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Planting Seeds Of Learning

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By B.C. MANION

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 4, 2008

LUTZ - Learning Gate Community School, which sits on 27 wooded acres, isn't your typical school.

It's a place where children tend an organic garden, do research in a log cabin library and sit behind desks in an eco-friendly, modular classroom.

This week the school celebrated the opening of its first modular classroom building, and it plans to open two more in the fall.

When the project is finished, the school hopes to achieve a Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation.

It's a lofty ambition.

Only three schools in the nation have received the platinum distinction, and none is modular buildings.

Principal Patti Girard said constructing eco-friendly classrooms is a natural extension of the school's mission to promote good stewardship of the Earth.

That quest began 25 years ago when Girard set up a private preschool with a focus on the environment.

She was influenced by her father, Ernest Wargo, who taught her to love Florida and its natural places.

"He told us a long time ago that water was going to run out, and the Everglades are going to be in trouble."

He taught her about the balance in nature and how it can be a good teacher.

"When my first son was 2 years old, I said, 'You know, I've got to start teaching him now.'"

Over the years, the school has grown, switching from a private school to a public charter school in 2000.

Its emphasis on learning from nature has never wavered.

Recently, third- and fifth-graders were given a writing assignment: "Take your journal and a pencil to a quiet spot in the garden. Sit quietly. Breathe and clear your mind. Write about the sounds that you hear."

Children learn about science in the garden, too.

They see the life cycle of plants, and they experiment, too. There's a spot in the garden for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade science projects.

Recycling is part of the school's culture.

There are recycling bins in every building, and rain barrels capture runoff to water plant beds.

There's even a "no idle" zone in front of the school - where parents are asked to turn off their cars while waiting to pick up their kids.

The goal is to provide "authentic, hands-on learning," Girard said.

The school has about 500 students, in kindergarten through eighth grade, coming from all over Hillsborough and Pasco counties. It has a waiting list of about 300.

The school's work has attracted notice.

In April, it received two awards from the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission. One acknowledges the school's use of a 1920s log cabin that was moved from the path of development. The other award hails the school's environmental accomplishments.

The school also has been honored by the Tampa Estuary Program, Keep Hillsborough Beautiful and other groups.

Recently, it learned that it won the top spot in the nation in the Rodale Institute's 2007 Organic School Garden Awards contest.

The Rodale judges have stringent standards, said Dan Sullivan, senior editor at The Rodale Institute. "We have schools from all over the country compete. We look at them the entries pretty rigorously."

One thing that made Learning Gate stand out is its use of organic gardening to teach students about other topics, Sullivan said.

For instance, children learned to pair three sister plants - corn, beans and squash - a practice that was common among Native Americans, Sullivan said. It works well because corn grows up and provides a trellis for the beans, while the squash provides a natural mulch mat.

Teaching across disciplines is a vital part of the school's approach, Girard said. The curriculum revolves around three ecosystems: fresh water, saltwater and forest.

The school gets good results. It has been an A school five years in a row by the state Department of Education.

Twelve-year-old MacKenzie Craig, a seventh-grader, thinks highly of the school.

"It's one-of-a-kind," she said. "You're probably not going to find another one like it in the country."

She likes the fact that it's relatively small for a public school. "You get more attention," she said.

Erin Johnson, 13, another seventh-grader, said "the curriculum is really advanced, but I think it's easier to learn."

She thinks that's because students get to spend time in fresh air instead of being stuck behind desks all day. "It's so hands-on learning," she said. "It's just amazing."

The school aims to make learning relevant and fun, Girard said. "Kids always want to know: "Why are we learning this?'" Girard said.

She understands.

That's how she feels when she's at a conference.

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 865-1507 or bmanion@tampatrib.com.

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