School Gardening – Educational Resources
- A Planning Guide
for Edible School Gardens
This guide is designed as a tool for planning and implementing a successful
edible garden. It was developed by the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, with support from
the Community Food Projects Program of the USDA Extension Service.
- Getting Started: A Guide
for Creating School Gardens as Outdoor Classrooms
Getting Started is a 51-page guide designed and published by
the Center for Ecoliteracy in collaboration with Life Lab Science Program.
This is a free resource with major sections including Getting Started,
Selecting the Site, Preparing the Garden Site, Meeting the Challenge,
Keeping Your Garden in the Public Eye, and Understanding Nature’s Cycles.
- The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based
This curriculum is designed for grades 2-6 and includes a teacher’s
manual featuring step-by-step instructions and strategies for setting
up a garden-based science program and outdoor classroom activities.
Topics include planning a garden laboratory, facilitating investigative
lessons on ecology and nutrition, and involving the community. Includes
an expanded gardening resource section. This set of curriculum may be
purchased from the National Gardening Association.
- Nourishing Choices: Implementing
Food Education in Classrooms, Cafeterias and Schoolyards
This curriculum offers educators, health professionals, youth leaders
and parents a road map for developing a food education program and getting
children excited about healthy eating. It features details on ensuring
sustainability, profiles of winning school- and district-based initiatives,
and an extensive resources section. This curriculum may be purchased
from the National Gardening Association.
Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils
This illustrated book is written for children in grades K-6. Healthy
Foods from Healthy Soils invites teachers and students to discover where
food comes from, how our bodies use food and what happens to food waste.
You will participate in the ecological cycle of food production, compost
formation, recycling back to the soil, while helping children understand
how their food choices affect not only their own health, but farmers,
the environment and your local community. The book may be purchased
from Tilbury House Publishers.
This site was created for America’s K-12 school community through a
partnership between the United States Botanical Garden and Chicago Botanic
Garden. Information and resources for all stages of school garden creation
and use are provided.
The Edible Schoolyard
The Edible Schoolyard (ESY), a program of the Edible Schoolyard Project,
is a one-acre organic garden and kitchen classroom for urban public
school students at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley,
California. At ESY, students participate in all aspects of growing,
harvesting and preparing nutritious, seasonal produce. Today, there
is a small network of Edible Schoolyard affiliate programs in cities
across the country. Learn more about all components of the ESY!
This site is by the National Gardening Association and provides high
quality information, curriculum, grant opportunities and much more on
school and family gardening.
Veggie U is a nonprofit arm of the Culinary Vegetable Institute committed
to fostering synergy between educational, nutritional and agricultural
goals to combat the rising epidemic of childhood obesity. The Veggie
U approach centers around a 4th grade standards-based curriculum, Earth
to Table™, which is supported by indoor gardening equipment, seeds and
fresh foods for tasting exercises shipped from an organic farm in Ohio.
- Operation Green
Plant – FREE SEEDS!
America the Beautiful Fund is offering grants of FREE SEEDS to nourish
and beautify your community.
Learning Tree curriculum
PLT offers award-winning curriculum resources that help educators teach
complex environmental issues. Curriculum resources can be integrated
into lesson plans for all grades and subject areas to help students
learn how to make sound choices about the environment.
- Missouri Botanical
The Missouri Botanical Garden offers a wide variety of opportunities
for students to engage with plant life, learning aids and professional
development opportunities for teachers.
Powell Gardens offers a number of resources to educators, including
workshops for educator professional development. Also offers field trips
- Chicago Botanic Garden
The Chicago Botanic Garden offers an abundance of information through
teacher programs, student field trips, outreach programs, science first
curriculum, and school and community gardening.
- Existing School Gardening Programs and Organizations:
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