A school garden is a fantastic and complete teaching tool that allows educators to use hands-on experiences to teach everything from math and science to art and reading. In fact, there isn’t anything that can’t be taught from a garden, including some important things about patience and nurturing, caring for our world and ourselves, and understanding life cycles. Students will begin to make their own connections and learn skills that can have life-long benefits. Plus, gardening can be fun. For students, being outside, planting seeds and watching them grow, and then harvesting their own food can be very fulfilling.

A school garden can be any size and even grow with the students. It is often a focal point for parents, teachers and students to cooperate whether it is a small or large. It should be flexible and help meet the precise needs of the school community. Educators know that it can also promote opportunities for interdisciplinary lessons, good nutrition and exercise and instill a positive work ethic. It gives kids a chance to contribute positively to their environment.
          School Gardens Resources and Information
          School Garden Programs in Washington State

An Example to Follow         Classroom in Bloom is a one-half acre garden on the shared campus of Liberty Bell Jr/Sr High School and Methow Valley Elementary School in Winthrop, Washington.  Students from both schools participate in the garden program, benefitting from hands-on education integrated into the school’s curriculum. Through working with the head chef in the school cafeteria, Classroom in Bloom determines what and how much food can be easily incorporated into the lunch menu. The garden focuses on winter keeper crops and foods that can be harvested in the fall when school is back in session. Students harvest on Wednesdays and Fridays and store the fresh bounty in the cafeteria walk-in until use. 2007-2008 : Food Harvested for Cafeteria * 233 pounds of carrots * 129 pounds of potatoes * 200 pounds of tomatoes * 180.5 pounds of winter squash * 38.75 pounds of cabbage Visit the Classroom in Bloom [external link] website to watch a short video [external link] about the program and to learn more! All information is from www.classroominbloom.org.[external link]

Web links for School Gardens
Resources and Information

By sharing resources here we hope to continue promoting and encouraging school gardens.
 The Puget Sound School Gardens Collective [external link] is a group that meets quarterly to promote the integration of school gardens into classroom learning. They highlight three values on their website: learning life skills, creating community and helping kids make healthy choices. They provide links to local programs that are implementing ideas that can serve as models or inspirations to others.
Garden Based Education[external link] is a website dedicated to furthering the learning potential of children through school gardens. They have information for educators, parents and students. The site has great information on how gardens support better learning by engaging different learning styles.
The California School Garden Network[external link] provides many resources to help make your school garden successful. It offers information about academic, nutrition, stewardship and community that could guide you through the whole cycle from planning and planting to harvest and reinvesting.
See our Education Resources page for more great ideas.

Great School Garden Programs in Washington State

The Lopez Island School District[external link] has a garden program called L.I.F.E.:Lopez Island Farm Education. It is to help students learn to appreciate nature, nutrition, and the environment and over the last six years it has become a national model. It is being showcased in The Center for Ecoliteracy’s new book, Smart by Nature.
North Central Washington School Gardens [external link] is a blog where several local schools have joined forces to pool good information and updates on their work. There is a very useful Q and A section, a list of the schools (with links), upcoming events and grant information.
Orca Garden [external link] in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle was started in 1993 with parent and community volunteers and support. Their site is a treasure trove of ideas, experiences and links. Visit their blog [external link] for the latest updates.