Georgia Southern University Research and Service Foundation (Georgia Southern Botanical Garden)

The Garden of the Coastal Plain at Georgia Southern University will employ purposeful movement, problem-solving simulations, and hands-on grade specific curricula to teachers so they can engage students with the content and skills students will need to solve the scientific challenges of the next century. The garden will work with local partners to conduct teacher trainings and offer student field experiences in biology and environmental sciences to low performing and economically challenged schools. The program will provide K-5 teachers with content information about plant biology and ecology and will demonstrate engaging ways to teach this information through workshops. The project will incorporate kinesthetic learning activities such as games and dance, with the goals of improving botanical and ecological understanding among students and aiding teacher efforts to meet Common Core/Georgia Performance Standards.