Study supports the feasibility of school gardens as an educational approach in Greece

This study investigated the feasibility and value of using school gardens as an educational approach in Greece. Twenty-seven schools in various geographic areas of Greece participated in this study – seventeen with gardens, ten without. Data collection was by way of surveys and interviews conducted with a total of 137 teachers. Eighty-eight of these teachers (64%) were teaching in the seventeen schools with gardens; forty-nine (36%) were teaching at the remaining ten schools without gardens.

During the interviews, all of the teachers were asked to share their perceptions of the benefits of school gardens. Teachers in schools with gardens were also asked if they embraced the garden as an integral tool in the school curriculum, while teachers in schools without gardens were asked about barriers preventing them from having a garden at their school.

Teachers with gardens at their schools stated that students who participate in school gardening programs enjoy numerous personal and academic benefits and exhibit a strong environmental consciousness. Some of the benefits receiving very high response ratings related to spirituality, acquisition of knowledge, socialization, and environmental awareness. Encouraging healthy eating habits through the establishment of school gardens received low rates of response, yet teachers perceived change of students' eating habits as a potential benefit of a garden.

Teachers with gardens at their schools confirmed the feasibility of school gardens as an educational approach in Greece and recognized the value of gardens as educational tools for promoting positive behaviors and increasing knowledge about the environment. The majority of teachers in schools with gardens used gardens frequently and integrated garden-based learning in different curricular areas, including history, economics, poetry, math and science.

A number of teachers working in schools with no gardens held these same beliefs about the feasibility and value of school gardens in the Greek educational system. They identified the lack of in-service training and availability of funding as the primary reasons why they did not have gardens at their schools. They also identified poor soil at their school and the lack of support from the administrative sector as barriers delaying the creation of a garden at their school.

Teachers from both groups (i.e., those with school gardens and those without gardens) expressed a belief in the value of school garden programs for promoting responsible environmental actions. Their own environmental awareness and their perception that a garden promotes a healthy environment were identified as reasons for teachers' interest in school gardens.

The views and experiences shared by the teachers participating in the study support the feasibility of school gardens as an educational approach in Greece.