Great classroom gardens grow much more than plants. They grow curiosity, confidence, responsibility and connections that can stay with students long after the harvest is over.

In our Little Green Thumbs Teacher Spotlight series, we’re celebrating educators from our National Teacher Award submissions who bring the values and spirit of Little Green Thumbs to life in remarkable ways.

Today, we’re celebrating Aliya Noon, a Little Green Thumbs teacher whose Kindergarten classroom garden has become a place for inquiry, discovery and community.

More Than an Add-On

For Aliya, the garden isn’t an occasional classroom activity. It is woven into how her students learn.

From planting seeds and tending plants to harvesting and tasting the food they grow, every student participates in the full growing cycle. Along the way, students measure plant growth, investigate different types of seeds, explore plant life cycles and document their observations and thinking in visual journals.

The result is a living classroom where young learners are encouraged to ask questions, make predictions and discover answers through direct experience.

Her colleague Alaina Crone describes Aliya as an educator who creates a “warm, welcoming, and inclusive classroom environment where all students feel valued and supported.”

That environment extends to the garden, where students are given real responsibility for something they can watch change and grow because of their care.

From Growing Food to Sharing It

The experience doesn’t end when the vegetables are ready to harvest.

Aliya encourages students to taste the fruits and vegetables they grow and shares the harvest with families and school staff, connecting classroom learning with food, healthy choices and community.

One particularly memorable harvest even grew into a school-wide event.

Students prepared and enjoyed garden-fresh pitas filled with vegetables they had helped grow themselves. After watching their plants develop from seed to harvest, they had the opportunity to turn what they grew into food and share that experience with others.

Students are proud of their garden and eager to share what they know. They explain plant parts and growing processes to peers, staff and administrators, and freshly harvested vegetables such as radishes and carrots sometimes make their way to the school office to be proudly shared.

The garden has become more than a teaching tool. It has become something the students feel belongs to them.

A Connection That Lasts

Perhaps one of the strongest signs of Aliya’s impact is what happens after students leave her Kindergarten classroom.

Former students return to visit and reconnect. Some come back specifically to help care for the plants they once tended themselves.

That lasting connection reflects the kind of classroom Aliya has created—a place where students feel safe, valued and capable, and where learning is connected to experiences they can see, touch, taste and remember.

Aliya and her students are supported in their Little Green Thumbs journey by Inside Education and Regional Coordinator Kat Hill, part of the regional network that helps bring Little Green Thumbs to classrooms across the country.

Through her long-standing commitment to the program, Aliya demonstrates how garden-based learning can help even our youngest students become curious investigators, responsible caretakers and enthusiastic ambassadors for growing food.

Little Green Thumbs is proud to shine a spotlight on Aliya Noon and celebrate the care, creativity and curiosity she cultivates in her classroom every day.

Thank you, Aliya, for helping young minds—and young gardens—grow.