Smart by Nature: Making Learning Connections between the Classroom, Lunchroom, and Garden
Smart by Nature: Making Learning Connections between the Classroom, Lunchroom, and Garden
June 21 2011
David Brower Center, Berkeley, CA
Sorry, this seminar is now sold out.
June 21-23, 2011: Food connects many of our most important concerns. Good nutrition is vital to academic achievement. The ways in which we grow, process, market, prepare, and dispose of food are central to questions of sustainability. Improving school food and nutrition education are key to addressing major public health issues. Children learn best through combinations of hands-on and brains-on experiences in diverse settings.
This three-day professional development opportunity, directed by leaders in the field, will offer interdisciplinary learning about food, culture, health, and the environment.
It is designed to support teams from schools and districts wanting to integrate academic curricula with school gardens, lunchrooms, classroom culinary experiences, and environmentally sustainable practices. Participants will explore the interconnectedness of the ecological principles underlying sustainable food systems, personal and community health, and how food provides a window into understanding cultures.
The seminar will feature:
• an introduction to a variety of inspiring hands-on curricula that
increase students' knowledge, skills, and values about food and food systems;
• dialogue about current research that validates the importance of healthy eating for academic success and positive correlations between exposure to healthy food choices at school and students' preferences for a wider variety of nourishing foods;
• presentations from nutrition services leaders who have improved school meals in their districts;
• a site visit to a local school which is successfully making learning connections between academic subjects, the school garden, the lunchroom, and classroom cooking experiences;
• opportunities for teams to work with experienced leaders to develop site plans that improve teaching and learning and increase the amount of healthy food available to students at their schools.
Registration includes:
Healthy and delicious breakfast and lunch on all three days
The Center for Ecoliteracy's acclaimed
Rethinking School Lunch Guide
Big Ideas: Linking Food, Culture, Health, and the Environment
DVD and curriculum guide for PBS
feature presentation Nourish
Teams are required and must include a minimum of two members, at least one of
whom is a classroom teacher. We highly encourage applications from teams
of three to five people — ideal team members include
administrators, teachers, food
service directors, garden and kitchen classroom coordinators, school board
members, and parents.
Cosponsored by the Oakland Unified School District
