GARDENStoGROW: Urban Horticulture for Innovative and Inclusive Early Childhood Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

GARDENStoGROW: Urban Horticulture for Innovative and Inclusive Early Childhood Education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Inclusion – equity; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Project Summary

Increasing quality and equity of ECEC services is a priority for all EU countries and can make a strong contribution, through enabling and empowering all children to realise their potential. Urban Horticulture has proved to be a powerful tool for education, socialisation and inclusion and for improving the sense of belonging to the community.
GARDENStoGROW provides ECEC teachers with an innovative teaching methodology, tools and materials to foster inclusive attitudes and key competences acquisition from a very early stage of child development (3-6) through horticulture.
This is made possible thanks to a balanced, transnational and complementary cooperation with pre-primary and primary schools, children’s and science museums, STEM centres, universities and local educational authorities.
Educational gardens, with an active support and inputs from school teachers and local stakeholders, can become permanent and living learning places for schools, pupils, children and families, where they can meet and learn from each other.
During the entire project duration (30 months) 11 different partners – 4 schools, 2 children’s museums, 1 STEM Center, 2 universities, 1 foundation and 1 research centre from Italy, the UK, Spain and Bulgaria – produced 4 IOs:
• IO1 GARDENStoGROW Inventory: a framework of inclusive practices and activities carried out in gardens by ECEC schools in 4 European countries: Italy, the UK, Spain and Bulgaria, identifying skills and competences needed by teachers and ECEC professionals to successfully carry out them (surveys, inventory of educational gardens and creative sessions with teachers);
• IO2 GARDENStoGROW Methodology Guidelines: technical guidelines for educational gardens, with step-by-step construction and additional technical information, completed by evaluation grids on how to monitor inclusiveness during an educational activity and a set of observation categories to set the basis for an inclusive child-adult relationship;
• IO3 GARDENStoGROW Educational Materials & Training course: an online course named GARDENStoLEARN, in a dedicated platform – Explora Education – with 3 different modules on how to establish and sustain an educational garden, how to design, develop and manage educational gardens, theory on inclusion, hands-on workshops for early childhood and community, completed by an international training course with the participating organisations, several national events and the creation of pilot gardens in each country;
• IO4 Learning, Affordable, Inclusive and Open Gardens for Innovative ECEC practices: a pilot gardens catalogue, tips on inclusive education and a set of recommendations, exploring the multiple benefits of educational gardens, providing evidence and seeking links with global, European and national policy priorities.
The project implemented 7 transnational meetings, 2 learning and teaching activities and several evaluation and communication activities.
GARDENStoGROW involved more then 1,800 participants in the activities and results: ECEC teachers and school leaders, teacher trainers and educators, personnel of children’s/Science Museums/STEM Centers and other ECEC teacher training providers; HEIs researchers and students, civil society organisations, pupils and families.
Besides the Intellectual Outputs, the project produced: a project website, communication on social media and partners’ websites, a growing community with the involved stakeholders, several recommendations and teaching documents useful for teachers and educators willing to create inclusive educational gardens and hands on workshops.
On a longer term, the project will impact on the quality of the ECEC sector by:
• offering teachers and pupils aged 3-6 the opportunity to enrich their curriculum and competences based on a non formal and hands-on approach and an innovative tool for social inclusion or marginalised pupils, through educational content provided in open format in the learning platform Explora Education;
• improving the capacities of schools of operating in partnerships with key local actors, including children’s and science museums, STEM centres, foundations and research centres/universities;
• evaluating in a long term perspective the efficacy and role of extra-curricular hands-on workshops based urban and social horticulture;
• reinforcing cooperation between practice, research and policy.
Thanks to GARDENStoGROW pupils and families, including those at risk of marginalisation, will benefit for better ECEC services, innovative pedagogical activities with motivated teachers. They will find in the pilot gardens a place for socialisation and inclusion and more opportunities for learning and experiencing direct contact with nature.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 359295 Eur

Project Coordinator

MUSEO DEI BAMBINI SOCIETA COOPERATIVA SOCIALE ONLUS & Country: IT

Project Partners

• FUNDACIÓN TIERRA INTEGRAL
• ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO CLAUDIO ABBADO
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PARMA
• SOUTH WEST COLLEGE
• MUZEIKO FOUNDATION
• STEPS SRL
• Dungannon Primary School