Raised Beds Raise Hopes at Widener University

This Week’s Faculty in Focus covers the impact of the innovative course collaboratively designed by Bruce Grant, Professor of Biology and Environmental Science, and Ruth Cary, Adjunct Professor of English, at Widener University.

The course, Raised Beds, Raise Hopes: Urban Gardening, Ecological Literacy, and Community Writing teaches students biology, ecology, and first-year composition, but its heart lies in its place-based education with the students of Stetser Elementary School. This interdisciplinary approach teaches students first-hand how urban gardening, ecological literature, and community writing can become tools for education and change-making. Through hands-on participation in the Stetser Elementary School Community Garden, Widener students learn about food justice, sustainability, and community building while fostering meaningful relationships with the elementary school children they mentor.

Originally established in 2011 under the leadership of former Stetser Principal Janet Baldwin with funding from Philadelphia Greener Partners, the garden has become an essential learning space for elementary and university students alike. Since 2015, Professors Grant and Cary have incorporated it into their coursework, bringing together hands-on gardening with academic writing, environmental science, and social change. The garden has more than doubled in size since this collaboration began. 

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Currently, the course collaborates with two fifth-grade classes where the Widener students guide Stetser students through a range of activities from planting and harvesting to scientific observation and journaling. Through this course, Widener students become role models to the Stetser students, demonstrating to them the value of scientific literacy, critical thinking, and civic responsibility. 

Once the produce is ready for harvest, students hold a “salad day” to share a meal together with the ingredients from the garden. They also prepare fresh smoothies and tasty stir-fries with garden ingredients. Through these gardening, cooking, and storytelling projects, the students build community as they develop crucial skills and healthy eating habits for their future. 

After participating in the Periclean Faculty Leader Program twice, Grant and Cary’s project has recently been awarded a Periclean Faculty Leader Course Enhancement Grant, which will enable them to expand the course’s impact and explore new teaching methods going forward. 

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As he reflected on the importance of the garden, Grant wrote, “Not only are we in community with these plants as their caregivers, not only are our bodies fed, nurtured, and enlivened by their fruits, leaves, stems, and roots, not only are they in community with each other and with other living organisms with which all interact … but above all, we all should learn from the garden about the critical importance of community, through its shared vision and the social ecological benefits of community mutualism – and that's the real take home learning outcome for us all.”

Professors Grant and Cary have created a lasting impact that transforms the way students learn and strengthens the community they serve. With the support of the recent grant, their work will continue to evolve and inspire future generations to use education as a force for change. ​

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