Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.54
Liaison Elaine Durr
Submission Date Feb. 19, 2020

STARS v2.2

Elon University
IN-49: Innovation C

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 0.50 Kelly Harer
Associate Director of Sustainability for Education and Outreach
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Elon University/Eastlawn Elementary School Garden Club Partnership

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:

Elon University has a partnership with a local school, Eastlawn Elementary School, that focuses on environmental education, school gardens, food justice, and sustainability. Undergraduates in two courses, Environmental Education (a fall course) and Garden-Based Learning (a spring course), assist with the maintenance of the school garden at Eastlawn and help facilitate Garden Club for 3rd-5th graders every Tuesday after school. This partnership began in Fall 2018 and is ongoing. In Environmental Education, each student spends about 10 hours throughout the semester at Eastlawn helping with the garden and Garden Club. Garden-Based Learning is an Academic Service-Learning course, so each student spends about 30 hours during the semester at Eastlawn, the community partner for the course. In the Fall of 2019, Dr. Scott Morrison received a $4,000 Community Partnership Initiative grant from the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement at Elon University. These funds were used to expand the garden, plant fruit trees and bushes, provide gravel walkways in the garden, and enhance the composting system. Dr. Morrison also hosts workshops for Eastlawn teachers on how to incorporate the garden into their lessons. In addition, this partnership was the focus of an undergraduate research study, “Examining the Social-Emotional Effects of a School Garden at a Title I Elementary School.” The findings of the study were overwhelmingly positive: nearly all student journal entries described positive garden experiences and all of the teachers indicated they had an overall positive experience and would use the garden again.


A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.