Maker Projects for Kids Who Love Greening Up Spaces
Maker Projects for Kids Who Love GREENING UP spaces MegAN koPp Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
Make It Green From an apartment balcony to a patch of earth in the backyard almost any space can be made green Landscaping is the hands on act of combining plants and other materials to make a space more beautiful or functional It is a unique art form that combines art science and nature Greening up a space can be as simple as planting some colorful flowers in a pot It can also involve more planning and teamwork such as starting an urban garden that provides the community with fresh food Landscaping is big business too According to the National Gardening Survey in the United States 36 1 billion was spent on lawns and gardens in 2015 In May 2016 alone Canadians spent more than 769,000 on lawn-and-garden products Get OutSIde It pays to play outdoors Time spent in the fresh air reduces stress makes people more caring and sympathetic improves critical-thinking skills increases attention span and makes it easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle Fun entertaining and beautiful green spaces help draw us outside Make your dream landscape into a reality Where will your creativity lead 4
a MAkeR mOVemENt The people who green up spaces are makers They learn how to tackle any project through hands-on real-world experience Makers risk failure but they keep working to find innovative solutions to problems Landscapers are makers who create build and grow living masterpieces both big and small Makers gather together in makerspaces Here they share resources and knowledge and work on projects Collaborative workspaces allow for the sharing of ideas Make your makerspace a green space GroWInG gReEn Orca K-8 School in Seattle Washington is filled with budding green thumbs The school has an organic gardening program in which students learn about nutrition by cooking and eating what they grow Extra herbs vegetables and fruits are shared with a local food bank and food waste from the school cafeteria is made into compost The best way to learn about all things green is to roll up your sleeves and dig in Be a Maker Makers can create special places outdoors in any space big or small What appeals to you about your backyard or neighborhood park Why do you think you prefer one green space over another 5
