On average, just under 30% of schools in Lower Saxony have a school garden (Klingenberg & Rauhaus 2005). In order to provide prospective teachers with both theoretical and practical knowledge of school gardening, the project "School Garden and Greenhouse" has been integrated as a fixed component of the course of study "Biology and its Teaching" at the TU Braunschweig. School gardens offer a variety of options for learning occasions, problem solving and experimentation skills, research and development of modern and sustainable teaching concepts, and much more. (for a current overview: Pütz & Wittkowske 2012).
After a basic introduction to the theory and concepts of school gardening (cf. Winkel 1997), students are given the opportunity to plan, implement and evaluate projects independently in small groups under intensive supervision. In the long term, this also includes the option of supervising groups of students. Currently, the course is offered with one semester hour per week over two semesters.
Depending on the situation in the college of the Dept. of Biology and Didactics of Biology, one lecturer supervises the project. This procedure leads to a year-round activity or a phenology-oriented planning of the individual projects. Project reports and handover protocols ensure the continuity of the overall concept and, after practical implementation, also require theoretical reflection on the individual projects. And when will you come to the garden...?