At Abington Friends School one day a few years ago, some teachers surveyed the 50 acre campus and suggested how great it would be to have a garden outside and for the students and clubs to use them for science classes and other learning opportunities. And thus, after some deep thinking and planning the Meadow Garden was planted.

“Given that we had been apart for some time due to COVID-19, it seemed like the time and place were ripe for us to be able to do this,” says Mike McGlinn, who has been a middle school teacher at AFS for five years.

After getting everything set up and in the ground, he got a group of students involved in helping maintain it.

Nikki Kent, a middle school health teacher at AFS for nearly 20 years, agrees that outdoor learning is hugely beneficial. 

“The school’s policy during the height of the pandemic was to be outside as much as possible,” says Kent, who also taught science this school year. “This was a great way to get kids out there doing something meaningful.”

Getting outside and digging in the dirt inspires authentic, transformative learning in the science classroom. A lot of kids don’t know what goes into their food or what kind of practices are involved that might not be healthy for them or for the planet.

By working in the Meadow Garden, however, students get their hands in the dirt and are there for every piece of the growing cycle. They learn the science behind it, food justice and sovereignty throughout the process. 

“What I absolutely love is the kids are willing to try vegetables, and they’re proud of their vegetables,” says McGlinn. “They don’t want to waste anything. When Nikki and I go around with the peppers in the fall that have come out of the garden, there’s a real sense of ownership and attachment, and the kids have a sense of inner joy about it.” 

Head of School, Rich Nourie, has said after an intensive two-year planning process, “We as a school community have reached a new moment of clarity about what education can and must be at Abington Friends School as we move together into a fourth century of Friends education.”

According to Kent, teaching environmental science and sustainability is everything.

“We’re so reliant on resources, and we all know what’s happening in the environment, so these are just key things,” she says. “In 30 years, these will be the leaders. And the fact that they’re learning the impact now, hopefully we’ll help them become industry leaders, looking after the environment, looking after sustainability. We’ve moved away from that as a world, and it’s time to go back.”

Adds McGlinn, “The Earth sustains us. We don’t sustain the Earth.” 

Abington Friends School has proudly introduced their five-year strategic plan for 2022-2027. Envisioning the Fourth Century of Friends Education. Learn more about our emphasis on transformative experiential learning and all the actions we are taking to live out our School’s mission in the next five years.