1. An organic school garden …
coming into being
Nektarios Tsagliotis
Teacher-Researcher, 9th Primary School of Rethymno &
University of Crete (ntsag@edc.uoc.gr)

2. An initial school garden plan (2007)

3. An improved school garden plan (2008)
Wooden raised beds Built raised beds Compost chambers
Pond
Main entrance
Area: ~ 210 m2
Greenhouse
Raised level garden

4. This is how the place looked like in the beginning …
not very promising …
August 2006 ...

5. School garden 2009-2010

6. First things first … building a fence and basic
infrastructure with rain water drainage facilities (a)

7. First things first … building a fence and basic
infrastructure with rain water drainage facilities (b)

8. Putting up the fence net …

9. Building up raised beds outside the fence for climbing
plants … struggling with lots of soil all over the place

10. Building up the main corridor … a pathway to the garden
… measuring and arranging
the base of the raised beds
to be built

11. The first raised beds are being built …

12. Some soil is put inside the raised beds … and the watering
pipes in between the gravel corridors are established

13. Time for action …!!! Planting the climbing plants on the
garden fence with grade 6 children

14. More soil to be put inside the raised beds …
come on, stand in the row and help … (a)

15. More soil to be put inside the raised beds …
come on, stand in the row and help … (b)

16. Planting some vegetables … in May 2007
… our first attempt to grow plants in the raised beds

17. Consortium of Countries and Schools of Comenius 1 Project
“Solar Energy: Awareness & Action”
Colexio de
Educación Infantil Scuola Secondaria
e Primaria di 1° Drado C.B.
Froebel, Galicia, Cavour, Catania,
Pontevedra Sicilia
9th Primary school
of Rethymno
Escola Antré Stella Maris
Soares Norte, College Junior
Braga School

18. Consortium of Countries and Schools of Comenius 1 Project
“Solar Energy: Awareness & Action”
http://9dim-rethymn.reth.sch.gr/contents_en/Downloads/SEAA_Project%20Activities_2005-2008.pdf

19. Experimenting with a greenhouse model out of a
cardboard box …

20. Constructing greenhouse models

21. Testing greenhouse models out in the school yard

22. Preparing seed plants for our small greenhouses set up in
the garden … (a)

23. Preparing seed plants for our small greenhouses set up in
the garden … (b)

24. Greenhouses … in action

25. Greenhouses … in action

26. Transplanting the seed plants in the raised beds
April 2008 …

27. Transplanting the seed plants in the raised beds
April 2008 …

28. Our plants are growing inside the raised beds
early May 2008 …

29. Our plants are growing inside the raised beds
late May 2008 …

30. This year we aimed high … for a bigger and
permanent greenhouse

31. … and this is what we obtained (3,8 x 2,5 m)

32. Setting up the ground for the base of the greenhouse …

33. Setting up the base of the greenhouse …

34. Teachers’ group work in assembling the greenhouse …
December 2008 …

35. Teachers’ group work in assembling the greenhouse …

36. Teachers’ group work in assembling the greenhouse …

37. The finished greenhouse in its place …

38. The greenhouse … houses the seed-plants

39. The greenhouse … houses the seed-plants

40. The greenhouse … houses the seed-plants

41. Biodiversity … plants for important medical drugs

42. We get used to the idea of creating a
garden ecosystem … our microcosmos !!!

43. We get used to the idea of creating a
garden ecosystem … our microcosmos !!!

44. The first compound microscope circa 1595
Zacharias Janssen
circa 1580-1638
This inquiry is part of the research
work undertaken by the Greek group
for the HIPST project (History and
Philosophy of Science in Science
Teaching), which is funded within the
7th framework program, science in
society-2007-2.2.1.2 - teaching
methods (cf. URL: <
Middelburg microscope circa 1595
http://hipst.eled.auth.gr >).

45. R. Hooke’s micrographia (1665)
Jardine, L. (2004). The curious life of Robert
Hooke. HarperCollins Publishers Inc.: NY.

46. The microscope with 2 lenses …
Istituto e Museo di Storia Science Laboratory for
Della Scienza Primary Education

47. The microscope with 3 lenses …
Istituto e Museo di Storia Science Laboratory for
Della Scienza Primary Education

48. Octavo presentation of Micrographia

49. The worksheets on the seeds of thyme & petunias

50. The worksheet on the seeds of thyme
These pretty fruits here represented, in the 18.
Scheme, are nothing else, but nine several seeds of
Tyme; they are all of them in differing posture, both
as to the eye and the light; nor are they all of them
exactly of the same shape, there being a great
variety both in the bulk and figure of each seed; but
they all agreed in this, that being look'd on with a
Microscope, they each of them exactly resembled a
Lemmon or Orange dry'd; and this both in shape
and colour. Some of them are a little rounder, of the
shape of an Orange, as A and B, they have each of
them a very conspicuous part by which they were
join'd to their little stalk, and one of them had a little
piece of stalk remaining on; the opposite side of the
seed, you may perceive very plainly by the Figure,
is very copped and prominent, as is very usual in
Lemmons; which prominencies are express'd in D,
E and F. …

52. A photo of seeds of thyme

53. Texts & drawings about the seeds of thyme
We observe that the A seed
is a round one, whereas the B
seed is somehow long, but the
Γ seed is half and miserable.

54. Texts & drawings about the seeds of thyme
The thyme seeds look nearly
the same under the microscope
and the naked eye. Some have
bumps and others have peaks
and they look like lemons,
oranges, olives and some look
like “choco pop” cereals. Most
of them have some small
“bumps” than others who have
“scratches”. Most with the
scratches look like nuts,
whereas those with bumps look
like the skin of a rotten orange
and their colour is black brown
or brown with black.

55. Texts & drawings about the seeds of thyme
The seeds of thyme remind me of
lemons or oranges. They are all in
different position. There is a
great variety in the volume and
shape of the seeds. The seeds
under the microscope have a black
or a brown colour. The seeds are
nosey or common like lemons. Every
time we observe things they are
not as we see them. The seeds
look bigger and different than we
see them with the naked eye.
Thus, we should never say we see
something unless we observe it with
other methods like the microscope
etc.

56. Planting the with the pomegranate tree 2nd grade children

57. Planting a raised bed with vegetables, 5th grade children

58. Planting a raised bed with vegetables, 5th grade children

59. Planting a raised bed with vegetables, 5th grade children

60. At the raised bed of spinach and parsley

61. At the raised bed with cauliflower & rocket

62. At the raised bed with salads & red cabbages

63. Spinach … party

64. Spinach … party

65. Spinach … party

66. Spinach … party

67. Spinach … party
… spinach with rise

68. Bottle biology … decomposition column
… basic idea
… and some
more …

69. Building up a two compartment compost chamber …
… the basic
idea
… home
composters

70. Starting a compost chamber … with a few layers
… this is what
we did, let’s
see how ...
… at the Science Laboratory for Primary Education
(SLPE), 9th Primary School of Rethymno, Crete, Greece

71. This is the group for starting the compost chamber …
… let’s see the process
from the beginning

72. The children want to have a try …
… Demetrius is
giving it a go

73. The “green fruit” of our effort …
… well done!!!

74. Time to take it to the compost chamber …
… let’s go
composting

75. Into the compost chamber it goes too ..
… spreading
it all around

76. And now, more soil into the compost compartment…
… spreading
it all around

77. Inside the compost compartment that is …
… OK, we
know what
to do now

78. The compost compartment from top …
… looking
good

79. Watering the compost pile …
… Helen, Katerina and
Alta are watering the
compost pile

80. It appears we have finished … for the moment
… more layers to
be added soon

81. Children of the third grade continue …
… one more layer of greens

82. Children of the third grade continue …
… at the compost

83. Children of the third grade continue …
… spread them nicely

84. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… preparation

85. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… digging the parterres

86. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… preparation for planting

87. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… planting at the parterres

88. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… planting at the
parterres

89. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… end of planting

90. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… protection for cats

91. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… a group work for
adding some extra
soil at the potato
roots

92. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… a group work for
adding some extra
soil at the potato
roots

93. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… commenting on the result

94. Planting potatoes at the wooden raised beds …
… the final result

95. Potatoes … excavation
… we will start in a minute

96. Potatoes … excavation
… let’s line up for the process

97. Potatoes … excavation
… some help from the teacher

98. Potatoes … excavation
… where are those potatoes???

99. Potatoes … excavation
Oh, there is one!!!

100. Potatoes … excavation
The production of one raised bed
Wait … those go to
the compost … OK???

101. Potatoes … excavation
… leaving everything nice and tidy for the next class

102. I do not know
whether we could
have a garden in
every school ...
... but there is
definitely a school in
every garden!

103. Thank you for your attention