Mast Way School is excited to announce the launch of our brand-new food forest in the school courtyard! This innovative project brings together real-world math skills, environmental science, and hands-on learning in one thriving outdoor classroom.
The journey began in Ms. Craven’s third-grade classroom, where students applied their math skills to create the perfect garden space. Using area and perimeter concepts, students designed a 12 x 12 plot for the food forest and carefully placed each plant based on certain qualifiers. After reviewing all the creative submissions, the class voted Kaiden Reilly's design as the winner.
Fourth graders took the project deeper, diving into agroforestry concepts as part of their renewable energy and tiny home project. Students explored food forests, along with forest farming, and silvopasture. Armed with this knowledge, our fourth graders rolled up their sleeves and helped dig, plant, and establish the beginning of Mast Way's food forest.
This project is made possible through Project ADAPT, a University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth, and Yale initiative dedicated to promoting regionally appropriate and diverse agroforestry systems across New England. Ms. Leifer is part of the first teacher cohort, bringing this innovative approach to sustainability and agroforestry practices directly into our classrooms and courtyards.
