Creating a STEM Sensory Garden In Mamelodi
Sensory gardens improve physical fitness, health, mood and cognition.
Background
Students of the Community-based Project Module (code: JCP) of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and IT (JCP), the occupational therapy students of the Siyathemba clinic and the landscape architects created a sensory garden at the University of Pretoria, Mamelodi campus in July 2021. The garden is an ideal training centre for practitioners of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and students enrolled in ECD courses at the Faculty of Education. The garden has also become a safe space for staff on campus.
STEM in a sensory garden
A sensory garden aims to improve physical fitness, health, mood, and cognition. Gardening and plant care help children develop gross and fine motor skills. Time outdoors, breathing fresh air, and being exposed to sunlight is highly beneficial to the children's overall physical health. Sensory gardens include features, surfaces, objects, and plants that stimulate our senses through touch, sight, scent, taste, and hearing.
A sensory garden can be integrated into STEM subjects. The following demonstrates how learners may benefit:
- Science: Older children can study plants and insects, learn nutrition skills, observe weather effects, and learn more advanced science topics. Young children can feel the textures of different plant leaves, help water plants, and learn various basic ecological concepts.
- Technology: Weather and soil tools are often used in gardens to stimulate older kids' meteorological conversations. The teachers can use existing garden tools to probe children's knowledge about the agricultural machines and technology required for larger gardens or farming. For younger kids, it is best to remember that technology is anything humans make. Garden tools and other essential items are great conversation starters about the technology used for food production.
- Engineering: Building and planting a garden is an engineering and design practice, so it's important to involve kids early in the planning process. Have them decide where the park would best be located, but consider the amount of sunlight, proper drainage, and other essential factors that affect how gardens grow.
- Mathematics: Gardening promotes a variety of math concepts for pre-school and elementary learners. Counting, shape, proportion, fractions, multiplication, etc., are all math topics children can learn while gardening. Young children can count how many tomatoes are on a vine, and older children can apply entrepreneurial principles to determine the price of vegetables to make a profit (Kaplan Early Learning Company).
The STEM sensory garden in Mamelodi
One of the niche areas of the University of Pretoria, Mamelodi campus is educational pathways. The campus identified four educational pathways from early childhood development centres, primary schools, high schools and university education networks. The importance of introducing STEM in the ECD phase is supported by various researchers (Hapgood et al., 2020; Hassan et al., 2019; McClure et al., 2017; Tippett et al., 2017). With the support of the South African-Higher Education Network grant, the University of Pretoria, Mamelodi
September - October 2022: Project with the Early Childhood Development Phase Practitioners
Campus, invited 20 practitioners of Early Development Centres in Mamelodi to attend a five-week STEM Sensory Garden Project course. The training includes five sessions of 2 hours and will take place at the University of Pretoria, Mamelodi campus. It is a pilot project in preparation for implementation in 2023 to more ECD centres.
The training took place on the following dates:
Wednesday, September 21 2022, 14:00 – 16:00 (Mamelodi campus)
Introduction to sensory gardens and painting stones for their gardens. Each participant received seeds for their garden.
Tuesday, September 27 2022, 14:00 – 16:00 (Mamelodi campus)
Adding a sense of taste and smell and listening to the garden. Participants made pottery structures and bird feeders. Each member received a lavender and strawberry plant.
Tuesday, October 4 2022, 14:00 – 16:00 (Mamelodi campus)
A Zoom session with Dr Kate Kurkul From Merrimack College, USA ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelyn-kurkul-ed-d-b294503b/ )
Tuesday, October 11 2022, 14:00 – 16:00 (Mamelodi campus)
A presentation by a Master in Education student, Tamika Roopsingh, of the University of Pretoria, focusing on her Master's research related to sensory gardens.
Tuesday, October 18 2022, 14:00 – 16:00 (Eduplex campus)
A visit to a pre-school, Eduplex pre-school (https://eduplex.co.za/pre-school), in Queenswood (Pretoria) to view an established sensory garden
Tuesday and Wednesday, October 25 and 26 2022 (sites)
Two USA colleagues, Prof Audrey Falk from Merrimack College, her Masters student, Valeria Garcia and Dr Martina Jordaan, head: Community engagement research and postgraduate studies and Mrs Lorraine Makena from the Research Unit at the Mamelodi campus visited the schools to identify the winner of the sensory garden. The aim was to motivate and suggest possible improvements
Thursday, October 27 2022 (Mamelodi campus)
A final session with the attendees, where they received feedback. They completed a reflective survey on the process, and their suggestions will be incorporated into the training in 2023.
Participating Schools
Amogelang Bana Pre-School
Bophelong Community Children's Home
Kiddies Paradise Day Care
Daniel Comboni Day Care
Funda Mtwana Day Care
Lethabo Pre-School
Suikerbekkies Pre-School
Vhathu Panda Day Care
Emmanual ECD
Morongwa Day Care
Zakheni Pre-School
Wallmanstal Community Organisation
Bregend oral student college
University of Pretoria, Mamelodi campus
Using social media
The sessions were shared on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/up.mams.31/) as well as the Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/UPMamelodiCampus/ ) of the Mamelodi campus.
Session 1
Session 2:
Session 3:
Session 4: Facebook profile
Session 5
Competition day:
A WhatsApp group was created to communicate with the practitioners. The aim was to remind them about the training and allow them to share ideas. Dr Jordaan shared views of the day with the practitioners.
Media Coverage:
UP website and Billboard
Podcast with Lotus FM
Rekord
Teachers learn about sensory gardens
Pretoria News
Early childhood learning receives boost in townships
Conclusion
- Only one of the pre-schools had a small garden, while other pre-schools have only cement on their premises. The concept of a sensory garden was new to most participants.
- Even though only 20 ECD practitioners were invited, more ECD practitioners were interested in attending, and after three sessions, 30 practitioners participated in the training. However, only 13 schools participated in the competition.
- The challenge was that all must be visited in 2 days to identify a possible winner for the sensory garden.
The winning school
April 2023: The STEM Sensory Garden
The STEM sensory garden - April 2023
Projects of other students - 2023
Health Science students project - What is in a box?
Community-based Project Module students from the Faculty Engineering Built Environment and IT added new features to the garden
May - August 2023: Project with the Early Childhood Development phase students
16 May 2023: Visit to the Mamelodi campus
23 May 2023: Visit Eduplex pre-school
8 August 2023: Fist presentation to the ECD practitioners
15 August 2023: Second session with the ECD practitioners
22 August 2023: Third session with the ECD practitioners
6 September 2023: Mandela Day 2023
6 September 2023 - Mandela Day in the reading corner
8 September 20223: Opening of the sensory STEM garden
8 September 2023 - Official Opening of the sensory garden
Reading Corner donated by the Merensky Library and Green Libraries Project of the Goethe Institute
27 September 2023: ECD Storytelling workshop
27 September 2023: ECD Storytelling workshop with Righardt le Roux from Nal'ibali ( https://nalibali.org /) on creating your own stories and incorporating them into a sensory garden. The day was sponsored by the Merensky Library and the Green Libraries Project of the Goethe Institute.
1. Nel, C. (3 October 2023). Storytelling Workshop presented by the Department of Library Services and Mamelodi Campus. online available at https://www.up.ac.za/department-of-library-services/news/post_3185677-storytelling-workshop-presented-by-the-department-of-library-services-and-mamelodi-campus
2. Nel, C. (15 November 2023). Peep into the engaging stories created during the Annual Storytelling Workshop. Online available at https://www.up.ac.za/department-of-library-services/news/post_3195366-peep-into-the-engaging-stories-created-during-the-annual-storytelling-workshop
1 November 2023: Storytelling in the Sensory Garden
1 November 2023: Storytelling in the sensory garden and visit to an exiting sensory garden at Eduplex Pre-school in Queenswood. The day was sponsored by the Green Libraries project of the Goethe Institute.
Mokgohlwa, L. and Nel, C. (10 November 2023). Using the principles of "Overcoming your Fear of Public Speaking" during a storytelling event. Online available at https://www.up.ac.za/department-of-library-services/news/post_3194322-using-the-principles-of-overcoming-your-fear-of-public-speaking-during-a-storytelling-event
Marketing video created by Goethe Institute: https://youtu.be/iHm3bH2N0kM?si=35zFLi8u5QruHJk2
16 April 2024: New look for the Sensory Garden
April 2024: The sensory STEM garden on the Mamelodi campus has been transformed into a beautiful and engaging space, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Department of Facilities Management, Mrs Francinah Mphaka, landscape architect Marie Badenhorst, and landscapers from Facility Services Group, Carl Kruger and Marco. Their efforts have created a welcoming and educational environment for students, staff, and visitors alike. We are truly grateful for their contributions and look forward to enjoying the new garden for years to come.
Sensory garden _ University of Pretoria - Mamelodi campus May 2024
2024
JCP 2024 students added new features to the garden.
11 September 2024 - Mandela Day
12 September 2024 - ECD storytelling workshop with the Merensky Library
19 September 2024 - Sensory garden training for ECD practitioners