Teaching Gardens for Healthy Hearts

On Valentine’s Day I am chairing the American Heart Association’s Palm Beach Heart Ball, the longest, continuous Heart Ball in the nation. Last year, the Heart Ball campaign raised just over $71 million nation-wide, providing funding for life-saving research and prevention programs in our community and across the country. I’m particularly passionate about their Teaching Gardens initiative, which is the reason I agreed to chair this year’s gala.

American Heart Association Teaching Gardens have now been planted in more than 200 elementary schools across the country. These gardens become real-life learning laboratories for students. The Teaching Garden program recently started in Palm Beach County and, since it is an initiative focused on reversing the current childhood obesity trends that our nation is facing, I took a look at the program to see if it was a fit for the Michael and Annie Falk Foundation, one focus of which is improving the lives of children.

Garden-based nutrition intervention programs can promote increased fruit and vegetable intake among children, which is absolutely critical when you consider that French fries make up one-fourth of their vegetable intake. As I explored the gardens, I heard so many inspiring stories; they taught me that the gardens do far more than just address dietary issues. At one school I observed a little girl being led out of a classroom by what appeared to be her state-appointed companion, and they headed straight for the gardens. I saw the companion later in the day and asked what she thought about the gardens and she explained that her charge used to get agitated in class and they would have to leave so as not to disturb the other children. This, of course, would only frustrate the girl even more and throw her into a full-blown episode, one that would end her day at school. Now, when she has to leave a classroom she heads to the garden, takes a few deep breaths, rocks back and forth, and then goes right back to class.

Because I want more people to learn about the positive impact these gardens have on young children and our environment, I—along with my sister Dawn Scibilia—produced a 15-minute film called Teaching Gardens. We want people to see and hear first hand what a difference the gardens make and the positive effect the gardens are having, not only on the children, their families, the school, and the community, but also on the environment. The children realize they must attract pollinators to their gardens, and now they are bee and butterfly keepers and bird watchers—stewards of the environment, keeping our planet clean and nourished for future generations.

The American Heart Associations Teaching Gardens are funded by donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and other community-based organizations. To learn more about fundraising or school requirements for an American Heart Association Teaching Garden, please contact teachinggardens@heart.org.