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print this pageWhat Is A School Garden?
by www.betterschoolfood.org
School gardens are a powerful means of instilling lifelong environmental and nutritional literacy in children. The garden engages students by providing a dynamic environment in which to observe, discover, experiment, nurture, and learn. It is a living laboratory where lessons are drawn from real-life experiences rather than textbook examples, allowing students to become active participants in the learning process.
With kids believing food comes from boxes, cans, or wrapped in plastic, and is found only in supermarkets - and given the fact that our children are facing a health crisis - we need to go back to the start.
We need to connect food with the earth. We need to connect health, mood and behavior with food. We need to connect learning with food. School gardens are a big part of the solution!
Ten Reasons Why School Gardens are an Excellent Idea
1. |
Magic happens when a child harvests a vegetable he or she has planted and nurtured. The child will want to eat it! It will increase interest and improve attitudes towards eating fruits and vegetables. |
2. |
Students will learn where food really comes from - a carrot grows in the ground, a green bean on a vine and Brussels sprouts on a stalk! |
3. |
School gardens foster an increased awareness of environmental issues. They will learn to respect and care for the soil, where our food comes from. |
4. |
They will get to share their bounty with their classmates. Eating with their peers is one of the most important motivators for children to try new foods. |
5. |
It gives children an opportunity to be outside and away from computer screens and, at the same time, significantly increase science achievement scores. |
6. |
They improve self esteem, behavior, social skills and interpersonal relationships as well as help develop life skills including working with groups. |
7. |
Research by Columbia Teachers College shows that hands-on gardening and cooking programs are the two things that are actually effective in behavior change; they get kids to eat more vegetables. |
8. |
The gardens are beautiful spaces that connect students to their school and help them develop a sense of pride and ownership, which in turn improves attitudes towards school and discourages vandalism. |
9. |
They provide opportunities for community involvement including neighbors, volunteers, parents, and local businesses. |
10. |
School gardens promote good nutrition and exercise. The health of our kids and the health of our planet are fundamentally connected. |
When investigating the benefits of school gardens, it's helpful to divide them into four categories: academic achievement, a healthy lifestyle, environmental stewardship, and community and social development.
How to Go about Starting a School Garden in Your District
The Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health developed a very helpful toolkit: Let’s Start a School Garden. The Sustainable Table provides another source: How To Start A School Garden. The School Garden Wizard is another great source.
Excellent Resources
Center For Ecoliteracy
The Center for Ecoliteracy is a public foundation that supports a grant-making program for educational organizations and school communities, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Earthbox
This company has developed a maintenance-free, high-tech growing system which controls soil conditions and more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden, with less fertilizer, less water and virtually no effort. They provide special garden programs for educators with Pre-K-12th grade standards-based curriculum support packages.
The Edible Schoolyard
Alice Waters founded this non-profit program located in Berkeley, California. Its mission is to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school's curriculum and lunch program.
Kitchen Gardeners International
Its mission is to empower individuals, families, and communities to achieve greater levels of food self-reliance through the promotion of kitchen gardening, home-cooking, and sustainable local food systems.
Kids Gardening
A resource of the National Gardening Association that is an interactive hub where teachers, parents, and others who garden with kids find inspirations, advice, and opportunities for exchange.
Life Lab
Through its curricula and programs, Life Lab helps schools develop gardens where children can create "living laboratories" for the study of the natural world. Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Their School Garden program is one of their community-based programs created in response to the challenge of how to create ecologically, economically and culturally sustainable communities.
Regen Kids
Regen stands for Regeneration. Their goal is to empower children to make healthy choices for the environment, and for themselves.
The Sustainable Schools Project
A dynamic new model for school improvement and civic engagement. This program is designed to help schools use sustainability as an integrating context for curriculum, community partnerships, and campus practices.
Teich Garden Systems
This company designs and installs state-of-the-art animal-resistant outdoor sustainable garden systems for gardeners of all ages.
Explore Opportunities for Funding
National Environmental Education Foundation
School Grants
The Foundation Center
Environmental Protection Agency
