Silver Spring Neighborhood Center Garden Club plants seeds of STEM

Planting a garden over the summer isn’t just a fun hobby, but it’s also educational.

The folks over at the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center in Milwaukee say they’re using time in the garden to teach kids STEM.

At the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center in Milwaukee, the latest addition to the classroom can be found in the garden.

"Three years later, and just a fully functional, awesome greenhouse," said Lynda Kohler, SHARP Literacy. "It’s a beautiful learning tool, both for our students at Silver Spring Neighborhood Center and Browning."

Located on the backside of the center is a greenhouse, along with some green space.

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"And really doing everything we can for the future of this city, and the future of this city is sitting at this picnic table right here and we have an obligation to make sure we’re doing everything they can to learn as much as possible," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Kids take what they learn in the class plus what they’re discovering in the garden and apply it.

"In agriculture, not only do the kids get the chance of getting their hands dirty, which kids love, but you start talking about photosynthesis, you start talking about pollinators, you start talking about root structures, and so the children can jump headfirst into STEM activities based off of our gardening club," said James Wilbern, Silver Spring Neighborhood Center.

While the summer Garden Club is nearing its end, the lessons harvested here will carry into the school year and be taken home.

"And mind you, we are in the middle of a food desert here, so introducing the opportunity to grow your own vegetables, teaching the kids how to grow the vegetables, and then how to harvest and produce them and eat them is game-changing for our families," said Wilbern.

At the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, they're planting the seeds of healthy habits one strawberry at a time.

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