Princeton high school gardening option for physical education

At a high school in New Jersey, students have the option to take gardening as a physical education class. Activities such as planting seeds, composting, weeding and creating weight lifting programs aimed at strengthening gardening muscles are promoted for course credit.

Matt Wilkinson, a physical education teacher, suggested the idea, stating, “How long is somebody going to play basketball or soccer? Gardening they can do their whole lives.”

Departments at the school are also involved with the 16 raised garden beds constructed on school property, designing curricula around seed selections chosen for scientific studies or cultural awareness. All extra vegetables will be donated to charities and local soup kitchens to support the community of Princeton.

Full story (April 2010): The New York Times