Multicultural School Gardens - Creating Engaging Garden Spaces in Learning about Language, Culture, and Environment

Oct 15, 2026

Children’s gardening programs have grown in popularity, and an Australian environmental education nonprofit applied a culturally focused model in low-income schools. Using food gardening and cooking, the program connected language learning (English as a Second Language) with cultural understanding and environmental awareness. A combined-methods study examined children’s learning through researcher interviews, observations, and student reflections across a site with many migrant and refugee families. Findings show engaging garden spaces that foster belonging and support learning English while strengthening ties to the local environment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Program implementation and educational goals

Research approach and data collection

Key findings: belonging, language learning, and environment connections

Multicultural School Gardens: Creating Engaging Garden Spaces in Learning about Language, Culture, and Environment Amy Cutter-Mackenzie, Monash University, Australia Abstract Children’s gardening programs have enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years. An Australian environmental education non-profit organization implemented a program, entitled Multicultural Schools Gardens, in disadvantaged (low-income) schools that used food gardening as a focus for implementing a culturally-focused environmental education program. While the program included the well documented educational, social, and health benefits of growing food, gardening and cooking were also utilized as leverage in learning about culture, language (English as a Second Language), and environment. Alongside the program’s implementation, a combined methods research approach was applied to gauge children’s learning experiences as program participants. Part of this process involved children researching their own practice, accompanied by researcher interviews and observations with students and teachers. This paper presents an inquiry into practice involving one site, revealing how a culturally diverse school with a high proportion of migrant and refugee families created an engaging garden space. This space led to a strong sense of belonging among students who were formerly dislodged from their birthplaces, together with providing opportunities for learning English language and forming connections to the local environment. The paper provides food for thought with respect to the potential for children’s gardening to transcend language and cultural differences. Résumé Les programmes de jardinage pour les enfants ont connu une popularité grandissante dans les années récentes. Une organisme australien d’éducation écologique à but non lucratif a mis en place un programme intitulé Potagers scolaires multiculturels dans des écoles défavorisées (à faiblerevenu) qui se servaient du jardinage comme un objectif pour appliquer un programme d’éducation écologique axé sur la culture. Le programme incluait une bonne documentation sur les bénéfices du jardinage pour la santé ainsi que sur le plan pédagogique et social. En même temps, le jardinage et la cuisine ont aussi été utilisés comme levier pour étudier la culture, la langue (anglais langue seconde) et l’environnement. Avec la mise en oeuvre du programme, on a appliqué une combinaisonde pistes de recherche et leurs méthodes pour évaluer les expériences d’apprentissage des enfants en tant que participants au programme. Unepartie 122 Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 14, 2009 du processus impliquait des enfants recherchistes sur leurs propres pratiques, accompagnés d’entrevues de recherchistes et d’observations avec les élèves et les enseignants. Ce texte présente une enquête sur la pratique impliquant un espace qui révèle comment une école multiculturelle avec une forte proportion de familles d’immigrés et de réfugiés ont créé un lieu de jardinage engageant. Cet espace a mené à un fort sentiment d’appartenance parmi les élèves qui anciennement, ont été déplacés de leur lieu de naissanceet ensemble, ils ont fourni des occasions pour apprendre l’anglais et former des connections avec le milieu. L’article fournit de la matière à réflexion sur le potentiel du jardinage par des enfants afin de transcender la langue et les différences culturelles. Keywords: multicultural school gardens, children’s gardens, culture, community, environment, experiential learning, ESL Children’s School Gardening Movement Growing, harvesting, preparing and eating food from your garden is all part of the same activity and a wonderfully rewarding experience. It should be a grand celebration from garden to table. (Hill, 2004, p. 6) Gardening programs are currently in vogue in schools around the world as teachers and schools seek pedagogical approaches to engage students in experiential learning and work towards tackling societ

FAQs

What program did the environmental education organization implement in disadvantaged schools?

It implemented a program called Multicultural Schools Gardens, using food gardening as the basis for culturally focused environmental education.

How did the study investigate children’s learning experiences?

It used a combined methods approach, including children’s research into their own practice, researcher interviews, and observations of students and teachers.

What outcomes did the culturally diverse garden space support?

It helped students build a strong sense of belonging and created opportunities to learn English and connect with the local environment.

Oct 15, 2026

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