in various projects. The garden offers an abundance of inspiring learning experiences.
All school classes in grades 1-9 participate in gardening activities. The activities are planned in very close cooperation with the staff. Gardeners are ultimately responsible for the farming that takes place and often direct pupils’ activities in the garden. Teachers are responsible for the pedagogical utilization of the garden.
The garden is related to the teaching of several subjects, especially biology, home economics, and visual arts. Teaching naturally combines digital learning and gardening. Pupils practice taking pictures using their school iPad, identifying plants, and making presentations or videos. The garden also serves as a place of recreation and silence that increases well-being.
”Pikku Norssi” early childhood education and care also intends to utilize this unique learning environment.
The garden enables cooperation between the town and its residents
For Rauma residents, the old seminar (teacher’s college) garden is a source of pride and one of the most important places to utilize expertise for garden enthusiasts. The appreciation for the university and the professionalism of the staff can be seen during garden evenings and plant exchange days. The well-maintained garden grounds are explored by people of all ages. You can become familiar with over 400 species of plants in the seminar garden, orchard, and greenhouse.
Gardening is traditional, modern, and future-oriented at the same time
Gardening can embolden Rauma Teacher Training School pupils and teacher training students to question existing structures and come up with solutions to environmental problems by combining personal concrete experiences with the material studied. Garden education can inspire architects, food producers and makers, environmental planners, ecologists, and futurologists of the future. A rare learning environment and garden activities are bravely building the future.
Photos: Matti Varjo ja Ramona Raynor-Karjalainen