Celebrate
Youth Gardens During
National Garden Month! |
April
News Room
Announcements
April
is National Garden Month®!
National Garden Month is a fine opportunity for your young gardeners to reach
out
to
the
community! Visit the National
Garden Month Web site for ways to celebrate, educational activities, our
garden
contest and giveaway, event
listings for your area, and much more.
Attention
Life Lab Educators!
NGA is looking for educators who use the Life Lab Science Program and the The
Growing Classroom curriculum to feature in a future publication. If you're
interested in sharing your stories, please e-mail Education Specialist Sarah
Pounders.
Transforming
School Food
What if school meals, nutrition education, and classroom curriculum
were merged? The Teachers' Room Feature on Kidsgardening.com
is packed with success stories about schools where students grow,
cook,
taste,
and
make
decisions about fresh food. It makes a remarkable difference
in kids' acceptance of new, healthful foods and gives them real-life
applications
for skills across disciplines — and that's just for starters.
Check out the Teachers’
Room for inspiration and ideas
for how to make it happen in your school!
Seeking
Submissions for Youth Video Project
As
long as we're talking about kids and food...Arts Engine, the
nonprofit that brings you the annual Media That Matters Film Festival,
is seeking
submissions
for "Media
That Matters: Good Food," a nationwide project that will empower
and educate young people about food and the environment. Good Food
will
bring a
unique collection of short, inspiring films by youth and independent
filmmakers to middle-school, high-school and college students around
the country. Through Web streaming; classroom, community, and campus
screenings; national broadcasts; and DVD distribution, young people
will be engaged by food and environmental issues and inspired to take
action for a sustainable future in their own communities. And participation
is FREE!
Deadline for
entries is May 5, 2006. For full details and criteria, e-mail Shira
Golding.
Teachers Wins
GrowLab at NSTA Conference
NGA staff attended the recent NSTA Conference in Anaheim, California, to share
our resources and ideas with science teachers from across the country. In a random
drawing, one
of
those lucky teachers (Mary Simun of Redondo Beach, California) won the new
three-tier GrowLab
that was on display in the NGA booth! A heartfelt "Thank you" to all
who stopped by to learn about learning gardens, to share your stories, and to
make us feel
welcome on the opposite coast.
___________________________
Conferences
Ag
in the Classroom
National Conference ~
June 21-24, 2006
Join educators from across the nation in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
to "Unlock the Treasures of the Garden State" and celebrate
AITC's 25th Anniversary. Workshops will help you introduce
agriculture concepts to your
students and cover topics from crops and cows to
biotechnology and biofuels. For a complete workshop and
tour
schedule
and registration
information, visit the AITC
Web site.
2006
National Children & Youth Garden Symposium ~ July 27-29,
2006
Presented by the American Horticultural Society and hosted by The
Missouri Botanical Garden, the theme of this year’s Symposium
is “Cultivating a Sense of Place: A Youth Gardening Adventure." Workshops,
tours, and networking opportunities are capped by the keynote address
by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our
Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Learn more at the AHS
Web site.
___________________________
Celebrate
Spring!
During the month
of April, gardeners celebrate National
Garden Month and a whole lot more. Here are a few other dates
to observe with your young gardeners.
National & Global
Youth Service Day is celebrated April 21-23.
It's the
largest service event in the world! Plan now for projects and
events in your community so your students can be a
part of this global initiative. Visit the Youth
Service America Web site for more information.
National
Volunteer Week is April 23 - 29. It's
an opportunity to recognize the volunteers who make your youth
garden
possible! Sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation, National
Volunteer Week was created to help organizations focus on thanking
volunteers for their dedicated service throughout the year. To
find a tool kit of promotional resources and ideas, visit
here.
Earth
Day is Saturday, April 22, and the Earth
Day Web site is loaded with information, resources, and ideas
for ways to celebrate. Teachers of all grade levels and subject
areas who register their Earth Day Event on the Earth Day
Educator's Network will receive online educational resources, a
free Environmental
Jeopardy poster, and Teachers Guide. For full details and to register,
visit the Earth
Day Web site.
Friday April
28 is National Arbor Day. (Many
states observe Arbor Day at other times of the year; the Arbor
Day Web site has a full calendar by state.) You can find out more
about Arbor Day at the
organization’s Web site, including ideas for recognizing
it in your classroom.
May is National
Wetlands Month, an annual celebration that inspires
and empowers people to work throughout the
year
to protect and expand these vital ecosystems. For a calendar
of events, visit the Environmental Protection Agency's Wetlands
Web site.
If you're thinking about building a schoolyard
wetland, check out the October
2005 issue of Kids Garden News for ideas and instructions.
Keep
America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup continues
through May 31.
Each spring, Keep America Beautiful coordinates volunteers across
the nation in projects to create community environments that are
healthy, safe, clean, and beautiful. Find
volunteer opportunities in your area
___________________________
Funding
Opportunities
Extended Application Deadline for Dutch
Bulbs Awards ~ May 1st
With 500 awards to distribute, we're giving youth gardens an extended opportunity
to get in on the Kids Growing with Dutch Bulbs Awards! Spring-flowering
bulbs
are
a
great,
easy
way
to
brighten
up
a schoolyard and invite lots of curriculum connections. These awards
allow for lots of student participation because each award package includes 200
bulbs (valued at more than $200); you also receive a booklet of bulb-related
lessons
for
grades
K-12.
The
application is simple and succinct, and the rewards large! Extended application
deadline:
May
1, 2006. Learn
more here.
2006
Hooked on Hydroponics Awards
The National Gardening Association joins the Hydroponic Merchants Association
and leading hydroponic gardening suppliers in presenting this 2nd annual award.
Classroom hydroponics offers eager students loads of opportunities to explore
concepts across the curriculum, from biology to economics. Twelve educational
programs will each receive a compact hydroponics package that includes everything
required grow plants successfully indoors. Application deadline: September 30,
2006. Learn
more here
Healthy
Sprouts Awards
These awards support school garden
programs that use the garden to teach about nutrition and the
issue of
hunger in the United States. Sponsored by Gardener’s Supply Company.
In this grant cycle we will present awards to 25 schools or organizations.
Each will receive a $200 gift certificate to Gardener's Supply
Company and a curriculum package from NGA. Apply by October
15, 2006. To learn more or download
an application, visit
here.
VIVA!
Garden for Schools Contest ~ Deadline: May 31
Fifty winning schools will receive a $250 Home Depot gift card and have photos
of their winning garden entry featured on the VivaGarden.com Web site. All entries
must be received by May 31, 2006. Click
here for details.
Garden
Crusader Awards ~ Deadline: June 1
The Garden Crusader Awards were created by Gardener's Supply in 2001 to honor
individuals who are improving the world through gardening. These enthusiastic
men and women are planting trees and flowers, growing food, creating new
green spaces, and teaching their friends and neighbors about the rewards
of gardening. Garden Crusader Award Categories include: education, feeding
the hungry, beautification, urban renewal and restoration. Do you know a
Garden Crusader? Click
here for nomination details.
Support
for Afterschool Programs
The
Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising
awareness of the importance of afterschool programs
and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children.
The organization's Web site offers loads of resources including
information on funding projects. For more information,
visit the Afterschool
Alliance Web site.
Grant
Wrangler Funding Directory
Grant
Wrangler is a free grants listing service that makes it easy for teachers
to find funding. To see the full list of funding opportunities, and
to subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter, visit the Grant
Wrangler Web site.
