Abstract:

A pedagogical garden in school provides students with contact with nature, as well as being an excellent tool in the teaching-learning process, providing a practical and concrete opportunity for students to learn about agriculture, environment, health, and introduction of vegetables into their diet. By dealing with the soil, plants, as well as vegetables and fruits, students learn about the planting and harvesting process of the food they consume, understand the importance of preserving the environment, and adopting sustainable practices for the maintenance of natural resources, which are essential for the continuation of our life on the planet. Furthermore, cultivating a garden in school promotes socio-environmental awareness in children, which requires responsibility in human interaction with nature, aiming to reduce impacts and improve living conditions on the planet. Additionally, the food produced can also be used in preparing meals at school, which saves on purchases and guarantees the quality of what is being consumed. In this sense, aiming to achieve these objectives, a pedagogical garden was set up at Genésio Viana Municipal School with classes from early childhood education and the early years of elementary school, with approximately 42 students aged between 3 and 10 years old. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact that this garden had as a pedagogical resource. To achieve this, a horizontal garden was set up with beds in the shape of letters, with leafy vegetables, fruits, and roots. All harvested products were introduced into the students' food within the school or encouraged to take the food home and prepare it with their families, which made the entire school community directly or indirectly involved. It was also found that through the cultivation of vegetables, students learned about the life cycles of plants, the importance of soil and water for plant growth, as well as the need for care and maintenance of plants. In addition, the layout of the garden beds was composed of letters forming the word "HORTA”, providing the opportunity to work with other areas of knowledge such as Portuguese and mathematics. It is worth noting that during the activities, the following slogan was created: "I planted, I cared, and I harvested," which also encouraged students to acquire healthier eating habits, in addition to making them understand the importance of these stages that go beyond the garden, going into life, planting good seeds, caring for them, and waiting for the result in due time. In summary, the pedagogical garden is an effective tool in the teaching-learning process, as it promotes practical and multidisciplinary learning, stimulates healthy eating habits, and contributes to the development of teamwork.

Keywords:

Multidisciplinary, vegetables, students.