NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — One Metro school is celebrating the fruits of its labor in the form of a grant-funded, state-of-the-art project learning garden.

Pennington Elementary School was the recipient of a grant from Cox Enterprises and the Captain Planet Foundation for the garden.

According to a release from Cox Enterprises, a Project Learning Garden program provides a context for multidisciplinary learning, ranging from nutrition and science to social studies, math, and language arts. Students benefit by expanding their palates, taste-testing healthy foods, and learning about food origins; engaging in authentic science field investigations; manipulating the environment to understand math in real-life applications; recreating historical activities; and writing across all these disciplines.

Captain Planet Foundation, derived from the popular animated series, is a U.S. nonprofit organization that works to engage and empower young people to be "problem solvers for the planet." The Foundation's project learning program has provided more than 750 elementary schools nationwide with onsite learning laboratories and healthy food access.

According to Pennington Principal Raquel Gonzalez, the $6,000 grant went toward garden beds and soil, as well as supplies for planting, harvesting and cooking. Additionally, the grant award included a literacy kit for Pennington students and lifetime support.

The school celebrated the garden installation on Dia de Los Ninos, or Children's Day, which is celebrated on April 30 each year.

"This day is very important to all of our students because it is a day in which all of our students will be able to take their inquiry and exploration to a new level," Gonzalez said in a statement to News 2. "With the addition of our new garden, our students can now extend their learning environment to the outdoors.

The new hands-on exploration opportunity will aid in students math, science, health and literacy lessons, according to Gonzalez.

"As the saying goes, 'It takes a village,'" Gonzalez said in the statement. "I truly believe it takes a community to raise a child. Without the support of organizations like Captain Planet and Cox Enterprises we would not have this garden today."

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/pennington-elementary-school-celebrates-state-of-the-art-project-learning-garden/