New learning programs are growing at Cedar Park Elementary.

Robin Hyche, special education teacher at Cedar Park Elementary, is developing a school garden so students can learn hands on.

Hyche said she has always wanted to start a school garden but didn’t really push for that dream to come true until this past year when she attended the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in June of 2015.

“They had lots of workshops on container gardening and how to do it and I thought, ‘We can do that,’” Hyche said. “So I went ahead and applied.”

She said Cedar Park’s principal, Doris Cureton, then encouraged her to apply for a grant through International Paper.

Hyche was awarded the Alabama Agriculture in the Classroom mini-grant totaling $250 in November 2015 and a $750 grant from International Paper on Jan. 8.

Hyche said she has started purchasing supplies for the school garden and has already collected several garden containers, multiple bags of oil and a portable greenhouse.

She said the container garden will be kept in the playground.

She said having students do tasks such as reading seed packets, measuring supplies and tending to their plants will help them in various subjects including reading, math, science and social studies.

“Sometimes students don’t learn with paper and pencil but if you get them out in an environment where they just show their skills, they benefit more,” Hyche said.

Hyche said she is planning a book study of Soup Stone with the garden.

“They are going to make their own garden to grow things, and then we are going to actually make the soup at the end of it,” Hyche said.

She said parents are excited about the garden and students have been eager to start.

“They’re quite excited. They’ve been wanting to start now and I’m like, ‘We’ve got to wait a few more weeks, it’s too cold.”

Hyche said she is currently waiting on final funding to be finished so she can continue to buy supplies, but she hopes to have the garden finished for students by March.

She said even though the growing season might be over for this year, she hopes students will be able to plant crops that can be grown quickly like lettuce, kale and tomatoes and harvested before school lets out from the summer.

“I’m just excited to be able to start,” Hyche said.