Using insects in a Garden-Based Learning curriculum to foster environmental stewardship

The Smart Foodscapes Project at Utah State University aims to improve the sustainability of beef production through habitat enhancement in rangelands, while engaging and educating current and future land stewards through extension and education. In addition to research focused on direct and indirect effects of diverse forage plants on beef production, the research team is studying impacts of habitat enhancement on biodiversity of wildlife and insects in the rangelands. However, habitat enhancement at any scale can impact insect biodiversity, and to connect the project to K-12 curriculum without bringing cattle to the school yard, the education research team has installed school gardens and developed and tested a STEAM, Garden-Based Learning curriculum for elementary and secondary levels. Garden-Based Learning, using a school garden as a teaching tool, enhances academic enrichment for students of all ages, and though not everyone loves insects, they are typically the first animal encountered by educators and students in the school gardens. Insects are valuable educational subjects inside and outside of the classroom because they are ubiquitous, diverse in form and ecology, easy to collect and observe, and have the creep factor that fascinates people of all ages. The lessons are connected to key K-12 standards related to lifecycles, ecosystems, sustainability, biodiversity, and scientific inquiry. Several lessons use citizen science projects to engage the students in scientific discovery through participation in data collection to solve environmental problems. The collection of lessons and professional development materials will be widely available online to encourage environmental stewardship broadly.