Atlanta special-needs school, Cumberland Academy of Georgia, has been awarded a grant from the Captain Planet Foundation for the establishment of one of CPF’s Project Learning Gardens. This project is designed to educate students about environmental stewardship, and will use newly-installed garden beds located on Cumberland’s school grounds.

CPF is providing Cumberland Academy of Georgia with materials for the garden, a fully-equipped mobile cooking cart, an academic curriculum, lesson kits with supplies, and hands-on teacher training. This summer two to three Cumberland teachers will attend the CPF training seminar to ensure the grant is used effectively with students.

Cumberland’s science classes for the 2016-17 academic year will be directed in experiential learning activities in the garden, which will be coordinated with classroom learning. A school wide initiative, students from all grades will be included as this project.

“Integrating the Captain Planet Foundation curriculum into our science courses will give our students the experiential learning they crave,” says Debbi Scarborough, founding director at Cumberland Academy of Georgia. “Students will be able to experience taking a seed, planting the seed, growing the food, harvesting, and sampling the food. All of these steps will be reinforced with environmental and science education.”

The Captain Planet Foundation is a nonprofit public charity whose mission is to promote and support high quality, educational programs that enable children and youth to engage in active, “hands-on” projects to improve the environment in their schools and communities.

Cumberland Academy of Georgia specializes in the needs of students with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other learning disabilities. Fully accredited by both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC), Cumberland Academy serves students in grades 4 through 12, and also offers a post-graduate year.

For more information about Cumberland Academy of Georgia, go to http://cumberlandacademy.org/. To learn more about CPF’s Project Learning Garden program, visit http://captainplanetfoundation.org/learning-garden/.