Library Media Specialist Jennifer Georgia received a 2025 Spring Grant from GBAPS Education Foundation for $4,200. The goal of the grant was to implement an aeroponic garden project in the Martin School Library. The purpose of the garden was to:

• enhance interdisciplinary learning by serving as a hands-on teaching tool for a variety of subjects, including health, science, math, literacy, and social skills;
• incorporate real-life application in to the classroom curriculum;
• increase students' knowledge of health and nutrition;
• encourage collaboration and communication among students; and
• boost student engagement and interest in school for the purpose of reducing absenteeism.

The following describes how each grade interacted with the garden in an age appropriate way. 

Kindergartners: Kinders brainstormed what they knew about seeds and what they wanted to know about seeds to create a KWL chart. They planted bib lettuce and arugula seeds in rockwool.

Grade 1: Students in grade 1 learned how to make scientific diagrams. They drew a plant of their choice and labeled the parts. They also came back weeks later and drew the same plant and labeled it. They were able to see the difference between seedlings and adult plants.

Grade 2: Students learned about aeroponic gardening and compared traditional gardening to aeroponic gardening using a venn diagram. 

 

Grade 3: Third graders learned about the lifecycle of an arugula plant and how, without pollinators in our aeroponic gardens, our arugula plants don't create seeds, thus not completing the life cycle. 

 

Grade 4: Fourth graders created an experiment to compare how bib lettuce grows with LED light vs. natural light. Each pair measured their plants weekly for 9 weeks and counted the number of leaves on their assigned plant. They then graphed and analyzed their data. Each group split their bib lettuce plant in half to take home and share with their family.

 

Grade 5: Fifth graders learned about nutrients that make us healthy and what nutrients arugula and bib lettuce provides for us. They also completed a "taste" test, comparing the taste of store-bought arugula and bib lettuce to aeroponic grown arugula and bib lettuce.