Mrs. Kincaid’s class at Williamsburg Christian Academy is participating in the Junior Master Gardener program. The class pictured with Master Gardener Kari Abbott, leader of the program, has just finished an activity to learn how water travels through the water cycle.
Junior Master Gardener Bugs and Books Class
Junior Master Gardeners are recent arrivals in Williamsburg, starting to reach out to schools in 2005.
Junior Master Gardeners are a 4-H Project that is taught by James City County/Williamsburg Master Gardeners.
Here in James City County the Junior Master Gardener Project goes to the public and private schools in James City County and Williamsburg to teach the children about Plant Growth and Development; Soils; Water; Habitats; Environmental Horticulture; Insects; Landscape Horticulture; Fruits, Vegetables, and Nuts. We try to focus on Virginia's resources, plants, animals, trees, and waterways. The classes are interactive, and thus they are fun for the children to attend.
Currently the JMG project is in three schools in the area. In one school we are an after school club. In the 2005-2006 School year we are teaching a class that will educate the children about the balance of nature focusing on earth (soils, minerals), water (water cycle, watersheds), plants and animals (the types of both plants and animals that exist at each layer of a habitat and ecosystem). At the second school, we follow a science curriculum and supplement it with gardening knowledge. Two examples are 1) The children will grow herbs this year as an example of a plant they can a) grow , b) propagate c) harvest and dry, and d) use in cooking to tie in to other work the children are doing. 2) Later in the year we will do a comprehensive study of weather, water cycles, and clouds. JMG Master Gardeners will tie weather to gardening and how important the water cycle is to plant and tree life.
In the third school, there will be a yearlong supplement to the science classes. Building on the 8-week tree and habitat class, we conducted last year, this year we will add new and exciting materials to keep the children excited about science.
JMG conducts a summer camp class on insects. In 2005, there were lots of insects, activities, guest speakers, and fun. Look for a new creepy crawly class in the summer of 2006.
JMG is an exciting project, we are creating a curriculum to teach the children of the County that really reflects the knowledge level of the children, and the wonderful resources we have in this great state. We interface with several other agencies in Virginia to get the best information possible. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; Project Learning Tree, Project WILD, Project WET, Project Wild for School Sites, York River State Park, and many more
Junior Master Gardeners in James City County and Williamsburg are
implementing the 4-H motto, "To make the best better"!
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