AVA, Ill. — The American Heart Assoc. (AHA) mission is to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. With one-third of U.S. children overweight or obese, the AHA is implementing a new way to instill healthy eating in youth and their families through Teaching Gardens.

The AHA has teamed with noted child-nutrition activist and philanthropist Kelly Meyer to create Teaching Gardens planted in elementary schools across the country, that become laboratories for students to learn what it means to be healthy. Aimed at grades 1-5, they teach children how to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce “and ultimately, understand the value of good eating habits.”

Trico School in Ava, Ill., has taken up the challenge and Cindy Hepp and Cheryl Lodge, co-captains of the endeavor, are in their second year of the project. While they expected students to learn and enjoy, they said the most surprising benefit has been how the project served to bring people together.

“Response from students, parents, community businesses, local government contacts, local media and school personnel has been phenomenal. People offer suggestions, help, supplies and materials and ask to be included on a regular basis,” Hepp said. “Not only does this benefit our students in terms of their academic and physical education, but it redefines the school community as one that reaches far beyond the walls of our elementary school.

“I teach fourth grade, and the co-garden captain, Cheryl Lodge, is our school’s P.E. and health teacher. She sees all students from K-5.”

The program is showing some healthy benefits. “The benefits to our students include an understanding of where food comes from, firsthand experience planning, planting and harvesting organically-grown foods, the opportunity to try new foods that they have grown and knowledge to take home and share with family,” Hepp said.

“The American Heart Association curriculum provides lessons that integrate with language arts, science, social studies and mathematics. The lessons also correlate beautifully with Mrs. Lodge’s health classes about nutrition and healthy habits.”

Other lessons include lifecycles of insects and plants, symbiotic relationships, soil science, vermi-composting, composting, food chains and food webs and fresh versus processed foods. The reduced cost of growing rather than buying is another lesson, as well as the active lifestyle that gardening offers.

This year, the project got under way in March after they decided what to plant. Hepp explained, “We try to plant so the students will be able to harvest and eat the foods fresh. This year, we selected quick-growing varieties of lettuce, peas and carrots so students could have an early harvest for a picnic before the end of school.

“The remaining items for our next round of planting will be timed so students are back in school and we can harvest into late September, when we will hold our ‘Harvest Fest.’ We try to find foods that are more palatable to students when fresh and organic, than the canned or packaged form they may be accustomed to. For example, bright green fresh peas and fresh baby carrots are much more appealing to students to try than canned peas and carrots ... especially when they have grown them themselves.

“Students who may not normally eat hard, tasteless iceberg lettuce may try fresh baby lettuce leaves on a sandwich or with a low-fat dip. Any way that we can introduce students to new tastes and pique their interest to plant at home is a success in our eyes,” she said.

While last year’s harvest was small because of late planting, the teachers are seeing an increased interest in gardening. One challenge has been pests, but even they offer a learning opportunity.

“Last year we were overrun with squash bugs and tomato hornworms,” Hepp explained. “Since we are trying to stay totally organic, we avoid pesticides. Last summer, students took turns collecting the tomato hornworms from the plants during recesses ... believe it or not, we had a waiting list, because they loved doing it! They kept the hornworms and watched them pupate and refrigerated them over the winter.

“Now they will observe the emergence of the sphinx moths in the classroom. The big question is what to do with them after that. We don’t want to release them near any gardens. We have since researched companion plantings, and will use an abundance of nasturtium plants to repel squash bugs, borage to repel tomato hornworms and will allow students and some pet chickens to help rid the plants of pests when necessary.

“So far, we have served (the produce) as snacks to the students. One of our next-step goals is to work with a chef from SIU (Southern Illinois University) Carbondale to try to incorporate the foods into our meal program. We planted five large ‘lasagna garden’ beds which connect six of our original raised beds. This increased our planting area by about 900 square feet,” Hepp added.

The project offers some community partnering opportunities. Over the summer of 2011 volunteers included staff, parents, 4-H groups, scout groups and students who took turns watering and weeding through the summer. This year, the school will recruit volunteers to plant in June and July and maintain the rest of the summer so there are fruits and vegetables ready for the September or October Harvest Fest.

A local couple, Glen and Tammy Steele, who run a nursery called Rolling Oaks Nursery near the school, are volunteering their time, expertise and plants to help ensure a successful harvest. They specialize in heirloom varieties.

For educators wanting to try Teaching Gardens the teachers advise connecting with the AHA, which has put “a lot of work into developing a good, usable curriculum and by starting with a pilot program in several spots throughout the nation, they have accumulated a good deal of information about what works, what needs to be adjusted and how each school can make this program its own to suit the school community, space, and climate,” Hepp said.

Visit www.heart.org/teachinggardens to learn more, or contact your local AHA office.