There are so many ways to learn about each other and the world around us. In biology, it can happen in a greenhouse!
Partnering With the Ecological Greenhouse
GHIS partners with the innovative Ecological Greenhouse in Kibbutz Ein-Shemer as part of our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, Math) education. In this program, students of the Biology and Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) class gain hands-on experience for their internal assessment in biology in designing, planning, executing and evaluating their practical research studies.
At the Ecological Greenhouse, GHIS students were joined by students from a local Jewish school and a local Arab school to work together to execute a joint research project. The project itself was conducted through the Davidson Institute of Science Education, which is the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute. There they met other budding scientists as they checked, measured, and learned about different plants, bacteria, unicellular animals, and the various effects of different substances on them. Experiments were completed under the strict guidance of scientists at the Greenhouse and the GHIS biology teacher, Karine Roch.
This project enabled GHIS students to acquire a real understanding of science and the research process. By doing their research at the Greenhouse, they also understand why it’s important that their experiments are meaningful and the positive impact they can have on their communities. As is true with all things GHIS, they learned this by working together with other student scientists from different societies.
Environmental Goals are Joint Goals
Noam Geva, the director of the Ecological Greenhouse, noted that environmental goals such as food production, water distribution, and waste management, are joint goals. These are topics that connect Jewish, Arab, and international students. At the Greenhouse, students come together under one roof where they need to work together and cooperate to accomplish their goals. Students have noted that since they speak different languages, they need to find other ways to communicate.This video (in Arabic, English, and Hebrew) from May 23, 2021, was from a special day when GHIS students joined students from a local Arab high school at the Greenhouse.