Embedded Files
Rooted Futures: Growing Agency Through Campus Ecology
Rooted Futures: Growing Agency Through Campus Ecology
Photo: Michelle Jordan
At a high school in Arizona, AP Environmental Science students participated in a multi-year garden project supported by a National Science Foundation grant. Spearheaded by their teacher, Cheri, the project blended scientific inquiry with real-world sustainability goals. Rooted in their environmental science curriculum, students explored the intersection of plant growth, soil health, and renewable energy by conducting experiments in a solar-powered garden, surveying trees on campus, and co-designing ecological interventions.
The garden wasn’t just a plot of soil, but it was a living lab, an evolving space where students learned by doing. As part of their AP Environmental Science course, students investigated how shading from solar panels affected plant growth and soil nutrients. These experiments offered more than textbook knowledge; they rooted students in the practice of science as inquiry where their decisions shaped outcomes.
The runway extended far beyond structured labs. One day, a student proposed a crucial yet easily overlooked step: flushing irrigation lines before installing new emitters, a detail grounded in practical thinking and hands-on engagement. Another group began assessing the ecological role of trees on campus, using clinometers and measuring tapes to estimate height and carbon sequestration. These seemingly small moments signaled a shift: students were no longer just absorbing facts. They were influencing how the school understood and managed its environment.
Photo: AdobeStock
Cheri intentionally cultivated this agency. She created space for students to draw on their lived experiments, ranging from local parks, family gardens, or Indigenous knowledge systems, and bring them into class discussions. In one lesson, small groups shared diverse views on sustainability challenges, which then informed broader class-wider decisions, such as proposing the planting of native vegetation in barren areas of campus to improve biodiversity and soil health. What began as scientific exploration evolved into civic engagement and community-based design.
The students’ proposal to enhance campus vegetation gained traction and is being considered by school leadership and even intended for neighborhood engagement. More importantly, the garden continues to serve as both a literal and figurative runway: where students launch ideas, test futures, and realize their role in shaping the sustainability of their immediate world and beyond.
"Real Work, Real Consequences" Stories feature real-world examples of Action-Oriented Pedagogies (AOP) in practice. Each story illustrates how students—across grade levels and contexts—engage in meaningful work that addresses pressing sustainability challenges with tangible outcomes. These stories exemplify the AOP framework’s core commitments to Imagining Preferred Futures, Planning for Co-Produced Impact, Taking Agentive Action, and Leaving a Legacy.
By sharing these stories, we aim to spark ideas, foster collective inspiration, and demonstrate the varied roles students take—from innovators and artists to scientists, stewards, and advocates—in shaping a more sustainable and just world.
This "Real Work, Real Consequences" Story was written by Gloria S. Kang
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse