DIG, an elective “discovery class,” provides a hands-on experience in organic gardening to interested 7th and 8th grade students. Lessons on the history of agriculture, the science behind modern farming, and the effects of practices like monoculture on the environment are complemented by first-hand experiences that take full advantage of the school’s many green spaces. Students plant, tend to, and harvest crops from their individual beds in the Nettie Coit Teaching Garden, using homemade compost from the Compost Arena as fertilizer along the way. Some start their seedlings early in the Greenhouse, and, after the harvest, all enjoy the classes on cooking with hyper-local produce, which take place in the Saphier Kitchen, a specially-designed cooking classroom in the MS building. Lessons on animal husbandry draw a stark contrast between the school chickens, allowed to roam free through the Nettie Coit Garden during the day, and those living in cramped, dark warehouses. Students in this class typically take on a group capstone project that applies principles learned earlier in the year to improve one of the aforementioned spaces for the benefit of future students.
Dwight-Englewood in the Garden (DIG)
