Gilroy
–
”
It was so much fun,
”
Samantha Holder said about her field trip to Junior Horticulture
Day at Bonfante Gardens Tuesday.
”
Usually, field trips are just for fun and you only learn a
little. But on this one I learned a lot.
”
Holder was among 1,000 fourth graders attending the districtwide
field trip sponsored by Leadership Gilroy.
Gilroy – “It was so much fun,” Samantha Holder said about her field trip to Junior Horticulture Day at Bonfante Gardens Tuesday. “Usually, field trips are just for fun and you only learn a little. But on this one I learned a lot.”
Holder was among 1,000 fourth graders attending the districtwide field trip sponsored by Leadership Gilroy.
Last year, Bonfante board member Greg Martinez attended a horticulture conference in Texas where he spoke with park officials about starting a local education day at Bonfante.
Armed with new strategies, Martinez approached the Gilroy Unified School District and Leadership Gilroy about hosting a horticultural day at the park.
Leadership Gilroy is a year-long class residents take to gain leadership skills and connect with the community by developing improvement plans.
“It took a lot of logistical planning,” Martinez said about coordinating the various groups involved, “especially because it was the first one.”
Because the field trip needed to meet state education standards, the fourth grade staff at Rucker School was approached to help design the day’s curriculum.
Beginning in October, staff members met twice a month to discuss plans. As their ideas expanded, so did the program. Fourth grade students from St. Mary School and Hollister were also invited to attend.
“It turned out to be a lot bigger than we expected,” said Curt Hentschke, a teacher at Rucker.
The cost of the production was at least $20,000, Martinez estimated. Students were provided with free transportation to the park, admission and lunch.
Normally, single day admission is $22.99.
Though Bonfante is just a mile down Route 152, this was the first time more than half of the students attended the park, Martinez said.
“A lot of these kids wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise,” he said. “And it’s important that they experience it and know that it’s possible.”
Last year, the Leadership Gilroy class of 2004 helped raise more than $10,000 for the field trip.
“They wanted to get the community together with the park,” said Bob Kraemer, a board member for both Bonfante Gardens and Leadership Gilroy. “This is the beginning of a more structured approach where we would hope to expand to other communities.”
Wearing matching Bonfante Gardens Where You Grow T–shirts, students rotated every half hour between five stations, learning about composting, identifying various types of waterfalls, trees and plant parts, as well as performing rock experiments.
“I think the fact that we’re doing 30-minute rotations keeps the kids engaged,” said Rucker teacher Gayle Carlile.
Parents were out in force. More than half of the 200 chaperones were parents who donated their time.
About 30 Gilroy High School students from the horticulture program and Latinos and Latinas programs were invited to oversee the student activities. They helped fourth graders fill out lab reports, diagram flower parts and taught students about the food chain.
“I’d be in agriculture, horticulture and math right now,” said GHS freshman Adam Fortino, a student in the school’s horticulture program who was assisting with the rock experiments. “This is a little more fun.”
The last hour of the field trip, students had the park to themselves. Several rides were opened for their exclusive use. But that’s not what had students talking.
“The best part was when we got to learn about the different parts of plants,” Ashley Amos, a student at Rod Kelley said. “It was very, very interesting.”
Rucker student, Alyssa Dorn was torn between the scavenger hunt and the composting exhibit where students learned how worms can turn waste products such as fruit and vegetables into nutrient rich compost.
“That was pretty cool,” she said. “I’ve been to Bonfante bunches and bunches of times. But this was the most exciting one.”
