Grow Malabar project will bring urban agriculture to Mansfield City Schools

Research suggests school gardening programs increase student participation and involvement and boost academic success

By Katie Ellington
Richland Source
May 19, 2021

Excerpt:

Students at Malabar Intermediate School are about to get their hands dirty.

Malabar will begin an on-campus urban farming initiative next school year. By the time classes resume in autumn, there will be a high tunnel behind the school where students can grow their own crops.

Malabar Principal Tom Hager said one goal of the urban farm initiative is to get students more engaged in their learning.

“Last spring we were talking about we need to do things differently,” Hager said. “We just need to do more outside of the box, hands-on activities.”

The district is working with the North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC) and Richland Gro-Op, a collaborative of urban and rural micro farmers in Richland County, to craft the program.

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