Medicine in My Backyard: Sustainability PBL

Students investigate the impact of our food-growing systems on the environment growing local culinary and medicinal plants, then share their learning virtually with other classrooms.

Driving Question: How can we reduce the impact of our food-growing systems on the environment?

Students design an experiment (grounded in research on sustainable gardening practices) that tests two approaches to farming: traditional versus hydroponic, growing plants for cooking and-or medicine. Students communicate their findings in a lab report and then produce a digital essay that educates local and global gardening groups about sustainable food production. The 6 phases of the project are:

1-Visit a local farm or food-growing organization and develop a list of questions for their project.

2-Research different methods for growing food and design an experiment to test a method of interest.

3-Carry out experiments and reflect on the results.

4-Work in teams to develop a draft of a digital essay highlighting a food-growing method from one of their experiments

5-Participate in a critique protocol and use the feedback to revise digital essays

6-Create a presentation plan and present digital essay to their audience