Scranton Elementary Students Cook Up Collards

Fourth-graders at Scranton Elementary School saw, and tasted, the fruits of their labor Friday when they harvested the school’s first crop of collards as part of a $10,000 America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund and awarded to Florence County School District Three.

Kelli Meeker, Moore Farms Botanical Garden’s Youth and Outreach Coordinator, showed students how to clean, prepare and cook the collards. Schools throughout the district have planted collards and students will harvest, prepare and cook the vegetables. Students also will be able to take some of the raw collards home.

To feed the world’s rapidly growing population and tackle many other global challenges, the country’s next generation of leaders will need to be highly-skilled in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). That’s why the America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, awarded a grant to FCSD3.

The district is using the funds to integrate curriculum, increase math and science performance, and most of all let nature serve as a teacher.

In addition to planting collards, the students received a Gardening 101 course by Moore Farms Botanical Garden and visited Pee Dee State Farmers Market. Over the course of the semester, students used their math skills to measure the size of the garden and to track the growth of the collards. They also used information learned in science to monitor the weather conditions during the planting season. Students researched and created brochures about their plants and participated in an art contest to create a “Captain Collard” mascot.

Earlier this year, farmers in Johnsonville nominated the district for consideration. After the nomination, the district developed its submission to enhance its STEM education offering an integrated approach to curriculum, application of math and science skills in the garden, and collaboration.