107th ST/Magnet Elementary School - Los Angeles, CA
We are an inner-city school in Los Angeles, CA. To encourage better nutrition (not to mention great exercise) the students have planted a vegetable garden. Our space is limited because we need more tools and more seed. One of our goals is to plant more diverse vegetables so that the students may experience items unique to other cultures. Our garden is a partnership, each hand is needed; every job is important. Our students are learning about teamwork, patience, composting, weather, irrigation, dealing with pests (bugs), and the importance of being able to feed themselves from what they grow. We plan to not only use the garden plot allotted to us but to use containers also.

116th Street School - Los Angeles, CA
Currently, we are anticipating the growing of the "Three Sisters", which includes individual mounds for planting.
Three seeds: beans, corn and squash will be planted on each mound.

We are researching a covering for each of the three individual planters (4X8) to protect the growing process.

Our goal is to begin this process in March, 2003. We hope to intersperse items that will attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Pictures will be taken and placed here with permission, of students planting, the process of growing, and finally, the results! HOPE reigns eternal in South Central, Los Angeles.

Abernethy Elementary School - Portland, OR

Abraham Lincoln Elementary - Simi Valley, CA

Abraham Lincoln School - Hastings, NE

Acacia Elementary - Phoenix, AZ
Our garden club includes students from grades K-6. Students work in a group garden plot finding ways to improve their garden with insects, compost, complimentary planting, etc. This year we will expand our garden art to take-home projects and items to touch the community.

Our Arizona weather conditions provide challenges for students. Parents will be encourage to participate in learning and growing. Students will be encouraged to grow their own garden at home.

Action Speaks Heritage Education System Center - Panama City, FL
Our main purpose is to prepare disadvantaged, under-served residents to enter America's mainstream as contributors to society. The way we do this is to teach them how to use education and economic tools of the 21st century appropriately, with patience and compassion, moving with them at their own creative pace of learning. The major tool of knowledge and communication-information is the computer. Yet, after a few hours inside on the computer, one must be free to feel and touch the earth. The best way is to plant seeds watching them grow as we grow and progress into the society mainstream.

A.C.T. Village of Childhelp - Lignum, VA
The Alice C. Tyler Village of Childhelp is a residential treatment facility for at risk children located on a 270 acre former horse farm in Lignum, Virginia (between Fredericksburg and Culpeper). The facility has 6 group homes housing 67 children. We have a school, chapel, stables and riding barn, gym, petting barn, gardens with composting areas, and orchard with a meditation trail, a dining hall, nursing station, pool, and therapeutic services on grounds. Our population consists of abused and neglected children who have been placed here by the courts, county schools, and other referral agencies. Our mission states that we exist to meet the physical, emotional, educational, psychological, and spiritual needs of abused and neglected children.

We use organic methods and make our own compost from raked leaves, shredded paper and waste hay from our petting zoo. For the past three years the 3rd grade class of our school has participated in the Bonnie Plants Cabbage program. Some of our children participate in our 'adopt a plant' program where they select a houseplant to care for in their room. We are constantly looking for new resources or new ways to use what we have.

Adam Elementary - Santa Maria, CA
This is our fourth year on gardening. Each year we focus on a different area. This year we would like to add a greenhouse to our garden so that we can do more year-round growing. We are currently looking for grants to help us fund this idea. Our goal is to become productive enough to take our crops out to the neighboring community. Currently we give things we grow to parents as they pick students up from school.

Advent Home Youth Services - Calhoun, TN
Our school works with students with ADHD and ODD and other learning disabilities. We have a big landscape in our school and the students work with it. Also we have a greenhouse that is not finished yet but we are working hard to make it happen. The garden and greenhouse are used in both the healing and learning processes for our students, and give them work and expierence with nature. All students work two to three hours in the garden and greenhouse. Is wonderful to see how they learn and experience and sense nature.

'Ae Kamali'i Preschool - Lihue, HI
This is the 3rd year we have had our garden. The children work in the garden everyday in groups of 4 with an adult. They plant, water, fertilize, pull weeds, compost, harvest -- THEY DO IT ALL! Once a week our special Aunty comes to work with us. She is a Master Gardener and shares her knowledge and resources with us! We harvest the produce for our lunches and the cook uses the fresh herbs when cooking.

AFCAAM - Fort Myers, FL
We are just beginning our community garden and are so happy that the children and parents are able to participate.
We want each child to be able to enjoy the garden. We are located in a disadvantaged community and the children need to feel that they can come to a safe place and see how nature plays a big part in all lives. The children need to see and feel that they are a part of something, and the garden is a great place to start!

After School Kare - Frankfort, KY
After school Kare has just begun a Jr. Master Gardening program with the kids. In the future we intend to have a community garden and agri-art market.
We have been given dryer drums to garden in because we sit on lots of limestone that is difficult to till.
Our hope this summer is to bring in English as a second language students to teach us about what grows in their countries. We are able to do this because we share our space with a community education program.

Aggie Roberts Elementary School - Henderson, NV
Our Courtyard Garden is a beautiful assortment of trees, shrubs, herbs, veggies and flowers. We have a place for tomatoes, green peppers, and strawberries. One of the raised flower beds is enhanced by a hummingbird feeder and sundial. The highlight of the garden is our mascot's fountain and our beautiful shade structure. The students and faculty have a colorful and positive environment to pass through as they go to the lounge, multipurpose room, and office. Teachers and students are learning about the effects plants have on our lives and how we can enjoy them. The student gardeners have enhanced our school with their hard work and dedication. Along with the children, we are thankful to have our own Aggie Roberts actively involved in our garden club. She is an expert in this field and represents the Nevada Cooperative Extension. Together with our student gardeners we have created a beautiful school garden.

Agnew H Johnston - Thunder Bay,

Aikahi Elementary School - Kailua, HI
I am an ex-horticulturist with a BS in Tropical Agriculture, Horticultural Science. I specialized in orchid tissue cloning and ethnobotany in Hawaiian and Pacific introduced flora. Before that I was a medical lab tech. Twelve years ago, got a PD in education. Three years ago my 5th grade students built a 12x24-foot poly shadehouse in which we grew vegetables, anthuriums, ornamentals, and Hawaiian native and endangered species. Now we are planning and implementing a 30-foot diameter semi-formal garden with seating and statuary built by the students. We help the elderly plant flowers and donate veggies to shelter for abused people.

Aiken Elementary School - West Hartford, CT
We have just begun a project to design and build an outdoor classroom to be installed this spring! I am a local landscape and garden designer and I am heading the project.

Our goal is to create a living learning center to provide a unique environment to teach the academic subjects as well as a natural surrounding to host art and music classes. This new space will allow our teachers to incorporate hands-on learning for science and provide them alternative options for teaching subjects such as math. The PTO and Aiken's principal, Ms. Maureen Lacey, have been dynamic supporters of this idea and together we are looking forward to breaking ground in the next few weeks.

A.J. West Elementary - Aberdeen, WA
We just got a greenhouse and we're working on how to set it up. We're also trying to start a business selling something we can grow in the greenhouse.

Alamo Montessori - Alamo, CA
Our garden curriculum is growing by the minute so I can't say what we have established. But we have been composting for a while, and plan to grow heirloom vegetables from seed this year and expand our garden to about five times it's original size. We are also creating an outdoor classroom to conduct circle time. We are currently looking for resources and information to help us create an incredible garden!

ALBION ST ELEMENTRY - LOS ANGELES, CA

Alcott Elemetary School - Tulsa, OK
The school garden is located in a low income area. The rate of violent crimes among youth is high in this segment of town. My organization is a community farm with the primary goal of food security in a food desert community. We work with youth and seniors. We sponsored and started five community gardens. The school garden has helped to bring cultural unity in our city. We face challenges of funding for school garden project. We are currently seeking funding to have a teaching kitchen in the garden along with a greenhouse. We teach students all the disciplines including economics from garden project.

Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center - Brantingham, NY
The 2005 summer camp season at Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center, an outdoor ministry of the United Methodist Church, introduced its first Organic Garden with three raised beds filled with aged compost and natural fertilizers. These were planned by a Lay Advisory Committee and a local master gardener. In 2005 the garden was planted and tended by summer camp staff; in 2006 the garden was planted by the master gardener and harvested by the fall retreat director who was able to offer fresh cole slaw and brocolli to a guest group.

Each week of the summer 5 or 6 themed camps are offered. During the first week of August 2005 we offered the theme camp called Swiss Family Robinson camp. This was designed for third and fourth graders, with activities such as building a tree house, living in a wilderness area in hogans without electricity, sharing a campfire circle, a camp kitchen in the woods, and an outhouse. Just like the family stranded on the island in the novel, these campers and their counselors learned of the abundance of the earth. Wild low bush blueberries were ready for picking during their week of camp and were mixed into pancake batter, poured on cereal, and eaten by the handful. Food for one of the evening meals was harvested from the camp's new Organic Garden, and campers constructed a directional sign pointing the way to the Organic Garden visible from Brantingham Road. Campers learned about giving back to the earth with a compost bin made from pallets near the garden under an ancient apple tree which also provided food. Food scraps which might attract unwanted critters were placed in a plastic Worm Compost Bin which could be kept in the maintenance building nearby.

At the end of camp week the campers showed all of this to their parents and siblings at Friday afternoon pick-up.

Aldridge Gardens - Hoover, AL
Aldridge Gardens is a small botanical garden in the city of Hoover. One thousand public school second graders will come for the "Down To Earth: A Worms-Eye View of Soil Science" field trip this year. They will examine soil profiles and compare green beans, salvia, and plectranthus growing in separate beds with sandy soil, clay soil, top soil or leaf mold. They will compare plants grown with and without compost, and will help to harvest vermicompost to fertilize the garden. During the trip, students are involved in investigating life in a worm bin, checking temperatures of soil and compost, and conducting percolation tests. In the spring Aldridge Gardens will begin a Junior Master Gardener program.

Alfred Lima - Providence, RI
I plan on having the children grow their own plants in pots so that they can give them to their parents on Mother's Day. Hopefully they will have grown by then.

Alice Birney Middle School - North Charleston, SC
We are currently in the planning stage of our garden project at Alice Birney Middle School. We received a grant and are working to better integrate our curriculum through the implementation of a garden unit. Because we are still in the beginning phases of our project, if there is any information or tips for success that anybody could give to us, we would definitely appreciate it.

Alice Fong Yu Alternative School - San Francisco, CA
It is not so much the garden, but rather the garden program that matters. A vigorous program is the element that sustains a project from year to year. Our program is built from the top down, in that the principal is a supporter of the project and encourages the teachers to use it. In turn, they work with a garden coordinator to align curriculum and use the garden as an outdoor classroom, teaching what they might otherwise teach in the confines of a classroom. The garden coordinator is responsible for providing the teachers with possible ideas on how to integrate the subject matter. She also teaches general gardening, botany, entomology, ecology, cooking and nutrition, and shows the students how to care for and maintain the garden.

Alice Ott Middle School - Portland, OR

Allen Elementary School - Southgate, MI
Our shcool has a very beatiful pond full of fish to go along with our many gardens. Our gardens include flowers, bushes, trees and so much more. Our school ecology club also helps clean up the local streams. This school really does help the environment!

All Saints' Day School - Carmel, CA
The ASDS Organic Garden began fifteen years ago and consisted of six raised planting beds. In the Spring of 2004, teachers and parents began planning and constructing the current garden. Now the garden is fenced in with 18 raised planting beds, a large compost area, a garden sink, and a handmade tool shed with student art. Students in grades K-8 are involved in the garden. Throughout the school year students enjoy reading, writing, math, art, social studies, and science in the garden. During summer school students participate in garden activities as well. The garden has become an integral part of the school's curriculum.

All Saints Regional Catholic - Manahawkin, NJ

All the Children Are Children school - Cape Coral, FL
In a near future.

Alpha Beta Christian Academy - Rome, NY

Alpha Public School - Alpha, NJ
Our revived butterfly garden is doing beautifully. We had a parent make a box for our monarch caterpillars and the children were able to experience the whole process from caterpillars to the release of the monarchs. We even made our local paper! We are hoping to get more teachers involved in the garden.

Alta Mesa - Redding, CA
We have a heavy emphasis on native plants. We are developing a native plant trail on our campus for the community to use. We also have been landscaping our campus with natives.

Alta Mesa Elementary - Redding, CA
Alta Mesa Elementary's school garden is a work in progress. The project started in 1996 when a group of teachers attended a Life Lab Workshop. Those teachers left that workshop with a garden vision and have since made it a working reality.

The garden is unique in that most of the design and labor has been done through the planning of students. The Garden Club works the area 2 to 3 times per month. Teachers use the garden for classroom activities and 3 to 4 times a year, a teacher takes classes to the garden to learn specific lessons about the garden. The garden has been host to many overnighters, garden parties, and a native plant display.

Each year, additions have been made to the garden. The original site was garden beds. We added a fence to define the boundaries and a garden shed in which to store tools, seeds, etc. The site was awarded an Environmental Education grant from the state of California in November of 2000. The grant provided for an additional concrete study table, a covered learning area, a pond, and an interpretive trail site. The garden was also recognized by the National Gardening Association's with a Youth Garden Grant. Community sponsors have played a vital role in the upkeep and development of the garden. We appreciate ALL of our sponsors, including local landscape businesses, the largest pond lily supply store north of Sacramento, local contractors, parents, staff and others.

Altus Jr. High - Altus, OK
Project G.R.O.W. "Gardening Recycling with Oklahomans and Worms." What began as a composting project six years ago, turned into worms galore as vermicomposting was discovered. We had to do something with our compost and two years ago we established an outdoor classroom with an emphasis on trees and gardens. In order to effectively teach plant biology, students are involved in hands-on scientific activities using the GrowLab activities manual. We have gardens outside that are prepared year-round, and grow lights indoors enable us to grow plants during the winter months and start plants early for spring planting.

American Canyon Middle School - American Canyon, CA

American School of Marrakech - Marrakech,
This is a new garden, just started in 2002 in a desert climate, with drought-resistant plants native to the area, since there is an ever-receding water table. It gives the children the experience of growing from seed and from cuttings, with a mixture of herbs, small trees, flowers, and fruit and vegetables. They are given as much responsibility as possible. Many of them have had no previous experience growing anything and they are very excited to see their own plants developing. We hope to have some edible plants to use for school meals, and plants to sell at our next school fair.

Ames Middle School - Chicago, IL
We do not have much experience growing and learning with
plants. We have a lovely courtyard space where we want to
plant flowers and maybe a few vegatables. We're in the process of writing a proposal and naming our garden. We hope it become a wonderful expression of nature.

A.M. Winn - Sacramento, CA
Please check out our website and our blog to see what we are up to.

Angels Unlimited Preschool - Red Wing, MN
Our apple unit in October begins the growing adventure. We observe color, shape, size, taste, texture of different Minnesota-grown apples. We cut apples in half and count seeds. Seeds are then placed in plastic bags and "winter" in our school refrigerator. In January we expose the seeds to "spring" and observe how the seed changes in a warm temperature. Seeds that sprout are planted in clear cups with good drainage that allow students to observe root growth as well as stem and leaf growth. Trees are placed in a sunny location in school and watered and transplanted as they grow. The Apple trees are Mother's Day presents that each child grew.

Angie's Childcare and Preschool - Milwaukie, OR
We are a backyard garden/farm group of preschool to 6th grade children. We currently are planning our gardening/farm and nature progressive project. We will plant seeds, transplant plants, prepare and maintain raised garden plots. We will explore birds, butterflies and insects. We will chart plant growth. Explore recipes to encourage use of our grown fruit and vegetables. Have fruits and vegetables available for children to take home and share with family in their own home environment. We will also explore natural art, painting, molding clay using recyclable items for container gardening and art supplies. using chicken and rabbit manure, worm bins, and composting tumbler.

Anne Carlsen Center for Children - Jamestown, ND
We are expanding our small garden to allow all children at the center the opportunity to participate. We are building accessible raised beds, planting around our pond and nature trail (also an official state OWL site). We are planning on assisting our students in selling our extra produce at a local farmer's market. Of course, we plan on eating and cooking a lot, too! We will have a small compost area for soil ammendment, and will request that classrooms keep their gardening organic. Can't wait for planting time!

Anne E. West Elementary - Atlanta, GA

Annie H. Snipes Elementary School - Wilmington, NC
This will be a growing and learning experience to the fullest extent of these two terms!

The "Best After School Program Ever", comprised of 25 Snipes Elementary students, has chosen to beautify our school grounds in conjunction with Earth Day 2004.

Happy Gardening!

Anzar High School - San Juan Bautista, CA
We are in the planning stages of a High School garden/community garden/science workshop. We have parents, farmers, and master gardeners, and are seeking a leader. There is a lot of space to work and develop. Our school is 10 years old.

Anza YMCA Child Care - Torrance, CA

AP Giannini Middle School - San Francisco, CA
Every classroom and grade level has a raised bed assigned to them. Students observe, write about their plants and observations, and maintain their plants several times each week.

Aplington Elementary - Aplington, IA
We have created a garden in the shape of a large tree. There are smaller gardens inside given to each grade. Kindergarten has an alphabet garden, First grade has a storybook garden, Second grade has a dinosaur garden, Third grade has a southwest garden, Fourth grade has a native Iowa prairie, and Fifth grade has a Japanese garden. There is also a butterfly garden and an annual garden for all grades.

Applegate Community Resource Center - Bennington, VT
The Applegate Community in Bennington, VT has been developing a community garden for the last 5 years. The garden has been a great success in exposing the children, teens, and adults to food systems, fertilizing and soil, and starting seeds indoors.

During the 2006 season we will offer a summer camp for Applegate residents as well as students from outside of the housing development. The summer camp will potentially be working with the Bennington Youth Horticulture Partnership in a mentoring model.

Applegate Elementary - Eugene, OR

Applegate School - Applegate, OR

Applegate School - Applegate, OR
Applegate currently has a greenhouse, butterfly garden, and a small vegetable garden. Each year classes plant milkweed for the butterfly garden. This year we have added in vermiposting and vegetable gardening.

Arcadia Christian School - Arcadia, CA

Argyle Central School - Argyle, NY
We use our garden in the special education department of our K-12 school, where it is an excellent teaching tool during summer school. We also use produce in our Life Skills Kids' Cafe.

Arrowhead Primary - Copley, OH
Over the past decade our township has undergone rapid development which has increasingly robbed children of natural areas in which to gain environmental knowledge, awareness, and values. This same development has deprived much of the wildlife indigenous to our area of a habitat. Because of these factors, we felt that there was an overwhelming need to create an environmental refuge in our community where children and wildlife could thrive. Our land lab ecosystem provides our children and teachers with opportunities to study and develop an appreciation of our natural environment, while providing a valuable outdoor classroom in which to expand the present curriculum.

Arroyo Vista Elementary - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Bean Pole Trellis with climbing sweet peas and beans; pumpkins; sunflowers; cucumbers; 3-tier strawberry patch; snapper peas; raddishes; lettuce; variety of flowers and hybrid-tea roses. Not to forget, kindergarten student-designed poetry stepping stones, garden gravel paths, bird feeders, and their very own garden journals. We have many upcoming projects that introduce the children to making salads, pressing sweetpeas, and painting garden projects.

Art Freiler School - Tracy, CA

ASCEND - Oakland, CA

Ashford Primary School - Houston, TX
The garden and greenhouse project at Ashford Primary School was started in the fall of 2004 as an idea, and has blossomed into a full greenhouse and a 200-unit outdoor cylinder garden. We have a bean pole tunnel, a butterfly garden, a "dye" garden, a sensory garden, "Peter Rabbit's" garden, a rainbow garden of flowers, and many vegetables and herbs.

Inside the greenhouse we have grown lemon, lime, and orange trees from seed! We also have pineapple plants, corn, squash, beans, radishes, lettuce, herbs, flowers, and anything else the children want to try to grow.

Summer 2006 we finally built an outdoor education center with a pond and a wetland area.I n 2007 we completed the deck area that overlooks the pond, so the children can watch their polywogs grow and observe the wetlands.Our garden continues to grow, we presently have over 50 sunflowers blooming, many are over 9 feet tall. It will be exciting to see the children's faces when they come back to school. We have also added a bench and a trellis and the 2nd grade class made 54 stepping stones that will create a pathway around some of the garden.

Ashland High School - Ashland, WI
Ashland Agriculture Students experience flower gardening with annuals, perennials, and bulbs. They determine ways to deter damage by whitetail deer which are prevalent in this area. Students design both flower and vegetable gardens using concepts of companion gardening, successive crops, and utilize a compost pile that consists of organic material from classroom plants and animal wastes. Students assist older community members in growing flowers and in planting community gardens managed by members of the city beautification committee.

Ashland Middle School - Ashland, OR
The AMS Garden Project uses the garden as an outdoor classroom to study plant and soil science, hunger issues and nutrition, intensive production horticulture, art, forensic science, business principles, construction techniques, perform community service, and provide fresh produce to the school cafeteria. In existence for 14 years, we have fed many people in the Rogue Valley, from schoolkids to the homeless. This year, we've expanded to 30,000 square feet.

Ashworth Middle School - Calhoun, GA
Work on the Ashworth Middle School Courtyard began in 1993 as a student council project. It is located between two wings of the school, outside of the media center. For the first two years of Phase I of the project, the student council members participated in fundraising activities. In 1995, the media specialist and his son helped build a 16-foot arbor. A stone walkway and patio beneath the arbor were laid. Three types of flower beds were installed: a butterfly garden, a dry-creek bed, and a Japanese garden. Students, teachers, parents, and master gardeners worked to complete this phase of the project.

In 1998, Phase II began. The garden was extended about 30 feet, and a goldfish pond was installed. Walmart awarded the school a $500 grant and sent 15 of their employees to help install the pond. Also that year, the courtyard was selected as a Georgia Master Gardener project and received a $500 grant. Since that time enough concrete tables and benches have been purchased to provide seating for an entire classroom. Phase III is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2003. The garden will be extended about 50 more feet at that time.

Atascadero Junior High - Atascadero, CA
The program is in its infancy and we are hoping to expand it soon. Ours is a junior high special education class, and we are working on life skills. This is a great opportunity for students to really have a hands-on experience that produces results. I am working on correlating the program to Language arts, science, social studies, math, and anything else that I can. The students are really enjoying the hands on experience.

A-Toor School for Girls - Jerusalem,
A Kinder Garden, initiated by the All Nations Cafe team, is the first attempt to create school gardens in the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.

Three classes, at grades 4th, 5th and 6th, have started the program in spring 2004, each taking care of a garden plot or a classroom, and making it green, organic and sustainable.

The girls are also planning to create the first community garden for the neighborhood, so kids would have a safe and nourishing environment to play and to work at after school hours.

Atwood Elementary School - Macomb, MI
The Atwood Elementary School Gators are thrilled to have our very own garden group - aptly named the Gator Gardeners who tend our Gator Gardens! This all started in the fall of 2005 with a handful of Brownies planting mums and spring blooming bulbs. We loved the idea so much, we are working with several Master Gardeners and an after school garden club. More than 30 children signed up in the spring of 2006 to get us going! We planted a Halloween Garden (corn, gourds, pumpkins), a Victory Garden (the children, and parents, were very interested in learning what life was like during WWII!), a sunflower house, a teepee garden, as well as a butterfly garden. Near the front of our school, where our flag pole is located, we planted a 'Red, White, Blue - We Salute You!' Garden. This fall, we are inviting Veterans to teach us about flag etiquette. Next year, as this garden fills in, we will be inviting local military units, police and fire personnel to our dedication ceremony!

During one of our meetings, children planted a mini-vegetable garden to take home. We used a large pot and planted carrots, lettuce, green onions and beets around the sides, and a nasturtium in the middle. They all loved watching their plants grow from seed, sharing their harvest with family and were amazed they could eat the nasturtium flowers! The children continued to meet during the summer months to tend the crops that they have raised. Families volunteered to care for the gardens for one week, ensuring plenty of water for healthy growth.

We have a working compost bin, along with a worm bin that has been in a classroom. As 2006-07 school year starts, we are anticipating much use of our gardens from many teachers. The Gator Gardeners are also planning on planting a flower maze and a native garden as well!

Auburn Residential Center - Auburn, NY

Augusta Middle School - Augusta, KS
We started our gardening project with container butterfly gardens. After being awarded a Dutch Bulbs grant, we were given permission to plant the bulbs in the flower beds in front of our school. Because very little work had been done with the beds we had a lot of work to do to get them ready for the bulbs. We expanded to a perennial butterfly garden in the spring and are also working to attract birds and beneficial insects. We are hoping to get some corporate sponsors to be able to purchase and plant some flowering shrubs (e.g., spirea) in our beds to help decrease the area we have to keep weeded (it's a big job for our little group!). We have also started a "green" compost pile at the back of our school. Our class of special needs kids (mild to severe cognitive disabilities or multiple disabilities) have really enjoyed the project.

Ault Academy - Twin Cedars - LaGrange, GA
This group of young men is in a contained environment and attend a special needs school dealing with severe social and emotional problems. They are limited in their outreach to the community, but the gardening program allows them a chance to achieve success through academic and hands-on experiences, gain job-related skills in horticulture, and contribute produce to their school lunch program. There is also the opportunity to contribute to the community through donating excess produce to the Community Food Bank. Some graduates are using their skills in jobs or family farms. Our goals are that the students develop skills in cooporation, personal responsibility, and leadership, but we are delighted when their gardening skills can enable them to find job opportunities or help their family after leaving.

Austin-East High School - Knoxville, TN
We're just getting started

Austin Road Elementary School - Mahopac, NY
The Austin Road Memorial Garden was designed & donated to the Austin Road Elementary School by the Austin Road P.T.A. It was dedicated on October 3, 2001.

The Austin Road Memorial Garden honors the memory of three people who were taken from us by cancer and who were much loved members of both the Austin Road and the Town of Mahopac communities.

The Memorial Garden is also a reminder to all who visit that the fight to win the battle against cancer is one that must be continuously fought. Each year, in order to continue to do our part, Austin Road Teams participate in the Relay for Life.

Additionally, the garden is a constant work (and lesson) in progress.

Aventura City of Excellence School - Aventura, FL
We won 1st place at the Fairchild Botanical Garden's educational challenge 2 years in a row (2007 and 2008)! We incorporated math, language arts, science, and art in the garden. We have a compost pile, vermicompost, pond, butterfy gardens, sundial, fruits and veggies! I welcome any questions and would love to exchange lessons, tips, etc. email Janice at Teamparenting@aol.com

Avery Early Childhood Center - Oak Park, MI
The children in our First and Second grades who are in the Title I and ESL programs planted vegetable seeds indoors and transplanted them into a Snack Garden outdoors. When school started up this fall, they were so surprised to see and taste the "snacks" that they had grown. They were amazed at the fact that seeds make food. This has started a discusson of what we will plant in the spring.

Avon Grove Charter School - West Grove, PA
The Avon Grove Charter School has been gardening for three years now. Our efforts were initiated by Sue Howard, one of our teachers, who created a vegetable garden at AGCS with her students.

From that point, we began to expand our focus and concentrate on restoring native plants and habitats. We have also committed to innovative rain gardening initiatives designed to offset the impact of stormwater run-off.

Baby Boomers International Preschool - Ft.Lauderdale, FL
We are a preschool, ages infant through five. We partner with our public school board by blending special needs preschoolers into our program. We also partner with the Families of Deaf Alliance by blending their children into our classes. We are a Reggio Emilia based curriculum which builds community through gardening and cooking. We grow lots of our snacks, make compost from our snack and lunch scraps, have a butterfly garden that has evolved over 5 years, and built a butterfly garden at our local grammar school. We are all under five, but are expert gardeners! WE ARE MOVING to a new space, an historic 100-year-old pioneer home in Pompano Beach with a half-acre of garden space. We are quite excited, as this was all once farmland, so our vegetable garden should thrive.

Bacich Elementary - Kentfield, CA
2nd year of our 2nd Grade Garden efforts... each class this year will have their own bed to plant, they decide how they will plant. (Just planting 12/08... more details to come!)

Last year we planted a pizza garden (tomatoes, basil, parsley, oregano), bee balm for a tea party (great iced tea too!), strawberries, a lemon tree, some native flowers for the butterflies & bees, and the kids loved the Swiss Chard tacos they devoured from our garden!

Bailey Park Elementary - Grinnell, IA
Our garden project is an on-going, growing project. The goal is to design an outdoor/indoor learning classroom. The aim is to capture the curiosity of the students as they learn about natural resources and experience agriculture in the form of gardening. The objectives are to teach skills that will be used throughtout a lifetime and encourage exploration of food and nutrition.

Kindergarten, first, and second grades work with the outdoor garden. Our garden includes butterfly/hummingbird habitat, vegetable, herb, sun and shade gardens. The students do hands-on projects that includes testing the soil, turning the soil, preparing the plots, taking care of the gardens and studying insects in the garden. They harvest the produce and seeds that we then display at the county fair.

The students have shown an interest in how to preserve food and make food products from the vegetables. We intergate science, math, reading and writing with the garden products. The greenhouse allows us to grow plants year round and do different experiments.

Bald Eagle Area High School - Wingate, PA
The Learning Support students at the Bald Eagle Area High School will be completing a Service-Learning Project and Senior Culminating Project at the Houston Township Community Recreation Park. The students will be involved with planting a butterfly garden and bushes for a bluebird trail. The class has received $250 to purchase some materials for the first planting this spring. They would like an additional grant to improve the garden for the following year and expand the program to have a small garden started at the high school. The students will be integrating math, science, social studies and language arts skills to complete their projects. Though the teacher acts as a facilitator, the entire project was generated by the students. Research and community contacts are made by the students via e-mail, U.S. Postal Service, Internet and telephone.

Daneece Jones, Learning Support Teacher

Bancroft Elementary - Walnut Creek, CA
We have a large space with eight raised beds plus three more with attached trellises. We also have six in ground planting areas and a butterfly garden. A circle of straw bales is our teaching area. Boy scout projects have accounted for much of the building.

We are currently working towards developing a small pond so we can be recognized as a wildlife habitat. We have many host and nectar plants as well as vegetables and ornamentals. Our focus is organic so we do a lot of mulching and weeding to keep the district from spraying herbicides. We do lots of composting using garden waste and plan to extend to kids' lunch waste. First grade does most of the work with some help from third grade.

Bancroft School - Haddonfield, NJ

Bangor Elementary - Bangor, CA
The garden was constructed by the summer school students in 2001. Seven raised beds aligned to the north have been built to the north side of four classrooms. Each bed has been assigned to a teacher at the school, and he/she is encouraged to plant the bed with his/her class. At the end of summer school the students planted flower plants and a variety of seeds. So far lettuce, spinach, beans, carrots and turnips have been harvested. Some of the produce has been made into dishes and served in the school cafeteria. At the moment, winter vegetables that have been grown from seed have been put out in the beds, and pumpkins are almost ready for harvesting.

A Garden Club has been started after school, and these students are working on garden-wide projects such as preparing an area for lawn, putting bark around the planter beds and adding to the compost pile. Lessons on nutrition are available for the teachers to use in conjunction with the garden.

Banneker Special Education School - Los Angeles, CA
Our garden is very old and in great need of rejuvenation, a new vision and starting a vocational business for our special needs students who care for it while learning about it. We have a new teacher in charge now, Ruthie Ford. She is determined to have salad goods growing to enable students to make better and healthier food choices, indoor plants for sale, and herbs for sale as well. Right now, it is a tremendous, labor intensive job to clear the garden and get all the weeds out without using pesticides!

Banting Middle School - Coquitlam B.C. V3J 4J4,
At Banting Middle School we are entering our 32th year of running a full greenhouse program. We take 32+ students, some who have special needs or are ESL, and teach them the ins and outs of running a horticulture business. We have three full-size greenhouses in which we seed, transplant, grow and sell over 100 different types of annuals and many other plants. We also have lab time when the students learn the biology of plant growth and disease control. They also learn some sales and marketing skills.

Barbara Webster Elem. - Santa Paula, CA
Our garden has been a great source of pride for our students, staff and parents for the last 13 years. It has gone a through number of changes as part of our science magnet program. We have a greenhouse, raised beds, some permanent plants (lemon tree, cactus) and open space for vining or row crops. We our facing our greatest challenge as our district has removed the magnet status of our school. With this change we lost the creator and inspiration of our garden, Mr.Dan Lang. The responsibility of the garden area now lies with the classroom teachers. We are looking forward too a great new year of gardening!

Barkley School Age Services - Ft. Campbell, KY
Barkley school services the military community of Ft. Campbell. Our children have one or two parents who serve active duty Army. Our children may move every two years or may be a year or more with out a parent. The garden was started five years ago when several children showed the interest to care for something. Because they move so often most of our children can not care for a pet, so plants made sence. We have grown vegtables for five years, this will be the first year we will enter the plants in the local 4-H fair.

Barnard Elementary School - Tecumseh, OK

Barnett Shoals Elementary - Athens, GA
We have been gardening at Barnett Shoals for over fifteen years. It is a true partnership between parents, administration, teachers, and students. We started with a master plan and have implemented it over several years. The garden development allows teachers to use the entire grounds as their outdoor classroom.

The butterfly garden was replanted 6-1/2 years ago by about 225 children and 40 adults. Gardens are used to promote good stewardship (Native Gardens, Butterfly and Endangered Species gardens, and the Arboretum), peace (Peace Pole garden), community service (Garden of Hope - cancer benefit and memorial garden), agricultural, culinary & science skills (lab gardens for annuals, fruit shrubs), the horticultural trade (plants that feature local nursery names/introductions from UGA horticulture), and more!

Children of all grades start seeds in their classrooms, chart the growth of bulbs indoors, plant annuals out into the various gardens, and cook the harvests. One class makes products for sale and uses it to fund their class' special trips, feed the animals in the barn, and to supplement their classroom supplies.

The most recent development (2003) is a partnership with the College of Agricultural Science at UGA. Students from the various disciplines come to the school as part of their curriculum to work on a variety of projects with students. They have also provided community service hours in the way of grounds maintenance on some of the larger garden projects such as the Native Flora Garden and the Arboretum.

Barrett Elementary School - Arlington, VA
Barrett Elementary began an outdoor learning center two years ago and have since created a standards-based outdoor classroom complete with pond, bog, and native Virginia vegetation. Our school is a Title I school with predominantly non-native English speakers. Our resources are scarce but the dedication to a natural habitat has been tremendous as it is often the only opportunity many of our students have for gardening. We are in the infancy stages of growing an outdoor habitat but have created a beautiful space for growing successful children.

Baxter County Alternative School - Mountain Home, AR
The Baxter County Alternative School was founded in 1998 for students (1) who were court ordered to attend, (2) in lieu of expulsion from public schools, (3) to prepare for the GED test who otherwise would drop out of public schools, or (4) for credit recovery. Community partnerships were formed with local businesses, churches or groups. These organizations allow students to perform community services in order that they can experience the joy of giving back to the community with no expectation of receiving anything in return.

A grant from the Arkansas Department of Education allowed for expansion of the BCAS Community Partnership/Service Program. A part of this program is the "community garden" where students tilled, planted, and cared for vegetables and flowers, which they sold at a roadside stand. The funds they raised will be used to purchase seed for next year's community garden.

BCAS teachers have connected the community garden to their lesson plans; health, nutrition, science, etc. Land for the BCAS community garden was provided by a local garden center. This land is located between the garden center and the school.

Bayard Elementary - Bayard, NM
Our garden program started in the local community garden. Although the first year the program wasn't it's best as far as organization, the children really took to the program. I realized that when you put gardening and children together, a relationship grows and you are the facilitator to help foster the childrens understanding of what they are discovering. So they really inspired me to create a school garden this year. We are using recycled 5 gallon pickle buckets in our school patio. We are primarily growing fruits, veggies, and some herbs. The program has inspired the county wide Pickle Bucket Garden program reaching every school in the Cobre and Silver School Districts, 8 elementary schools.

Bay Farm Elementary - Alameda, CA
We are a K-through-6 elementary school. The garden was established in 1996. Classroom involvement is based on parent volunteers and a part-time paid assistant.

Involvement has grown year by year. Each classroom has a plot and the curriculum varies depending on the teacher and the amount of time spent in the garden.

ALAMEDA'S FIRST COMMUNITY BUTTERFLY HABITAT
TAKES SHAPE AT BAY FARM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Build it and they will come.
Who? Butterflies, hummingbirds and hundreds of children. That's the goal of the Alameda Butterfly Habitat, a wildlife garden currently in development at Bay Farm Elementary School. Started with an East Bay Municipal Utilities Dist. grant administered by Aquatics Outreach Institute, the half acre garden and meadow will provide a natural environment with carefully-selected plants that support the lifecycle of up to 60 Bay Area butterfly species. Because first-hand knowledge is priceless, the habitat is designed to encourage interaction and exploration. Students will discover eggs, identify plants that provide food for developing larvae and experience close-up the magic metamorphosis from chrysalis to butterfly.

A metamorphosis takes place.
Thanks to student gardening projects and community workdays, the previously vacant area has been transformed into brick-lined beds containing over 100 different butterfly support plants, meandering paths (inviting exploration), a grand arbor (welcoming curious visitors) and a large seating area (anticipating butterfly "talks").

Mary McGuiness, Bay Farm Elementary School Principal, says, "I'm so impressed by the commitment of the community, parents and children to this project. Students are requesting to spend their outdoor gardening time in the butterfly habitat and begging parents to attend workdays. Their enthusiasm is contagious."

The power of giving -- a grassroots beginning
Started with a $1,300 EBMUD grant and matching PTA funds for reference books, curriculum materials, at-cost irrigation parts, and "starter" plants, it's the long list of volunteers that has helped make progress for the Butterfly Habitat possible. All labor, including landscape and irrigation plans and installation has been donated.

Butterfly Habitat co-chair, Marla Lee says, "The goodwill effort on behalf of so many community members is outstanding. As a kindergarten mom new to community and school volunteer activities, it's recharged my passion for Alameda as a place to live and raise children."

The Community of Harbor Bay Isle (HBI), numerous East Bay businesses, independent contractors and consultants, the Alameda Unified School District, the City of Alameda and Bay Farm Elementary School staff and volunteers deserve special recognition for the success of the Alameda Butterfly Habitat.

Bay Point Garden Project - Bay Point, CA
Mission Statement:
The Bay Point Garden Project is a place where plants flourish, people grow, and communities come together. BPGP promotes healthy lifestyles, teaching organic gardening and nutrition education for the Bay Point and Concord communities.

We are just over an acre large, located on the campus of Riverview Middle School in central Contra Costa County, California, about one hour east of San Francisco. We offer a garden elective class in the fall and spring quarters for Riverview students, but the majority of our students come to us through the After School Program (ASP). There are 14 participating schools (10 elementary, 4 middle) from the cities of Bay Point and Concord. Groups of children from each school visit us on a rotating basis throughout the school year and during a summer program.

BPGP also serves as the site for the Teen Garden Corps, a 6-week youth development program that provides up to 20 local teens with summer employment while earning school credit. With the help of the youth through all of our programs, we grow many vegetables and fruits, and also some herbs and flowers. The bulk of the harvest is distributed to the ASP sites, each of which has its own cooking and nutrition teacher. In addition, every visit to the garden includes healthy snacks from the garden, which we prepare on site in our "kitchen" classroom. Plans for this summer include: a roadside stand run by the Teen Garden Corps to offer our fresh, organic produce to the community at a very affordable price, and continuing to beautify our garden with the addition of a perennial butterfly garden.

Bayside High School - Palm Bay, FL
My program consists of functional and vocational job opportunities for Exceptional Needs High School Students. The Know and Grow Curriculum helps us to identify job duties and provide horticulture therapy. We are also in the process of working with the local 4-H Program. My Exceptional Needs Students are building up our plant supply so we can make it a profitable school business venture while incorporating many vocational-employability based job opportunities. Our program was awarded a grant from the local Sam's Club for environmental awareness and community service.

Bay View Elementary - Santa Cruz, CA

Beavercreek School - Beavercreek, OR
We plant a vegetable and flower garden every spring. In the fall, kids are greeted by towering sunflowers, in late fall we clean out the garden and plant flower bulbs which bloom in early spring. I just got a local grant so that we can purchase a compost bin and make a worm bin, and also build a raised bed garden. Each spring we also hatch out praying mantises and release them into our garden for natural pest control. The past two years my classes have hatched eggs at school and we will be attemtping to use organic fertilizer this year (chicken manure.)

Beecher Elementary School - Beecher, IL
The Beecher Elementay School Nature Club (4th and 5th graders) planned and developed a courtyard garden, which is just outside the 5th grade classrooms. We have received a National Gardening Association Bulb grant and a NGA Youth Garden grant. We purchase native Illinois plants, trees, and shrubs with our earnings from paper recycling at our school. We hope to have our garden certified as a Schoolyard Habitat.

Beechwood Knoll School - Quincy, MA
We are planning to create an outdoor classroom, complete with a garden, wetland area observation deck and childrens reflection area.

Beginnings Child Development Center - Weston, MA
The rewards from Beginnings Children's Garden have been reaped since 1994 when the first garden plans took root. A space that had been used for weather-beaten lumber became available for fresh ideas. So, science experiments that were limited to growing inside classrooms and between outdoor manicured bushes now had an enriched plot in which to sink their roots.

The first year was experimental. The plot was divided up into sections for each of the nine classrooms to use as desired. Little success resulted as experiments withered away in short periods. The following spring a more organized approach was taken with gardening. A specialist from Land's Sake Farm was hired to lead a teacher training on gardening. A gardening philosophy began to emerge which was based on healthy, organic growing. Reference books were purchased as resources for adults who work with children. Intriguing seeds and starter plants were chosen in response to the children's and teachers' interests. The garden plan was looked at as a whole, rather than several individual sections that didn't hang together. Flowers are grown along side vegtables.

Each spring new ideas are explored. Tried and true crops are replanted. Flowers and vegetables are grown from seeds and also starter plants. A rotation system for plant location is considered with each year's plans. When it is time to actually work with the soil, teachers know what crops they are responsible for and take one to four children into the fenced in area at a time.

Throughout the summer, visits to this small oasis occur during outside time. Heavy maintenance work is done by the project coordinator. The full sensory experiences and other valuable lessons make all the work worth while.

Begin With Us Preschool - Altoona, PA

Bel-Aire Elementary - Tullahoma, TN

Belair Math/Science Magnet - Pine Bluff, AR
We have space at our school, but we feel like we're in a never-ending spin. Please help us with guidance.

Belle Valley Elementary School - Erie, PA
Our school has gardened for fourteen years, providing the needy of our area with several tons of vegetables over this time period. We built our garden and help sustain it each year through the receipt of many community-based and national grants, including the National Gardening Association's Youth Garden Grant. Recently we were named by the Rodale Association the top organic school garden in the state of Pennsylvania. In addition, grants awarded to us this Spring by the Erie Community Foundation and the DEP have enabled us to build a large new toolshed attached to our garden, along with a new wetland garden within the garden itself.

This past summer, our first annual Summer Garden Camp was a big success for our students. We are anxious to share new ideas for gardening with many new gardening friends nationwide, and see this Web site as an exciting opportunity to do so.

Belleview Elementary - Rock Hill, SC
We began our gardening project, the "Discovery Garden," in the Spring of 2004 by asking the horticulturalist from the Clemson Extension to develop a garden plan for us. After receiving his plan, we discussed the general layout. Because of the size of the garden area (8000 square feet) and the amount of funding we would need for the plants and other materials, the decision was made to proceed with the garden in stages. The garden has been slow in developing because of the lack of funds, but this has allowed the students to watch the progress and understand the premise of "long-range plans".

Student involvement in the garden began in the spring of 2005 with an after school 4-H Club for 3rd graders through the York County Clemson Extension. The students planted small vegetable gardens and a strawberry patch last March. They harvested and sampled their crops at the end of May. Kindergarten classes planted several apple and peach trees. They closely studied the changes they observed in their trees as time went by.

In the fall of 2005, a Japanese magnolia tree was planted for the kindergarteners. This will give them the oppoprtunity to compare the changes they see in the fruit trees with the changes they see in the ornamental tree.

This year the 5th grade teachers requested that they also be involved in the the 4-H Club. They planted a variety of fall greens and vegetables in September and harvested in November.

These garden experiences have not only been exciting, but have helped teachers address the S.C. science standards at each grade level. The students and teachers who have been involved have shown great enthusiasm in the development of the garden area. Students have had several "wow" revelations: That mustard and ketchup come from plants we can grow at school, that some plants can be propogated without seeds, that really big plants can grow from really small seeds, that some soils dry out faster than others, that certain plants only thrive during certain seasons, and that choosing the perfect garden site involves more than deciding where it would look good. The garden area allows them to observe, in an authentic setting, how plants grow and change through the seasons, and how plants and animals interact with each other and with the environment as a whole. A composting center and worm beds also reinforce for students how nature "renews itself". This project is helping students and teachers develop a love for science as it explains how the world around them works.

Belleview R-3 School - Belleview, MO
We are at a small rural school. We made two separate gardens: one for flowers to greet parents and other visitors, and one for vegetables. The children loved helping create the garden area. They shared in putting out soil, making rows, discovering worms and bugs, planting seeds, watering and picking the vegetables. At the same time we made a root-vue garden for the children to see exactly how the plants grow. The children loved the experience and still talk about it long after the garden has been harvested.

Bennett-Hemenway School - Natick, MA
A new school building was constructed while school was in session at the old building right next door. When we walked into the new building in the fall, the building was not even completed and everything looked very raw. Because of the construction restrictions, our new building's shape is unique with two courtyards in central locations. With a grant from the National Gardening Association, buddy classes planted hundreds of bulbs in the courtyard within view of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade classrooms. What pleasure (and surprise) we had when things began to bloom and have continued throughout the spring!

With brick and glass surrounding it, the courtyard is quite warm and birds are beginning to visit the birdfeeders there. It is such a cheery spot that it made everyone walking by stop, admire, and smile. Discussions continue for its future.

Fall 2003: The PTO has taken over decorating this courtyard after the inspiration of spring blooms. Currently it has fall harvest decorations with spinning windmills in several sections of this area. Parents have volunteered to keep the plantings around the building alive and current.

Bennett Valley Montessori - Santa Rosa, CA
We are a pre-K to K school. We have just put in 4 raised beds and are amending beds where space allows. We have taught the kids how to condition the soil, plant, and water. We have planted soya beans, squash, beans, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, tomatillios, patty melon squash, herbs, and sunflowers. We have a mystery garden from seeds mixed up we don't know what they will be until they germinate. We are excited and committed to getting the kids to own their garden, their experiences, and to see their results. We have purchased a worm kit and ladybug kit. The kids are all very excited and we want to hold a farmers market come fall.

Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School - New London, CT
Our garden is located in a courtyard adjacent to our cafeteria and is viewable by the whole school every day. It is located in a bed that is 4 feet off the ground and bordered by a brick retaining wall. It is also seen from above through a bank of windows along our annex hallway. Prior to our establishing our garden it was just grass and weeds.

This will be our third growing season and we have now cleared almost all of the 140' by 10' area. We have chosen flowers and shrubs that bloom in the spring and early June as well as those that bloom in the fall so that the students will be present to see all that the garden has to offer. It has been primarily a Saturday School project but students also help out after school.

Berean Academy - Sierra Vista, AZ

Bergen Community College Child Development Center - Paramus, NJ
Our preschool maintains a Shade Garden that is home to salamanders, toads, birds and small mammals. This past fall, we were thrilled to witness a Monarch Butterfly emerge from her chysalis right in one of our Butterfly Gardens! We produced some pumpkins,tomatoes, basil and herbs last year and we also have a small "nature" trail that runs along St. Andrews Creek which we use for wildlife viewing and woodland explorations.

All of our outdoor spaces are used as additional learning centers where we participate in many hands-on, child-centered activities and experiences in all seasons.

Bernice Mathews Elementary School - Reno, NV

Bethel Elementary - Bethel, VT
As of April 11, 2008, our class planted corn and carrot seeds indoors. We still have snow outside and hope to transplant out seedlings to individual home gardens. We do have outdoor raised beds for flowers. Our students learn to weed, water and care for the flowers before school ends. We hope to hear from another group of classroom gardeners.

Bethune Academy - Houston, TX

Bigelow Middle School - Newton, MA

Bingham, Verlinden, Walnut, Wexford, Dwight Rich, CLCCA - Mason, MI
These five school gardens are provided by a partnership with Ingham County 4-H, 21st Century Learning Centers of the Lansing School District, and the Garden Project of Lansing. Each school has an after-school 4-H club lead by a volunteer that meets once a week, year round, to learn about many topics through gardening (e.g., community service, diversity, communication, nutrition, and conflict resolution skills). The students are eager to make garden crafts, eat healthy snacks, and grow plants. Our goal is always to sustain the programs through the involvement of the community. If anyone would like to visit the gardens or program please contact Stephanie Cluey.

Birch Lane Elementary School - Davis, CA
The Birch Lane Garden(s) are in 10 locations on campus, involving every child in their own class plot, as well as an Arboretum for children play in and for learning experiences. The school community has an active support group, "Let It Grow! Committee" which assists in providing teenage or adult volunteers to take small groups out to the gardens on a weekly basis. The intermediate classes go to the garden as part of the Science Program, participating in experiments and observations, as well as learning gardening skills. The Science Program has received several grants which assisted in bringing the drip irrigation system, an outdoor deck, an animal pen, a sink and gray water system, compost bins, and worm bins to process lunch garbage for the "Geogarden," one of the teaching gardens.

The latest grants have involved experiments with the California State Dept of Education to attempt schoolwide vermiculture of school garbage, and a salad bar utilizing local produce from the Farmers Market and occasionally using school produce. The PTA has established a Garden Coordinator position which is presently filled with a Master Gardener/professional landscape architect. The coordinator has designed special gardens and revitalized the Arboretum as a Nature/Wildlife area, as well as a child's garden for feeding imagination.

Birmingham-Southern College - Birmingham, AL
Established in 1996 on BSC's campus, this wonderful outdoor classroom utilizes local art work to illustrate organic gardening practices and provides a nuts-and-bolts overview for schools and communities interested in creating outdoor learning sites or "community gardens."

Visitors can stroll through a Northern Wildflower Garden, touch and sample edible plants and flowers, and pass by huge Praying Mantis and Spider sculptures on the way to the EcoScape's Wetland and Tree Trails.

The EcoScape also provides a unique focus on water issues, ranging from Xeriscaping to urban runoff pollution. The EcoScape has been featured in Southern Living and Sculpture magazines, and you can take a virtual tour of the gardens on the web at www.bsc.edu/sec.

Bishop Larkin Catholic School - Port Richey, FL
It all began in the spring of 2007 during a discussion in a 4th grade Social Studies Class. The students were discussing land use and many responses came forward. Most emphasized the use of land for building – things like malls, homes, hotels, etc… No one mentioned that land is used to provide our country and the world with food. And so it began – the 4th grade Garden Project. “Plots” of land were prepared outside of a few classrooms on the south side of the school building. Students researched and planned and families donated supplies. Soon a plethora of vegetation was abound – tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli and peppers. Students soon realized that the planting was the easy part but the maintenance was the challenge. It became a school-wide success!

This year the Garden Project has taken on a new role. The vision of this new group of 4th graders was to turn the whole school GREEN. This year’s garden is a school-wide interdisciplinary effort. Our plots begin under our principal, Sister Regina’s office window and travel down four administrative offices and seven classrooms. We have included flowers and more seasonal plantings. Each planted plot has a distinct connection to the classroom it is next to. For example, for our religion teacher, Sister Jane who hails from Africa – okra, a Nigerian vegetable is planted under her window.

Our garden – Vita Giardino in Italian - will be blessed by one of our school pastors for a fruitful harvest. Parents are assisting with the donation of supplies and equipment.

It is our hope to have enough of a bounty to donate our home-grown food to a community program, family in need or nursing facility.

Bishop Marshall School - Morrisville, VT
Over the past two years kindergarten and grade four students have planted and maintained a variety of gardens. In may 2002 they planted green beans which were left to mature on the vine over the summer. In the fall the seeds were harvested. In spring 2003 the seeds will be planted again and remaining seeds will be distributed to students to plant in their home gardens.

In addition, tree seedlings were planted as a nursery crop to be dug and transplanted in 3-5 years around the schoolyard habitat.

Some garden beds rim the school's driveway which will be planted to sunflowers to greet all who pass by.

Bishop's Peak/Teach Elementary School - San Luis Obispo, CA
Our school garden has 16x 3' x 10' raised planter beds surrounded by a fence. We have a full shed and a newly assembled greenhouse.

This is our first year as a volunteer based school garden.

So far this year, we have grown winter vegetables, flowers, herbs and also planted 5 apple trees. The goal for this year was to establish the garden setting for which our teachers and students can then use for their classroom garden based learning.We hope to encourage more teachers and parent volunteers to come forth and utilize this wonderful resource of our school.

Bishopville Primary School - Bishopville, SC
We are a first grade class and we're very excited about growing and learning about plants. We started small with just beans. We learned so much about seeds, roots, and how the sun is so important to growing things that we wanted to learn more and more about gardening.

We keep plant journals and take pictures of our plants and all of us putting soil in containers, watering the plants and making sure they get the sun they need. Now we are experimenting with rooting plants.

We have learned that plants don't do well if they have too little sun/water or too much sun/water. We have even seen a plant that can grow in water with no soil (that plant was rye grass).

We plant pansies in the fall and vinca in the spring. We are planning an herb garden.

We have grown indoors:
from seed: beans
We have rooted indoors: rosemary

We go to a historic property in the spring to air root 100-year-old camellias and then plant them in the fall.

Blackham Middle School - Bridgeport, CT
We started out about 4 years ago with a small 20 x 24 plot by our cafeteria loading dock. There was a mound of dirt and weeds and 3 ugly dumpsters. The school neighbors had to look at this every day. About 15 to 20 students got together after school, planned and implemented their design and we constructed our first garden. Four years later our school, a cement block in the middle of blacktop, has over 1000 square feet of gardens. Last year my 6th graders planted 20 Kwanzan cherry trees and 2 weeping cherries along our newly paved parking lot. We've begun to turn our courtyard into an Eco-system Garden, having just completed a 20 x 13 pond with a waterfall. This Spring we will stock it with goldfish and aquatic plants. We will also construct a 12 x 32 Greenhouse that will be used to instruct the students all about plants. The older students are preparing a plan to plant 20 different species of tree seedlings to create an Arboretum, with the "assistance" of our K-3 students. Lots and lots going on.

Black Pine Circle School - Berkeley, CA
The garden is used as part of the science curriculum. Children take part in its care and maintenance and also use it as a living lab. Every child, from Kindergarten to 8th grade, participates in the program and even have their own class plots.

In 2000, we received a major grant from the Alameda County Waste Management Authority to institute a school-wide recycling program, which was led by our gardener. This program affects the gardening program by introducing the concept of composting, the process of decomposition, materials to compost, and the benefits to the environment by reducing landfill and the garden by providing fertilizer and nutrients. The ACWMA identified this project as a model for other private schools in the county.

Black Pine Circle School - Berkeley, CA
At BPC the garden program is an extension of the science program. In grades K - 5 we implement the curriculum "Botany on your Plate" which means we grow and learn about the food we eat and which part of the plants we eat. Grades 6 - 8 are also very much involved with food. We have have four sections to choose from when selecting work: cooking (always the most popular), gardening, landscaping, and composting.

Blackstock Montessori School - Villa Rica, GA
We have been composting using scraps from school lunches as well as those brought in by students for over a year. We currently are improving our vegetable gardens by amending the soil with organic fertilizers. This spring we started our first worm bed and are looking forward to adding the castings to our garden this summer. Our plans are to develop our gardening skills so that we can plant new fall vegetables and build a small greenhouse for seedlings during the Winter months. Our school gardener is a parent who will be developing a plan for increasing the size of our vegetable garden over the next couple of years so that our students might harvest enough to use in the school kitchen and then sell excess to school families.

Blackwell Elementary - Sammamish, WA
We are beginning an "Adopt a Patch" program.

Blair Elementary - Wilmington, NC
This year we grew a variety of vegetables and flowers. The kids were amazed that we got food from seeds. Parents were amazed that the kids wanted to eat turnips and spinach. We are going to continue to focus on vegetables in the next school year.

The Blair Garden Group has been in existence since the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year. The goal of the program is to provide a nurturing environment in which the kids will experience increased self-esteem and confidence that will carry over into the classroom and community.

Blenman Elementary School - Tucson, AZ
Several of our classes are joining together to create a vegetable garden in our school's courtyard. We have several desert tortoises that make our school their home. We are creating this garden as a source of food for our animal friends and to experience a connection with our Earth. We have just created signs, gotten the dirt ready and purchased seeds and small plants. Our planting day is tomorrow and we are so excited!

Bloomfield Elementary - Arcata, CA

Blosser Ln. Elementary - Willits, CA

Blossom's Sunflower House - Bellingham, WA
Blossom Childcare has three garden beds. The Sunflower House has one and we're adding 4 more garden beds this year. We are located very near a professional garden which produces many starts of vegetables and flowers. We are starting our school gardening with our own starts, studying worms and other insects, using our produce as food in our lunches. The children plant seeds, starts, and record their experiences in garden journals. We are building our resources and relationships with the plant kingdom.

Blossomwood Elementary - Huntsville, AL
We are currently in the building phase of our outdoor classroom we have named "Hippty Hop" Land. We have flower beds, a cabbage patch, vermiculture bed and a composting area. We are getting ready to put up our greenhouse and weather station. Our class became Jr. Master Gardeners this past school year. We are looking forward to teaching other students how to garden and become Jr. Master Gardeners. We have been awarded several grants to build a "Jack and Jill" Reading Center this fall.

Our big project will revolve around an aquatic/hydroponic greenhouse. Our Jr. Master Gardeners will be teaming with NASA and local colleges and the Madison County Extension Agency to build our greenhouse and conduct research on the pros of gardening with hydroponics. Our club will expand this year to involve not only third graders but fourth and fifth graders. We can't wait for the teachers to start bringing this years classes outside to the classroom.

Boaz Intermediate School - Boaz, AL
We have created a new Outdoor Classroom to help facilitate learning in all content areas. We have finished the first phase and are excited to continue our work by including an amphitheater and walking trail.

Body Camp Elementary - Bedford, VA

Bonita Springs Elementary - Bonita Springs, FL
We are a Title I school built in 1927 with limited school grounds. One of the delights is our school butterfly garden/pond area.

Borton Primary Magnet School - Tucson, AZ

Bowman Foster Ashe Elementary - Miami, FL
The Exceptional Student Education department in our school has developed a butterfly garden. The garden will be maintained by the students and their teachers. We have researched plants that will attract butterflies in South Florida. We hope that our garden will be a success!

Boys And Girls Club San Leandro - San Leandro, CA
Ours is an ever-evolving and wonderful educational garden located in the East Bay Area of the San Francisco Bay. We have children ages 7 through 18 involved in our garden and outdoor habitat. We are lucky to have our own garden director who specializes in organic gardening practices. We love our garden!

Braden River Middle School - Bradenton, FL
Our whole school participated in a wetland study. We studied the plants in or around our pond and the surrounding woods. Students started a herbarium by each being responsible for learning about one of the plants encountered on the plant study walk and sharing the information with the class. (The herbarium is soon to be posted on the school Web site).

They identified plants as native or non-native, invasive or non-invasive, the plants' preferred growing conditions, and possibly the element of the habitat that it provides, and for whom.

We have a large butterfly garden and grow hydroponic strawberries. We also have a memorial garden showcased in the courtyard of our school that features native plants. Students can sit there and relax or have an outdoor class.

Bradford Elementary School - Bradford, VT

Brawley Middle School - Mooresville, NC
Due to the construction of a new building, a small plot of land has been left right out of our special needs classroom door. Many of my students have not had an opportunity to work with soil, research plant/weather capability, or make predictions as to what the final project will look like and provide for.

Breen Elementary School - Rocklin, CA
We use a program called "Garden of Learning" that has different lessons each week. Nineteen classes participate from grades 1 through 5. It is run entirely by parent volunteers. The garden is a whole school garden; it is not divided by class, but rather by theme. One section is vegetables, one is flowers. We have art (Linnea in Monet's Garden, for example), we also press flowers for Mother's Day presents, we are growing gourds for next fall, and herbs for historical lessons. In May we have a "Farmer's Market" in conjunction with a school carnival. We make items (such as soap and paper), sell fresh produce and seedlings, and have a salad bar. We also have boxes in each room for worm composting and sell the castings as well.

Breen Elementary School - Rocklin, CA
I have run this garden program for three years now, and each year we have been able to grow and incorporate more students into the program. Classes spend and hour in the garden each week with a volunteer who does the week's lesson with the group. I write all the lessons and get the supplies and make the preparations. I also care for the garden itself.

Last year we were up to 450 children participating. This is almost 75% of our school. I have designed lessons specifically for each grade level, K through 6th. We focus not only on growing and the science behind it, but also have an active focus on evnviormental topics.

Because our program recieves no funding from the school, we recycle and reuse a lot of items. I design classes so most of the suplies necessary involve using recycled items. We have the families save items like milk cartons, jars, and so on and send them in to us. We then use these things for activities. For other supplies, we ask parents to send in any extra items they may have, and I use the little money we earn selling some of our produce twice a year shopping at garage sales. It is a very lean program, but greatly beloved by our entire school.

Brentfield Elementary - Dallas, TX

Briagolong Primary school - Briagolong,
We are starting a no-dig garden in a small country school. We have a worm farm, a compost heap, and some fruit trees. We are keen to do more but find the time a constraint. We look forward to our kids gaining satisfactiion from growing a garden.

Briarcliff Elementary - Shoreham, NY
We are just starting out. We will purchasing a greenhouse to raise flowers for the community.

Brick Community Primary Learning Center - Brick, NJ
It all started as a place to plant 900 tulip and daffodil bulbs each year. It then became a butterfly garden. We now have a garden with plants representing each letter of the alphabet. In 2001, we added a rainbow garden with 6 beds devoted to red flowers and vegetables, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple flowers and vegetables. We have a weathervane on an 8 foot post in the center. We put in a mural garden in 2002 along the painted mural so the flowers grow up into the painting. This month, our pre-school students planted 130 crocuses in the Crocus Corner Garden and the rest of our kindergartners planted 800 tulips and daffodils. We can't wait til spring.

Bristol Elementary School - Bristol, VT
We have just started two raised bed gardens where we are growing a small amount of veggies, flowers and herbs. Families are volunteering to take care of these garden beds through the summer. During the school year in my Kindergaren classroom we grow seedlings in a grow lab and also feed our compost to our worms.

Bristol High School - Bristolville, OH

Broad Ford Elementary - Oakland, MD
The garden began several years ago with donated time, tools, plants and ideas. The students in one of our fourth-grade classes conducted some research in order to find out about the types of plants that are attractive to butterflies. We also worked with members of the local garden club who spoke to the students and assisted with the planting of the first stage of the garden. A grant from Wal-Mart allowed the expansion of the garden as well as the means to purchase tools and plants.

Since the beginning the garden has been used to enhance any part of the curriculum related to plants or insects. Last year first grade students planted marigold seeds in their classroom, and then planted the plants in the garden. This fall, the same students were able to harvest seeds from the plants which they will again start in their classrooms to be planted in the garden after frost danger has passed.

A group of fourth and fifth grade students volunteer to give up recess one day per week in order to be part of the Garden Club. These students provide valuable services in maintaining the garden. They also assist the younger students in planting. During the winter they learn about butterflies, plants, hardiness zones, etc.

Broadmor Elementary - Tempe, AZ

Brookland Middle School - Richmond, VA
Our 4-H and Community Service Club began a 10 foot garden two years ago and enlarged to 20 feet last year. Again this year we will add to our garden.

A local greenhouse helped us get started with a donation of plants. And after clearing the area the students planned the area and installed the plants and mulch. We have after-school weeding sessions and have lessons in horticulture.

This year we will be working with several special education classes in our garden.

Brooklin School - Brooklin, ME
We discovered that the key to making our school garden work is to have three important groups of people involved: teachers who are committed to integrating gardening into the curriculum, food service willing to use school veggies in the lunches, and knowledgeable community members to volunteer their time and expertise. We have also developed a partnership with a local group of teens who work in the summers so that they maintain the garden when school isn't in session.

We recently built a new greenhouse with grant money and are looking forward to harvest vegetables all through the school year!

Brooklyn Early Education Center - Los Angeles, CA
We have maintained a garden in our school for the past 9 years. In the past 2 years our school district ordered our asphalt to be removed and replaced. At this time, our staff met and decide that a relocation of our garden would make a safer bike area while providing a lager garden for the children. The down side to this relocation was that we would loose rich soil that we had gained over the years that would grow practically anything that was a seed. The soil had become black. When our playground area was complete, we removed 3 feet of clay soil in the new garden and replaced it with rich compost. After the soil, we had another idea, to make a white picket fence (a piece of that “American Dream”). So we made it. Our dream garden efforts have only been successful as a result of our staff, families, and the community. Because of our expertise in “stumbling” on things that work, our garden has been very successful in feeding and educating our youth! Teacher Dwayne.

Brooklyn Studio HighSchool - New York, NY
Our greenhouse will first begin operation on June 1. We are excited about this opportunity and have great expectations. I have previously linked to this terrific website, however, since we are truly about to begin I thought I should reaquaint myself. Thank you, I look forward to a blooming relationship with your orginaization.

Irene Tragares
Teacher
Brooklyn Studio High School

Brooklyn Studio Secondary High School - Brooklyn, NY
We are beginning a new adventure shortly. Our school's greenhouse will open soon and we plan to use it for various groups. Our science department will conduct experiments and our math department will have classes involved in solving problems. The main purpose will be for our vocational students to learn a skill that will assist them in future employment. We hope to become a working greenhouse at the start of the new school year. (07-08)

Brookpark Memorial Elementary School - Brook Park, OH
Our school educates children from pre-school to 5th grade. With the help of staff, parent, and community volunteers we have removed almost 1800 feet of old concrete sidewalk from an enclosed courtyard and replaced it with curved, stamped concrete paths that resemble old cobblestones. We created a small pond with a waterfall for goldfish. Our PTA purchased new picnic tables and a bench swing for us. With the help of parent volunteers and our Children's Garden Club, we planted a butterfly garden, a "Plant a Row for the Hungry" vegetable garden, and bushes and flowers to attract wildlife. We have built a toolshed designed to look like a playhouse with a front porch and a porch swing.

Many of our ideas came from the Hershey Children's Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. I found it hard to categorize the hours of involvement. Some of us (6 adults) have spent many hours per week, while others come when needed for a special project (e.g., moving dirt, bringing in gravel). The same goes for the children; some classes have been involved in one project, such as planting annuals, while others will help with weeding and watering on a more regular basis.

Brookwood Elementary - Hillsboro, OR
We are excited to begin using our garden this year!

Bruce Shulkey Elementary - Fort Worth, TX
At Bruce Shulkey we are very excited about our outdoor learning environment. We started planning three years ago and are now in our second year of implementation. Our vegetable gardens are beautiful. The butterfly garden is coming right along. We have exciting plans to restore habitat for insects, birds, and students alike. Learning in the outdoors is the natural way to relieve stress and reoxygenate the thinking processes.

Bryant Montessori School - Tacoma, WA
Bryant Montessori School is a unique and diverse school in the South Puget Sound. Once a struggling elementary school, Bryant received a Federal and Montessori Magnet Grant to revise the curriculum and school performance. Three years later we are performing at the same level as schools in more privileged areas and Bryant's parents have rallied to create special learning opportunities for the kids. One of these is the school garden, which had been neglected until the last few years. Now cleaned and growing lots of fresh vegetables, the garden needs a sprinkler system, storage shed, and educational supplies to make it function as part of the curriculum.

This year the kids grew and ate their own salads, made mosaics with donations from the community, and are excited to use the space next fall for growing pumpins. Parent volunteers work tirelessly to provide these important lessons, many children had never planted anything before they came to Bryant and some had never even had their own yard to dig in. Everyone is so excited to see what is growing; many classes conduct story-time in the garden and this spring, released butterflies they had grown in class. It was amazing to see the looks on the children's faces as the garden grows ever upwards and butterflies abound.

We had an Earth Day event, where children planted vegetable starts which had been donated by local nurseries, and then made garden journals to document the growth of their particular plant. The younger ones drew pictures, while the older classes made notes on colors/variety/growth rate. Everyone got to taste before the end of the year!

Bryant School District - Bryant, AR
The Bryant Green Thumbs is a new project in association with the Junior Master Gardener program (http://jmgkids.com) and the Saline County Master Gardeners. We are a group of special needs students from 3rd through 12th grades working in conjunction with regular education peers. After many trials and errors, we now have the greenhouse up and running. We are planning a spring sale in conjunction with the Saline County Master Gardeners. We are beginning a small outdoor area for the plants we nurture in the greenhouse. This spring we hope to eat the fruits (and veggies) of our labors!

Bubb Elementary School - Mountain View, CA
We have two main garden areas on our campus. One is the butterfly garden, which includes a monarch habitat. The other is a food production garden, with 13 raised beds and a teaching area.

Buchanan Middle School - Buchanan, MI
My seventh graders converted an unused courtyard into 15 different theme gardens. My teaching partner and I guided the students through the process, however the entire project is student generated. From clearing the land, raising the money, to planting. It has been a showcase for the school and the community.

Buckhorn Elementary - Valrico, FL
The butterfly garden evolved last school year with the study of the life cycle of insects within our 4th grade science curriculum. Several portables were removed this year, and we were able to expand the garden and add more benches and flowers. The 4H club which I co-sponsor has now planted a vegetable garden where one of the portables once stood. We are constantly searching for viable options to help obtain supplies and money which will help with the upkeep of our gardening efforts.

Bucks County Alternative School - Levittown, PA
Each student will be responsible for one herb and one vegetable plant.

Buffalo Public School 18/Dr. Antonia Pantoya School of Excellence - Buffalo, NY
Our Garden began in October 2002 when we managed to get a plot of land from the city. It had hosted a tenement that was torn down, and the basement was filled in with awful soil. So the city gave us topsoil and the junior high students spread it into 6 rectangular mounds. Every class from grades 1 throuh 5 planted donated daffodil bulbs. We planted about a thousand.

In the spring we had yellow blooms. Then we began to ask for wood for raised gardens. Eventually a community group of disadvantaged youth built 12 raised gardens and planted annuals and some perennials. Watering was a problem as we had to bring it from the school across the road. Although there is a hydrant right beside the garden, we haven't got access to it.

In June we had an opening ceremony with the mayor and other dignitaries as well as all the teachers and students. A Native American teacher led a corn dance with some of the young native students and the hard work of the community was acknowledged.

After a weedy summer, we had a bench cemented in and again planted bulbs - tulips and daffodils. Now with everything covered in snow, we are planning some theme gardens for the spring. Grade 1 has a butterfly garden, grade 3 a Native American garden, and grade 6 an herb garden.

November 10, 2003

School 18's garden continues to flourish. We had a harvest in our Three Sisters Garden, planted by the 3rd grade last spring. There were stalks of corn, albeit very small, planted in 2 rows for cross pollination. The pumpkins were stolen and smashed and our beans didn't come up very well. But we had hot peppers which is especially valued in this Hispanic neighborhood of Buffalo.

The 6th grade herb garden was also a success with dill, parsley, rosemary and chives. The stepping stone for Room 326 is partially hidden under the fall vegetation but the thumbprints are still there.

The flower gardens the first grade planted did attract butterflies, but were in constant competition with the weeds which grew 2 feet high. Thanks to a wet summer, everything grew.

The Junior High students did very well in planting the new perennials and annuals. They also helped in maintenance which went toward a Community Service grade in science. The eighth grade science classes did a composting unit with a worm composter purchased from National Gardening.

Thanks to a Grant from Western New York United Against Drugs and Alcohol, we were able to purchase some tools and euonymus bushes, another miniature rose bush, and some low evergreens to give it color for the long winter.

We have a big job ahead of us this month since we have 300 daffodil bulbs to plant. Plans to purchase a sign and get more involvement from parents and staff are on the agenda for the winter. Some of the classrooms will start seeds through the winter to plant in the gardens next spring.

Buice School - Sugar Hill, GA
About 9 years ago we rescued an overgrown interior courtyard and have installed:
1) a 550 gallon goldfish pond, with a waterfall, situated by a large picture window. This allows children to observe the pond, even during inclement weather.
2) 5 raised vegetable beds surrounding a large sandbox play area. The idea is to provide a play place for children while the teacher works with one or two at a time to do gardening projects. Since all of our students are preschool age, they need close supervision to work in the garden.
3) a small butterfly/flower garden
4) The remainder of the courtyard is a shaded picnic area planted in azaleas, dogwoods and crepe myrtles with numerous concrete tables and benches.
5) Habitat Creation: Anoles: The enclosed brick walls provide protection from extreme cold and the weep holes in the bottom course of brick provide spider homes, a ready source of anole food. Of course the pond is a water source. We have discovered to our delight that our anoles are increasing in number and are regularly sighted throughout the garden in warm months. They even choose to bask on the disk of the wind chimes by the picture window!
We also have regular residents of chipmunks, frogs, birds, butterflies, etc.

In the fall of 2004 we added a sidewalk making the garden handicap accessible and we are beginning to add various sensory components to the courtyard such as wind chimes, a gazing ball, pinwheels, scented plants, and specially textured foliage at wheelchair height.

Our school serves only 3 to 5 year-olds, many with special needs and many non-English speakers.

Bunche Middle School - Compton, CA
Our students are growing peas and beans. The students cultivate the garden every Thursday for one hour and are overseen by a Master Gardener.

Burbank Middle School - Houston, TX
We're new at this but we have big plans and a bit of money. We hope to install a Texas Symbol Topiary Garden, Eagle Mascot Entry Garden, Cascading Flowering Bush Fence Line Border, Walking Trail, Wine Barrel flower and veggie garden, and Outdoor Learning Center with Greenhouse.

Burbank Middle School - Houston, TX

Burgess Elementary School - Sturbridge, MA
Gardens are in full swing!

Burroughs - Chicago, IL
This is our third planting season. Classrooms pair up to plant and maintain the garden. We are currently working on a theme for this year's garden. The kindergarten class will be harvesting it's first bin of worm castings and compost tea to use in the garden.

Burton Valley Elementary - Lafayette, CA
Four years ago I walked through an empty lot between buildings on the Burton Valley campus carrying a measuring tape, clipboard and graph paper. I began drawing the first draft of what would become "The BVE Garden Classroom.” I had visions of pathways and raised beds, but in front of me were waist-high weeds, dying pine trees and an antiquated irrigation system. I had an uphill battle ahead of me, with almost no support from teachers, no money and limited help. The weeds turned out to be the easy part. The fundraising and changing the minds of the 55 teachers proved to be the greatest challenges.

I spent countless hours pulling weeds, hauling mulch and compost, and buying plants. And countless more hours in funding, organizing, committee and board meetings.

Now, parents are thrilled their children are able to learn in this new space, and they have a chance to get their hands dirty. The kids are passionately engaged and each teacher makes sure to bring their class out to participate.

In the garden I now teach ecology, nutrition, conservation, art, writing, math, and social studies lessons to 799 children. My current dream is to expand on the success of this program by bringing it to all five schools in the district. I’ve worked very hard to hear the words, “This garden is the best part of school!” and now, I hear them regularly. The Garden Classroom is a dream realized, and expansion will bring love of gardening to thousands.

Bussey Center for Early Childhood Education - Southfield, MI
We are in our seventh year of gardening with our preschool which includes Headstart, Michigan School Readiness, and several special education classrooms. In the winter we use 2 GrowLabs. Our outdoor garden includes a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. A Jerusalem artichoke house and bean tunnel are kid favorites, and a strawberry patch is enjoyed by all.

Butler Elementary School - Santa Rosa Beach, FL
This is my second year at my new school. I left my old school after being there for 17 years!

Our garden was a pre-k sandbox, long and narrow. We added mushroom compost to the sand and have had great gardening ever since. We grow a fall and spring garden. We just pulled a huge turnip which we sliced and ate raw.

We will be planting peas outside, and will eat the raw peas. We will start our spring garden next week by planting seeds inside to put out in individual square-foot plots. The kids will have so many seedlings to put out that it will be survival of the fittest (Usually the Mammoth sunflowers and tomatoes).

Butler Junior High school - Butler, PA
Perennial Gardens - Students mulch, cut back, and maintain our perennial gardens each year. Flowers have been chosen based on whether or not they are appropriate for our growing region and so that there would be something in bloom at any given time in our growing season. Students also study soil composition and fertilization each year.

Annual garden - students select annuals to plant each spring.

We have also installed benches made of recycled plastic at several locations around the courtyard.

Students raise funds for these projects by selling Human-a-tees T-shirts during the school year.

Butte Elementary School - Palmer, AK
There are 14 beds, one for each class in the school. The students come out to harvest the crops this fall and eat the produce.

The garden has been funded by TITLE ONE FEDERAL FUNDING and Matanuska Health Foundation.

Byrd Elementary - Bainbridge, GA
The Patriot's Sanctuary began seven years ago in an enclosed courtyard with a few donated daylilies. Now there is a butterfly garden with a small pond, a container garden area, planting tables, wildflower area within a satellite dish enclosure, a compost area, a gazebo for students to sit in for classes, picnic tables made from recycled plastics, multiple bird feeders, birdbaths, a shape garden for vegetables, and a root view garden area. Our school gardens receieved 2nd place in Keep Georgia Beautiful Awards in School Beautification in 2004.

Potter Street had received a couple of grants to help continue development of this garden, such as Outdoor Classroom Grant 1997, National Gardening Association Youth Garden Grant 1998, and Weyerhaeuser Recycling Grants 2000 and 2002. The PET Plastics grant 2002 and 2003 has helped increase recycling at PSE. Our school was also chosen for the SeaWorld-Busch gardens Environmental Excellence Award in 2002. We were also featured in the Country Living Magazine April 2000 issue for our Earth stewardship.

Our recycling program the W.A.R. (We Always Recycle) has been inspirational for students to learn the importance of recycling. This project has received first place in the Keep Georgia Beautiful(KGB) Waste Minimization two years in a row (2002-2003)! In 2004 PSE has received 1st Place National Keep America Beautiful Award for Waste Reduction. In 2005 PSE has received 1st place in KGB Recycling Awards and 2nd Place National Keep America Beautiful Awards. We are bringing the outdoors in or taking the students to the outdoors to learn.

Byrd Middle School - Tulsa, OK
The sixth and seventh grade students have taken an outdoor tree garden and installed 10 raised bed gardens. We have a pizza garden, a tree nursery, a butterfly garden, vegetable, and flower gardens. Recently we have added a large pond and compost bin. We also help maintain the flower beds that line the school entry.

CACL/ACE - Marianna, FL
Our school is a center school for drop out prevention and special education students with behavior problems. Our vocational class started a garden six years ago to enhance training and raise money for the class' other vocational projects. Over the past six years this garden project has spread to many different classroom with students ranging from pre-K to high school aged students. These gardens have been used to enhance subjects like science, math, art, and even English. Gardens are now springing up around the campus. We have found that when we give our students the opportunity to go outside and work with plants we have fewer behavior problems and the students gain hands-on skills that are hard to teach in the classroom.

Calaveras Montessori School - Milpitas, CA
The children who have created and work in the garden are between the ages of 2 and 6. We are a Montessori School with an outdoor classroom which includes a greenhouse, outside planting, science, art and large water work. The children are responsible for the planting, care and observation of the outside environment. Our biggest problem is our squirrels, who tend to eat everything.

California Middle School - Coal Center, PA
We have experience raising plants using indoor lighting, raising seasonal flowers sold as fundraisers, and building small ecosystems. Our emphasis this year has been trees and perennials. We are planning a flagpole garden with red tulips for an antidrug awareness campaign. We raised and released approximately 20 monarch butterflies this year.

Calistoga Elementary School - Calistoga, CA
The Calistoga Elementary School Garden Project integrates subjects such as art, literature, dancing, ecology, Sign Language, science, writing, theater, service learning, social studies, Spanish, English, music, and poetry into the project.

We grew a great diversity of plants this year. The second grade classes grew peanuts, for a study of seeds and a peanut butter making project. A fourth grade class grew wheat, barley, and oats for a bread making project. We grew over fifty different types of flowers, forty different native plants, and over a hundred different types of vegetables.

The favorite section to many is the butterfly garden. The students raised butterflies and released them into this colorful section of the garden. I came out to the garden one day and found a class of first graders studying Monet and painting their own inspirational paintings.

The Three Sisters Garden was integrated into the third grade curriculum. We created a teepee out of bamboo poles and encircled it with the Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash. These three plants have endless amounts of information to teach including: Native American History, companion planting, symbiotic relationships, nutrition, storytelling, art, and more. The students love their teepee.

The fourth grade classes focused on the native plant garden. First I took the students to Bothe State Park to become familiar with native plant identification, stewardship concepts, and Wappo uses for plants. After these field trips, we designed our own native plant garden with the help of Native Plant Society.

The outdoor classroom was created in April. It became a wonderful place to circle up on a hot day for storytelling, theater, workshops, art, journaling, and reflection. We had an after school garden club that met every Wednesday. Forty students were signed up. It was a special time in the garden when students were given alot of freedom to explore. The students grew over a hundred seedlings for a service learning project. The plants went to an affordable housing complex in Petaluma. The Garden Club also transplanted over a Mother's Day project. The flowers were passed out to the moms at the opening of the Family Center in Calistoga.

My hope for our project is that more inspiration blossoms from the garden each year and that the funding for a coordinator position becomes stable.

Calistoga Elementary School - Calistoga, CA

Calistoga Elementary School - Calistoga, CA
Calistoga Elementary School maintains two vegetable gardens; the larger includes a butterfly garden, a tree-shaded outdoor classroom, composting area, tool shed and greenhouse. Newest feature is octagonal 'gourd hut' (constructed as an Eagle Scout project by a teacher's son). It's gorgeous coverered with gourd plants in summer; attempting peas for winter/spring. Plans are underway for an outdoor kitchen and wetland pond area. We use both raised beds and 'freeform' garden beds. Teachers sign up for 'Nutrition in the Garden' integrated series, led by grant-funded part-time educators. Several afterschool garden and cooking 'clubs' meet weekly, utilizing parent volunteers and our grant-funded Nutrition staff. Financial support comes from the PTA and grants; donated seeds, compost and more help project grow. Harvest is utilized in classroom and after school cooking classes and also served in the school cafeteria, which contributes in turn to garden's compost bins.

Calloway County Middle School - Murray, KY
Calloway County Middle School serves approximately 600 students. In the past the gardening program centerd primarily around the special needs class curriculum. However, plans are currently in place to include all science classes as well as extended-school participants. The program sustains itself partially by plant sales, and also by private and grant donations.

Cambridge Elementary School - Jeffersonville, VT

Camelot Elementary School - Orlando, FL
Our garden was the outgrowth of the destruction of wildlife habitats next to our school which were removed in the construction of a four-lane highway. Beginning with four raised beds, we started with cuttings and castaways from nurseries. We have now created a year-round garden which is home to more than 10 species of butterflies, thousands of insects, two families of rabbits, and a large variety of birds, including a family of migratory Sand Hill Cranes that are paying us a visit for the third year.

We were named the 2005 Florida Elementary School Garden of the Year and featured at WDW/EPCOT Festival of Flowers. We are also a registered school habitat site with the National Wildlife Federation.

Our garden is a vital component of our science lab instruction with ongoing life science, soil, weather and physical science studies. The garden is maintained by our fifth-grade environmental club which meets after school to maintain and enlarge the garden and to plan for our ever growing habitats.

We currently have eight raised beds on a concrete area, in ground growing areas, a twenty foot potting table, covered picnic tables for discovery stations, a rabbitry, a designated wildflower area, and a 50 gallon composter.

This year's plans include the installation of rain barrels to irrigate our beds, construction of a new tool shed, the construction of an outside sink area, five new bird feeders, and an upgraded composting site. We welcome input from others schools and visitors are always put to work.

Camino Union Elemantary School - Camino, CA
Our garden program builds on the foundation of agriculture in our community. We grow vegetables for student lunches and some ornamentals. Our garden program supports the standards-based curriculum at all grade levels with emphasis on science, language arts, visual and performing arts, and nutrition. Best of all, the garden allows students of all abliities to participate in hands on learning. Students can go outside, stretch their legs, play in the dirt, reflect during a quiet moment, push a wheelbarrow to release some pent-up energy, learn the Zen-like concentration of a master weed-puller, or just sit and daydream over a bed of daffodils. Best of all, they aren't tested on anything in the garden - no bubble sheets to fill in, no time limit pressures, no broken pencil-point anxiety; simply digging or drawing or tasting something new.

Camp Creek Elem - Greeneville, TN
Third and fourth grade teachers, students, service learning volunteers and community friends are joining together to create and outdoor learning environment. Camp Creek has a lily pond, a small garden, and a greenhouse that has not been used in two years. It is our vision to utilize the greenhouse and create a hands-on learning environment. We hope that with the help from parents, community volunteers, partnerships, businesses, grants, and special programs, we can successfully integrate our curriculum into a greenhouse-learning program.

This project will give our students a chance to be actively involved in growing plants and using a hands-on approach to make learning more fun and meaningful. Students will be encouraged to participate in many rewarding garden activities and beautification projects. We would appreciate any ideas or advice concerning plants and outdoor projects. Our students would like to exchange e-mail with other students who have experience maintaining and operating a greenhouse.

Canfield Elementary - Los Angeles, CA

Canton Elementary School - Canton, PA
The Greenhouse Group at Canton Elementary was started as a Hands-On Functional Skills Math and Science class for students with special needs. We started with a 12' x 24' hoop house. Our first year was budgeted through the school district with all projects leading up to our Mother's Day Flowers and Bedding Plant Sales. All monies raised are deposited into our Greenhouse Fund.

This year we are celebrating our 5th year with the greenhouse and purchase all of our own supplies. Projects have expanded throughout the school year to include selling candles with pressed flowers applied, blank note card sets with flower designs, and Easter Bulb Baskets. We look forward to expanding our greenhouse in the future.

Canyon Rim Elementary - Salt Lake City, UT
We are developing a "Naturescape" that simulates the wide variety of plant communities/ecosystems found in Utah. Our garden emphasizes Utah native plants and cultivated crops grown by the native peoples of Utah.

capistrano avenue - west hills, CA

Carden Academy of Huntington Beach CA - Huntington Beach, CA

Cardinal Bernardin Early Childhood Center - Chicago, IL
Our garden is flourishing! We have evolved into a pesticide-and herbicide-free greenspace, focusing on native prairie plants and a wide variety of vegetables for the children and the food pantry.

We have planted seeds indoors and let goldfinches sow hundreds of sunflower seeds outdoors. We planted bulbs last fall and will collect seeds for the first time this fall. We also plan on having a mini-bioblitz this fall. We planted our vegetable garden in a maze pattern with a sunflower house in the center--lots of fun. We introduced worms to the classroom and bee boxes outdoors.

We recently added a wetland area to our garden, complete with dock and rowboat, and hope to become a Schoolyard Habitat with the NWF!

Cardozo SHS - Washington, DC
The Cardozo Peace Garden began in Spring 2002 partly as a response to the attacks of 9/11. We decided to build a peaceful site on our school grounds. It's purpose: a place of reflection, habitat restoration, an outdoor classroom, and beautification of the school.

In the fall of 2007 we added a butterfly garden in conjunction with www.themonarcheffect.org

Carlisle Elementary School - Fowler Habitat Project - Carlisle, IA
The Carlisle Elementary School has an interior courtyard that is surrounded by the school on all 4 sides. We are developing this area, the Fowler Habitat, for the children to use in furthering their education about science as well as community service. To date, we have applied for grants and have also received donations locally through community awareness (open house tours, raffles, press releases, PTO fundraising). The kids have planted a 'Baby Blue Eyes' Dwarf Colorado Spruce in honor of Earth Day 2000 and a crabapple tree in honor of Rex Fowler, a teacher who retired last year (the Habitat is named after him), and has been actively involved in environmental issues in our community and school. We plant annuals in the spring and are planning for an herb and perennial garden this fall.

The Building Trades high school class has constructed a wonderful gazebo with bench seating where the kids can go to read during the school day. We are also creating stepping stones in our 4th grade art classes, and the high school art students are painting a large mural on the outer walls using our theme "Imagination Grows in a Child's Garden". A local boy scout has built 10 birdfeeders in the courtyard for his service project. The kids can learn about birds and their habitat needs, and listen to birdsong while they read.

The kids are learning a tremendous amount already and we're just beginning. We planted Dutch bulbs that we received from the Mail Order Gardening Association and this spring they planted annuals that they helped to fund by saving their "Pennies for Plants". (K-4 saved over $1,200 in one month!) We've also constructed two walking paths made from bricks that are engraved and donated by the local community as a fundraising project. In addition, we've installed permanent benches that were donated in memory or in honor of someone in the school or community.

Carl T. Widen Elementary - Austin, TX

Carl T. Widen Elementary - Austin, TX

Carmel Middle School - Carmel, CA
We are a large multi-dimensional outdoor education project with over 10 acres of land, dedicated to native plant propagation/community habitat resoration, organic gardening, nutrition education (we have a wood-fired pizza oven), hands-on science learning linked to California State standards, watershed education studies in the Carmel River watershed, and other community education activities.

This is our first year having a full time garden coordinator and project director, so we have been learning A LOT and the project is constantly evolving.

We would love to exchange any type of state standards linked garden curriculum for middle school students (grades 6-8).

Carmichael Elementary School - Sierra Vista, AZ
The Carmichael garden began in 2001. It hosts 10 classroom raised garden plots, composting sites, a water collection system, turtle habitat, worms, caterpillars, butterflies, and birds. The students plant, maintain, weed, water, observe, harvest, collect seeds, and compost. Some plants grown include: strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkin, sunflowers, carrots, squash, beans, corn, mint, and a variety of flowers. A kindergarden class planted carrots which they observed and allowed to go to seed. Students were proud of the pumpkin that grew randomly from the compost pile. The school has an after school garden club, that meets one afternoon bimonthly, and occasionally on Saturdays.

Carpenter Elementary - Chicago, IL
We won a grant for a pizza garden. We had raised beds built in the form of pizza slices.The children started herbs in the classroom. We planted tomatoes, green and hot peppers, eggplant, garlic, onions, basil, and oregeno.

The garden is thriving, thanks to the hard work of the three teachers who tend it three times a week.

In the fall we plan to harvest the vegetables and make our own pizzas.

Carroll Elementary - Oak Harbor, OH
We have a Land Lab that was established in 1999. It was overrun by thistles and re-established in 2002. We have class beds for grades K - 5, our Land Lab Learners, and one for the afterschool program. The students work in the Land Lab on Thursdays during their recess time.

Each week, there is also a short lesson on what we will be doing and why, environmental topics, or special holiday topics. We start our own plants in the school, using only the classroom windows. We have compost bins that we use for all the appropriate foods that are not eaten in the lunchroom. We have three main areas of plantings beside the class raised beds. They are the butterfly/hummingbird garden, tall grass garden, and the native plant garden.

Carrsville Elementary - Carrsville, VA
Carrsville Elementary School is just getting started with the gardening project. We received a grant that will assist us in planting our garden and installing our pond. We are looking for resources and partners.

Cartwright Early Childhood Center - Phoenix, AZ
I am a Early Childhood Special Education teacher with 15-18 preschoolers with Autism and behavioral needs. Most are non-verbal and tactiley defensive. We are in the planning process for an outside garden in a raised bed. It will be right outside the classroom door.

Carver Elementary Academy - Amarillo, TX
Our school garden is an integral part of our curriculum which focuses on world biomes and cultures. Each grade level has theme gardens that tie into their interdisciplinary units of study. We have a sunflower house, a butterfly garden, a sensory garden, a pumpkin patch, a vegetable/fruit/herb garden, a gourd gallery, a xeriscape area, several tepees with climbing vegetables, the Lewis and Clark Trail of Flowers, a shady garden, a Native American Directional garden, compost bins, cash crops, a hydroponics greenhouse, a geoponics greenhouse, an aquaponics greenhouse, and a vegetable/fruit stand. Each class works in the garden 1 hour per week at a minimum and many come out at other times to just enjoy, relax, read, or write.

Carver Elementary School - Florence, SC
The Carver Discovery Garden is an outdoor classroom where students are involved in learning about all areas of the curriculum. We have four ponds, 4 raised beds with vegetables, flowers, cash crops for our state, and a fossil bed. It is an exciting place where learning is hands-on. It has had an impact on student learning and motivation.

Casa De Los Ninos - Blue Springs, MO
We just moved to a new facility and are trying to plan and plant a new garden. We want to plant a vegetable garden that will teach the children about nutrition and the responsibilities involved in taking care of a garden as well as the life cycle of plants. We will then take the vegetables that we harvest and learn to prepare them and eat them. We also would like to plant a flower garden that will have a variety of colors, fragances, textures, and tastes (herbs) to appeal to all their senses.

Cascade Canyon School - Fairfax, CA

Cashell Donahoe Elementary School - Sandston, VA
Just getting started on this project. Revitalizing a greenhouse on property. Many of the points checked above are goals. The PTA is sponsoring the project in this most valuable resource.

Cass Technical High School - Detroit, MI
We have an urban butterfly garden with 2 tiers. We had to design the garden this way due to the lack of space around the school. The students observe seasonal changes, and also note any flora and fauna. A little weather station was put outside to check wind and rainfall, but someone stole that.

Castlemont Elementary - Campbell, CA
Our 1/2-acre garden is run by parent volunteers. Qe have 30 raised beds, habitat gardens for birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. We also have areas that reflect the plants grown during the California Mission days and during colonial times as well as native american indians. We have compost piles and vermiculture that handle our food waste. We have started a farmers market to sell our produce to parents, the children harvest during lunch. We also rent our plots to garden parents for the summer. Our curriculum is based on the California state standards and is organized by parents. Our biggest challenge is keeping up with weeds!

Catalina Methodist Day School - Tucson, AZ
I work with a team of wonderful pre-kindergarten teachers at our school, and came upon this Web site while looking for gardening tips. Our classroom just made a garden in the school's sand yard, where we planted two different types of flowers and cucumber. This was a time where the teachers and our kids could really be together and talk about what we wanted for the garden. The experience was one that will continue to excite the students. Our kids were very excited once the seeds were in the ground, and now everyday we look forward to the garden's progress!

Catherine Everett Elementary - Modesto, CA
With the help of the local Garden Club, we have started a garden to beautify our school, teach garden skills and appreciation to our students with special needs, and enhance academics through fun, hands-on activities. Our students look forward to fun in the sun with cross-age buddies and community liaisons.

Catherine Everett Elementary - Modesto, CA
We work with 13 learning handicaped students from fourth to sixth grades, and four younger emotionally disturbed children. We have planted both winter and summer vegetable crops, bulbs, and flower beds. The children fertilize and weed their gardens. This winter we made some pinecone bird feeders and are looking for more projects using natural materials.

Cattoira Montessori School - Miami, FL

CDA Daycare Center - Isola, MS
Our daycare consists of children ages 1 through 4th grade afterschool. We planted our vegetable garden on April 13, 2005 and began harvesting the end of June. We planted cucumbers, peas, butterbeans, carrots, beets, watermelon, pumpkins, okra, corn, and mammoth sunflowers. Our local paper came and interviewed me and the children and presented a wonderful garden article including pictures.

While waiting for garden to grow, we learned life cycles of plants, all parts of plants and flowers, studied "Our Friend" the worm, arts and crafts, and learned many songs and fingerplays.

After harvest began, children peeled the cucumbers and helped with putting up dill pickles. They shelled the beans and peas and shucked the corn, which we cooked and ate for lunch.

We are now awaiting for the watermelons and pumpkins to ripen, and are still harvesting cucumbers and okra everday.
It has been a blast and the children have learned so much.

Cedar Canyon School - Gering, NE
In an unused corner of the schoolyard, we have developed a prairie garden and wetland. One lesson that made an impression to students in the outdoor classroom was learning the history of the Oregon Trail in an outdoor setting. Students could grasp what pioneers experienced by being outdoors. Another lesson for students was painting a rock to place in the outdoor classroom. They have also used AlphaSmarts to type in legends. Observing nature and animals is a daily event at our school.

Cedar Lake Elementary - Oscoda, MI
I have been a lover of growing things my entire life. My first education job as Integrated Creative Projects Teacher at a K-2 elementary school included the duties of managing the library, computer lab, and art room. Gardening has been the glue to combine the three with curriculum, community and character building activities.

This year we grew sunflowers taller than our school!

The children are so excited about learning. Gardening has taught them real life concepts while modifying behaviors in our school community.

Cedar Ridge Elementary School - Waco, TX
Our Green Classroom is divided into several areas of growing. We have a Texas native garden, shade garden, butterfly garden sensory garden and raised planting beds for every grade level. The children plant seeds in the planting beds each season. We also have several different animal areas that the children are responsible to care for. We recently have added a bulb garden and a cactus and succulent container garden.

We have classes in the garden every other month to teach the students about changes that may be taking place with various plants or new plantings that are coming up.

Celebration School K-8 - Celebration, FL

Center for Inquiry - Indianapolis, IN
We began our indoor garden as a pilot site for NGA's Growing Science Inquiry. In 2000-01 we moved to a downtown Indianapolis location surrounded by blacktop. We began a project entitled, "Our Neighborhood Yard at CFI" and solicited help from surrounding businesses and community organizations. This project has a 3 year timeline. We wrote a Keep Indianapolis Beautiful grant and planted outdoor flower areas and a butterfly garden in the spring of 2001. In the spring of 2002, we added an amphitheater outside with some small trees around it. The entire back of the school was pavement but adding small sections of grass, trees, and picnic tables makes the area much more kid friendly. We added an indoor pond to our science lab.
In the Fall of 2002, we added pieces of sculpture to our yard area. The art teacher and an artist in residence worked together with students, parents, and teachers to create fence art featuring peace symbols and words from around the world. A large mandala was added to the building exterior displaying peace symbols from around the world.

Centerville Elementary - Anderson, SC
We are in our fourth full year of gardening at Centerville. We have accomplished many exciting projects. We renovated the front entry to our school by changing the existing flower bed. Then, as if that wasn't enough, we created new flower beds on the campus. We now have a first grade math garden, a second grade reading garden, and a third grade writing garden. We have a new greenhouse that was funded by a grant, a new butterfly garden that was funded by another grant, and a Red Ribbon Bulb Garden created by our kindergarteners. Out PTA is very supportive, helping out every ninth week with a Gardening Saturday.

Central Elementary - Mabank, TX
In 2001 we won a Youth Garden Grant and received some wonderful products! An addition to our program is raising and releasing Monarch butterflies. This fall we should have 25 to be tagged. The whole school gets involved in this project. Several teachers and the principal search the pastures for eggs on milkweed. To date we have 5 Monarchs that have emerged, and twenty more in chrysalis form. This is the first year we have raised them in the fall. We have learned that the milkweed is not always in the same areas as in the spring.

We have slowed on our gardening this year because we are moving to a new school site. However, we have 100 square feet reserved for gardening there. It will be exciting to plan and implement the new gardens. We will be potting up many of our plants at the old school to take with us. Since we raise Monarch butterflies, there must definitely be a non-mow area for milkweed propagation that is separate from our garden beds.

The maintainance men recycled an old industrial dryer drum that makes a perfect compost bin. It is mounted sideways on a sturdy pole, with a handle to turn the drum. Since it is next to the garden, we can put all of our "green" in it right away.

Central Elementary - Palacios, TX
Today, Feb. 17, two blue Irises have bloomed. These are two of the 200 bulbs that we received from the Kids Garden With Dutch Bulbs Award. Thank you, the entire school worked hard preparing the bed and planting the bulbs. Please check our Web site for pictures of the students. We are waiting excitedly for the others to bloom.

My class of 16 are making gourd birdhouses today. A member of the community graciously donated them to my class so that each child could take home a birdhouse. We are tying the birdhouses into our Character Counts pillar - Caring. We will also make 6 birdhouses to be hung in our courtyard. (Most of the gourds we raised were destroyed by vandals). We are hoping the new birdhouses will last longer than last year, those were destroyed after one week. This is a wonderful and informative site. Thank you.
Mrs. Beard
Palacios, Tx

Central Elementary - Willard, OH
Our garden area was started from large patch of grass that was covering rubble from old buildings. Ideas generated by our students have now come to life in what we call our "Greenspace." We now have a butterfly garden, raised beds for every grade level (pre-K through 4th and a multiple handicap unit), a vegetable garden, rose bed, strawberry bed, trees, bushes, bird feeders and bath. We are currently adding a weather station, greenhouse, and window boxes. A goal is to reach out to the community and launch a learn and serve program. We are interested in hearing from other schools!

Central Elementary School - Menominee, MI
In conjunction with the Master Gardeners and the Menominee Women's Club, we have developed a children's garden at Central. We work with third graders every year, starting with seeds and the way they germinate, then planning their individual gardens,nand then planting outdoors. Gardens are maintained during the summer by the students and Master Gardeners. The program has been in effect for about six years now.

Central Elementary School - Jackson, NC
Our school is two years old and we're still improving our landscaping. This year we have started a Literary & Wildlife Garden outside the Media Center. The main focus is to highlight flowers mentioned in many of the children's books, as well as native NC plants & flowers to attract butterflies & hummingbirds. We also have bird feeders to set up. We are just getting the plot ready now. We also have plans for a naturalized meadow area behind our school. We want to add additional wildflowers and maybe some grains for the deer and wild turkeys in the woods.

Central High School - Grand Rapids, MI

Central Middle School - Eunice, LA
We have developed a butterfly farm for raising butterfly larvae. The butterfly garden consists of host and food plants for many butterflies. Our main emphasis is on the Painted Lady and the Monarch butterflies. We have also constructed a greenhouse for winter gardening. We have a garden pond which includes aquatic plants. We are presently planning the construction of vegetable and herb gardens, as well as composting stations.

Central Montessori School - Richmond, VA
The school just turned one year old and we just started our garden planning and we'll be starting up some seeds soon!

Central Park School - Midlothian, IL
We would like the chance to participate in this great project. Many of our students have never planted a garden or have had to take care of anything. This would be a great opportunity since we have so many low-income students. Thanks

Central School - South Burlington, VT
After taking the Master Gardener class this winter, I selected my childrens' school to be the place to do my volunteer hours. I also work at Central School providing tutorial services. We read "Green Mountain Hero" and other colonial-native American novels so I chose a three sisters garden and a colonial herb garden.

School is coming to a close and we just finished the project by the skin of our teeth. I am working with another teacher and we are looking forward to something bigger and better next year.

Central School - Wilmington, DE
Central School has just created a landscape/agriculture curiculum that will follow the Delaware Standards for AgriSciences. The program was started informally last spring with the students creating small gardens around the school sign and besides the main enterance to the school.
This year the class is being officially offered as a science elective and during the year we are planning to create a shade garden along the entire north side of the school building and a Native American herbal medicine garden in an southwest exposed area (400 square feet)that is surrounded by a parking area and the school building.
The class' future plans include creating a butterfly garden, decorative gardens at the flag pole, weather station and the other entrances and exits, as well as several Mid-Atlantic native plant gardens.

Centre for Environment Education - Chennai,
We're trying to make the landscaping of the school open spaces--landscaping as a part of the regular school education

Cesar Chavez Elementary - Little Elm, TX
We are just starting our school garden. We are in the process of grant applications, seeking donations, organization and planning. We have a huge, full sun area in North Texas. It is a flat area in between 2 wings of an elementary school. We plan to build raised beds using lumber or railroad ties as well as using barrels and other large containers. We would like to be able to build and create a multi-use garden as an outdoor lab, weather station, health applications, etc. Please send any ideas and resources!!! Thanks and happy gardening!
Kristi Baker, Kindergarten teacher

Cesar Chavez Elementary School - Salinas, CA
We have had our garden for a few years and it continues to be a source of pride when everyone is working together and there are actually plants growing everywhere. Of course, it can be a real eyesore also because there's never a consistent schedule where everyone is planting and studying in the garden. Just recently a community group came along and really helped CLEAN UP---WOW! That is exciting so now we are trying to keep up and actually have more activities for students in the garden, weather permitting. We want to keep growing!

Chamiza Elementary - Albuquerque, NM
We have a 2-acre mesa scrub natural area with hiking trails on campus. Students developed an additional 6 raised garden beds made of recycled plastic. These have evolved over the years into heritage gardens and herb gardens because of our drought concerns. Ten years ago we put in a southwestern butterfly/hummingbird garden in the courtyard, as well as a friendship perennial garden with handmade tiled seating. We have parents, kids, and custodians who water in the summer months. Cottontail rabbits like to enjoy our harvests so we put up low fencing in the beds. We have had success with dry/desert plantings such as chiles.

Chana High School - Auburn, CA

Chandler Park (with Berryhill School) - Tulsa, OK
The Chandler Park Advisory and Education Council, along with Berryhill Schools annual March for Parks fundraiser, has been in the process of developing terrace garden behind raised flower beds to accent the hillside with nandinas, pink dogwood trees and various bulbs. Area businesses have donated plants, and garden design expertise was provided free of charge by O'Neal Landscape Company. The soil preparation and planting was done by our "Training for Teens" program, Community Service workers, and council members. The Park department added a new water line to accommodate a water fountain donated from a local bank and to make for easier garden maintenance.

This 5-year plan has been updated for another 5 but the garden will continue to evolve as we learn. Besides adding and maintaining new plant material and vegetables, plans for a boardwalk to be installed for ADA accessibility is still being persued. A vegetable garden and pumpkin patch have also been added.

Chapin Middle School - Chapin, SC
We wanted to build a garden to attract butterflies and other animals to our school. A few retired men from our community volunteered their time and talents to help us build a three-bin composting system. The cafeteria chipped in as much kitchen waste as we could handle. A rabbit supplied us with manure. The PTO gave us $200 for "seed" money. With the money we purchased plants, peat moss, some tools, a split-rail fence, and stepping stones.

After much hard work breaking up the clay and rocks, we weeded. Organic material was add to amend the soil. The split-rail fence was cemented in place the class. The stepping stones and plants were put in place and the garden was beautiful! We use the garden to learn about ecology. This is the fourth year of the garden. We raised money this year for new plants and needed tools by selling Earth Day T-shirts.

Chapman Middle School - Huntsville, AL

Chase Street Elementary - Athens, GA
We have a butterfly garden and are working on a vegetable garden. We also have tree project and a native habitat garden. Our school was renovated in 2007 and we are working on rebuilding our outdoor classroom project.

Chastain Family School - Gillsville, GA

Chastain Middle School - Jackson, MS
We are always trying to raise the level of student achievement. Our Club called Dream Catchers decided to put our hard work and effort into turning our school garden and into an outdoor classroom. The garden is in the shape of our state Mississippi, and every feature in it represents something about our state. We have a pond that represents the Mississippi River, and our cross ties represent highways. In between our cross ties we have created raised beds that hold our vegtables and herbs.

We have depleted most of our funds. Now we are in the process of arranging different fundraisers and seeking competitions, and grants. If you can offer assistance please contact me by phone or e-mail.

Ms. Shimelle Thomas at 601-206-9026

Chateau Estates Elementary School - Kenner, LA
The outdoor learning gardens are a new addition to Chateau Estates Elementary School in Kenner, Louisiana. The project was initiated to help create a sense of renewal after hurricane Katrina ravaged the area. Aside from the outward example of rebirth the large garden structure has created a new enthusiasm for students and teachers. The gardens have helped create community involvement that was initially focused on neighborhood beautification. More recently the new outdoor learning gardens have inspired science-based inquiry projects at all grade levels. Since there are two gardens one has been dedicated to vegetable and herbs with classroom projects that explore nutrition and world food resource issues. Plant biology and soil projects have also been initiated and that have encouraged a group of parents to build a composting site to support both gardens.

The second and larger learning garden is three-tiered to accommodate space for theater-style seating for not only garden-centered instruction but also art and reading. In design is a multilevel workbench that will provide water and electricity for future hands-on learning projects. The granite and steel workbench will be enclosed to house emergency power and water shut-offs as well as storage space for garden tools and science equipment.

Chatsworth State School - Gympie,
Our small school of 250 children near Gympie in SE Queensland, Australia, started gardening "seriously" in 2005. We were motivated to help kids eat better, get healthy outdoor exercise and get in touch with nature. A group of parent volunteers fenced a substantial area and were impressed with the donations received from parents and extended families. In June, the school won an award as the "Clean, Green School" of Cooloola shire. This was very exciting for all concerned and we now plant to expand into a fruit orchard and chicken habitat.

Chautauqua Day School - Johns Island, SC

Chautauqua Elementary School - Vashon Island, WA
Please check out our website to see beautiful photos, recipes, and for more detailed information and a season-by-season diary of our school garden progress. You'll be glad you did!
http://multiage123tina.tripod.com/

Cherry Lane - Carle Place, NY
I love to garden and I thought what a wonderful way to teach "hands on".

Chespeake Academy - Arnold, MD
We are trying to become a green school. Every year we have an active learning unit on growing plants, soil, composting,
etc. We keep a worm tower and recycle paper and plastic. We take field trips nurseries and plant museums.

Chester Elementary - Chester, MT

Chesterfield Academy - Norfolk, VA
Our classroom has planted many types of vegetables, experimented with planting in different media and charting the results, has made window gardens, and has grown vegetables outside.

Chico Country Day School - Chico, CA

Childcare Learning Center - Stamford, CT

Child Development Center - Clinton, NC
We are developing a Special Needs and Community based playground with a nature studies theme. We are interested in funding grants and nature studies curriculum.

Since we are just starting, we have limited our experiences to a few plantings of flowers and vegetables.

Children's Choice at Double Eagle Elementary - Albuquerque, NM
We're just getting our garden started, mostly with a Jiffy greenhouse and grow lights. I'm teaching what I know to our students, although my expertise is somewhat limited. I'm impressed with how much some of our parents have already taught their children!

We have transplanted three Munstead lavenders outside, since they probably will tolerate the frost and high wind of the next couple months. The rest of the garden, including cherry tomato, broccoli, sunlower, marigold, grape, and basil, will stay inside until almost May.

Children's Creativity Garden - Emlenton, PA
This garden is located at the Clarion County Park and is open to the public during daytime hours. We are developing the garden and have not yet had a grand opening. We are following the model of 4-H Garden at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Our location is Exit 60, Interstate 80, western Pennsylvania. There will be multiple themes and many educational opportunities for visitors.

Children's Treehouse - Shepherdstown, WV

Childrens Workshop Montessori - Plymouth, MN
We have transformed a barren, muddy playground into a beautiful outdoor environment for our children, with walking paths, eight large raised beds, a shed with child-sized garden equipment, and hundreds of sunflowers to shield the playground from a busy street - a true outdoor environment where children can play, learn, and enjoy nature.

Children's World - Brooklyn Park - Brooklyn Park, MN
In the spring the children plant veggies in the garden and then care for it throughout the summer. In the fall they get to taste their creations.

Christa McAuliffe Elementary - Palm Bay, FL
We have a school-aged childcare garden club at our elementary school. After school hours the children take care of a small garden. The garden has many different flowers and herbs growing in it. We also incorporate garden crafts. The children have made a bird bath, small garden animals, and decorated small stones.

Our garden club meets once a week to discuss various topics related to the project and to troubleshoot any problems,(such as pest infestations, and why certain plants are not doing well when others are). However, the garden club members tend to the garden on a daily basis.

Christa McAuliffe School - Jersey City, NJ
Students utilize a greenhouse, various illuminated plant stations, window ledge gardens, aquariums, and terrariums to grow and propagate a diverse collection of annuals, perrenials, aquatics, and tropicals. Plants are used for laboratory experiments, display, and during school generated plant sales to raise funds.

Christ Church School - Fort Lauderdale, FL
We have developed an exploritorium of herb and butterfly plants. Abounding with earthworms, our garden is truly a blessing. The project was initiated in the summer of 2003, but growth will definitely follow.

Christel House Academy - Indianapolis, IN
Christel House Academy is a new school. This is our 2nd year of operation, and I am a new teacher here. We have 25 acres that we've just started to develop. We have 6 garden boxes, a butterfly garden and a path.

Our school population is primarily lower income, urban.

At this point we have no tools to work in the garden with, so we are looking for resources to obtain tools and possibly a place to store them.

Christ Episcopal School - Rockville, MD
Christ Episcopal School, located in Rockville, Maryland, is a Preschool through 8th Grade Independent School located in Rockville city center. Environmental Education is integrated throughout the curriculum with the goal of nurturing our student’s interest in nature and helping them to develop a sense of responsibility and stewardship in caring for the environment.

Working toward this goal, students, their families and teachers worked to create the Christ Episcopal Children’s Garden and Outdoor Classroom. The Outdoor Classroom includes an urban wildlife habit, a designated Butterfly Garden, a Native American Three Sisters Garden containing corn, beans and squash and a Welcome Garden. The CES community working with Boy scouts from local troop 447 (led by CES alum Max Kashatus, '06) created a pond habitat to further enhance our commitment to environmental science education. The pond will provide a ready water source for animals living in our urban environment as well as migratory animals. It will also provide opportunities for students to investigate the water cycle, a pond habitat, plant and animal life cycles and the integrated nature of food webs. We completed this project in April and it was the highlight of our April 22, 2008, Earth Day Celebration!

Our Children’s Garden and Outdoor Classroom is an important way to reach our goal of guiding children as they take greater responsibility for a small part of their world. Today’s CES students are tomorrow’s leaders and we believe that education is the key to changing policies and practices that can help our environment.

Christ Memorial Child Care Center - St. Louis, MO
Our school is a child care center, so we actually have two sections to our gardens. The 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds plant flowers in a space by the entry door. The kindergarten children (12 students) have a small space out in the field where both vegetable and flower seeds, along with seedlings that we have started, are grown. We also plant sunflower seed saved from a sunflower head that the class harvested. Each year the children come into kindergarten and harvest the garden planted by last year's kindergarten and then in turn, plant a garden for next year's students.

Kindergarten students learn the different parts of the plant, what parts of a vegetable plant we eat (e.g. seed, stem, root), and how to harvest in the fall. In the spring, we plant seeds of flowers and vegetables inside and do experiments with light and water. Seeds are planted in different media.

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds that the children harvested in the fall are planted inside and later transplanted. Our garden is far from water, so students learn that it needs to be mulched and then that it needs rain at appropriate times! Some years not much grows in the kindergarden! Most children do plant something at their home because of this experience.

Christ the King Lutheran Preschool - Fallbrook, CA
Our preschool is involving 2-5 year olds in planting and harvesting. The 2 year olds love to pick the flowers as soon as they bloom. We are located on a natural wetland with a marsh. Egrets and ducks visit every spring. Our playground is very large and has many woodpeckers and toads and caterpillars. Our lucky children are surrounded by nature.

Churchill School and Center - New York, NY
The Churchill School and Center is a K-12 school for children with learning disabilities. Among other facilites, it has a 1700 sqare foot semi-attached greenhouse and the Pinkerton Garden on its grounds. At present, the greenhouse is the base for the Environmental Science program for 12th grade, Life Science for grades 1-3 grades, and other middle school classes that conduct investigative projects in the facility.

Church Street Elementary - Tupelo, MS
In 2000, Church Street School built an outdoor classroom. In the spaces in and among the concrete areas we planted four theme gardens. The kindergarten classes are responsible for our Monet garden, which contains plants that were found in Monet's garden and are used as subjects for our art classes when studying the Impressionist. First graders plant, tend, and gather from a vegetable garden. Second graders are in charge of the butterfly and hummingbird garden, and the third graders plant and care for the Mississippi garden. The latter contains Mississippi products such as cotton, soybeans, and corn. Junior Master Gardening is taught to third graders.

In November 2003, a water feature will be added to one of our gardens, and greenhouse skill training will begin. The children, staff, and community have all enjoyed participating in this garden project. Every activity is tied into our local and state curriculum covering many skills. A few examples include: putting seed packages in alphabetical order, studying and producing art, soil testing with the help of a soil conservationist, learning about some of the cash crops produced in Mississippi, and of course learning all there is to know at this level about plants, from planting to eating them, or painting a beautiful picture using them as the subject.

City 2:42 Christian Academy - Fairfield, CA

City-As-School - New York, NY
Project Grow of City-As-School has created a community garden for elderly, one for Chinese residents, and a courtyard garden at the school. Students also assist community gardeners in local gardens. Youth are the leaders of their garden projects and they take responsiblity for the planning and implementation of each project. Some of their projects include: building a pond and a vegetable bed, designing the plantings, and managing the garden compost bins.

Project Grow students and staff have also designed a compost-heated greenhouse. Students market the compost as "What A Waste" and sell it along with their hydroponically-produced vegetables and herbs at local street fairs and school events.

City Blossoms at CentroNia - Washington, DC
This garden, created originally in 1998, is the pioneer project City Blossoms undertook with an organization for urban children and youth. The garden is used year-round by DC Bilingual Public Charter School (grades K-4), pre-Kindergarten classes and the summer school-age programs. On one side are raised garden beds used to grow vegetables provide hands-on mathematical lessons. The other side houses butterfly gardens, native plant beds, composting bins, and herbal beds used for cooking projects and our entrepreneurship project, in which students use the herbs to make natural soaps, lotions and other products to be sold locally and at farmers markets. During the school year the students at DCBPCS are involved with weekly workshops that connect gardening, hands-on science, artistic projects, and healthy living schools with local DC Public School Learning Standards. Some upcoming projects are cultivating a worm bin, developing the outdoor habitat to attract more pollinators, and opening up the in-school seed bank to neighbors. This garden has served as a model and learning experience for four other City Blossoms gardens located in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

Clare Cherry School - San Bernardino, CA
We are about to start a community garden at our school and would appreciate any and all information on garden planning and ways to fundraise for our garden. Thank you, Lisa

Clarendon School - Secaucus, NJ
We are developing an outside garden/courtyard. The theme of the garden also includes butterfly habitats. Bird houses will be donated by the PTA.

Clarkes Elementary School - Mulino, OR
We have just begun our Garden of Peace. Students painted a bordering wall mural incorporating the theme of a peaceful natural world. Parents and community members did the landscaping and built raised bed planting boxes for each classroom. Each class planted a variety of seeds in the beginning part of June so that when students arrive back at school the garden will be in full bloom! A pathway of engraved bricks will be added this year, as well as 3-dimensional clay pieces to the mural.

Clay City Junior-Senior High School - Clay City, IN
We have created a Butterfly/Herb garden on our school campus, featuring raised beds around a center courtyard, and an arbor for vining plants framing the entrance from the street-side of the garden. The arbor is placed to welcome the community in to use and enjoy the garden along with the students.

Most of the plants are perennials, which are butterfly-food plants or are beneficial to caterpillars, but the garden also includes culinary herbs and dye plants. Plants were chosen for their value in learning about many different subject areas: Science, Math, Art, Food Science, Economics, Social Studies, Agriculture, Fibers/Textiles, Literature, and Special Services. Many teachers have taken their classes out to the garden so the students can observe and study insects, soil, and plants, or to inspire projects in design, landscaping, creative writing, and photography. An additional benefit is the great feeling of being outside.

Clearview Regional High School - Mullica Hill, NJ
The 11th and 12th grade students in my Shakespeare Studies elective maintain the Clearview Memorial Shakespeare Garden. The students research flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's plays and sonnets...and there are many! By exploring a different play every year, students learn about growing conditions, symbolic meanings, and the agricultural heritage upon which Shakespeare drew.

Clement Middle School - Redlands, CA
We are a class of 15 Severely Handicapped (mostly with mental delays) students. Our school has had a greenhouse for years that was used on and off. I would like to use the greenhouse for teaching, as well as a fundraiser for our financial needs.

Clement Middle School - Redlands, CA
Twenty years ago, when our school was a Jr. High, three teachers created a greenhouse and garden area for science project activites. Due to a growing emphasis on academics the greenhouse and garden area have not been cared for. Two years ago our Special Edcuation class took on the challenge of restoring them. We weeded, sifted rocks out of the sandy soil and added the needed nutrients. This winter we have harvested broccoli, zucchini squash, snow peas, green onions and other vegatables.

Our goal for the next year is to begin landscaping around the greenhouse and turn the area into a parklike setting that students can use for quiet breaks during lunch and free time. We also want to increase our production of vegetables and sale of flowering plants to develop a financial base for lifeskill outings required for special education programs.

Gardening is essential for students with special needs. Harvesting the plants they have planted and watched over has given my students a sense of success. They have gained knowledge and appreciation for nutrition and foods they normally would not even try to eat. As a teacher I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to learn with my students the joy and importance of gardening.

Clermont Elementary School - Alexandria, VA
At Clermont, we have 1,300 feet of enclosed space with a pond, raised beds for each classroom, a butterfly garden,herb garden, grape arbor, an outdoor classroom and historical trees. We are in the process of creating a frog bog
and a native plant area and we were recently added to the Wildlife Federation registry of Schoolyard habitats.

Cleveland Elementary - San Francisco, CA
Cleveland Elementary is an inner city school in San Francisco, California. 80% of our population is receiving free or reduced lunch and 60% are Latino Spanish speaking students. We have a garden space that has been neglected for three years and filled with yellowed grass, trash from the neighborhood residents, little to no sunlight due to the towering houses on all sides. However, my team of 4th and 5th grade garden enthusiasts is not intimidated by these challenges. In the past two weeks of our garden after-school project we've raked leaves, thrown out trash and pruned the prickly thorned bushes and trees. The students love to play in the leaves and just love being outdoors. Although, we have no budget and I am donating my time, tools, and knowledge free of charge, the kids make it all worthwhile. I wrote a couple dozen-donation letters to local gardening companies and organizations for native plants and am praying everyday for a response. Please if you have a moment send us good thought and your prayers.
Much thanks!
Malin Ramirez
Cleveland After-School Gardening Teacher

Clifford Bryant Elementary - Ann Arbor, MI
Bryant School is a K-2 school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This school has a very large number of at-risk students and a large multicultural student body. Several years ago, some of the parents decided to seek a grant from a local group (Kosta Foundation) to beautify the front of the school by tearing out an old, overgrown area. We enlisted the assistance of the PTO, many parents, students, teachers, and local nurseries in this effort. A local nursery donated their time to propose a garden layout. A school family donated stepping stones. In the first year, in our fund-raiser bulb sale, we received over 400 bulbs as donations to the garden. We also erected a sign stating the month and year and dedicating it the "Children's Garden".

Teachers use the garden as an adjunct to their seed and life cycle units for plants and butterflies. The local Master Gardeners Association provided money $250 to establish a K-2 "Super Gardeners" Club (supplemented by $50 from the PTO), open to all the children, and intended to increase school pride and love for natural science, and to offer these children a chance to garden (something many of them would not normally have an opportunity to do). We hope this will foster a continued interest in botany and gardening for the children and help in forming friendships.

Clinton Elementary School - Clinton, WI
The students are recreating/restoring prairie, one of the most endangered habitats in the United Statess. We have included nearly 80 species, 4 of which are endangered (and require a KDNR permit), which were planted in May of 1998. Our prairie received BackYard Habitat Cetification through NWF (the 5th one in WI to be awarded). The area is near the playground so is enjoyed during recess and is utilized in our curriculum. Many insects have moved in, including the golden digger wasp, which is rare in our area and only found in prairies. Please let me know if you have questions or are interested it starting a project with prairies, as I would love to help in any way I can.

Clint Small Middle School - Austin, TX

Club Boulevard Elementary - Durham, NC
We have been awarded the Earth Tub organic waste composter from DuPont and a Teacher Initiative Grant from the Durham Public Schools foundation.

We have many theme beds, including sculpture, herb, dinosaur (ginko, fern, moss, cycads, horsetail), butterfly, courtyard, and veggie, and more in progress.

After Arbor Day we will be working to plot our trees for the biodiversity index from the National Zoo.

Next year the science program for our county will focus on soil science which will work beautifully with our composting plans.

Club Boulevard Humanities Magnet Elementary School - Durham, NC
We established our courtyard gardens, including a water garden and ornamentals attractive to birds, in the early 90's. As a result of maintenance difficulties the courtyard fell into neglect until 2002. In September of 2002 a group of volunteer parents and children met regularly to revitalize the grounds and school entrance. Currently we have beautiful new entrance gardens featuring sculptures in which all the students participated, herbs, bulbs, and flowering trees and shrubs. A full sun perennial garden was added in May of 2003 and expanded in September 2003.

Children come and help with the work, learn why they are doing the work, and enjoy community and special workshops, such as building bamboo tipis.

The plants are provided by funds from the PTA and much of the work is donated by parents with special skills and interest in learning through horticulture and botany.

We plan to expand our program to include school-wide composting, resurrection of the courtyard gardens with goldfish pool, and possibly the addition of a greenhouse where we can raise ornamentals for various theme gardens.

C.M. Riccardi Elementary School - Saugerties, NY

Coffee County Central High School - Manchester, TN

Cole Elementary School - Boise, ID
The 2003-04 school year was a great one for the Garden Club. We had more children involved and excited about Garden Club. Our Creative Container Contest, open to 3rd through 5th graders, resulted in some very creative plantings. The 2nd graders were askeed to vote for their favorite, awarding top three winners creative pots filled with blue, red, or white petunias (the kids' idea!). We had a vegetable garden this year - in buckets! I collected a total of 12 salad dressing and pickle buckets from local school kitchens, and through the "Adopt-a-Bucket" for the summer break, they'll be cared for. I'm excited to see how they grow over the summer. The kids weeded our small flower bed and herb garden, and planted the extra flowers from the Creative Container Contest in our flower bed. We also had some "bug sucking" fun and have started making pages for our own school bug book!

Coleman Elementary - San Rafael, CA
Our garden vision is all organic, and emphasizes integrated design, also known as permaculture. We aim for drought tolerance, habit creation and food production. We would like to have our garden program endowed so we can ensure it's continuity for the next seven generations. We seek grant monies and experienced volunteers. Artisan skills in gardening are especially welcome. We see our school supplying food for the children and education about how food comes from the very earth they walk on.

Col. Johnston Elementary - Ft. Huachuca, AZ
We are teaching military children who have come from all over world the importance of caring for our earth along with giving most of them the experience of tasting produce fresh out of the garden. We are also learning to make nutritious snacks with the things that we grow in the garden.

The garden is a nature walk in itself, as we have plants butterflies, hummingbirds, and seed-seeking birds love. Daily students spot and observe lizards, pill bugs, and other creepy-crawlies. For many children who have always lived in apartments the garden is an adventure in itself.

College Park Elementary - Ocala, FL
This will be my first year for growing flowers to attract butterflies. I hope to have the caterpillars so that the children can experience their transformation. Last year we had a small vegetable and flower garden right outside our classroom. It was a huge success! We started all the plants and veggies from seeds and the children kept a plant diary. The children were not able to reap the fully ripe cucumbers, so we are starting a month earlier this year. Our veggies include cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and green beans.

Collins High School - Chicago, IL

Colonel Smith Middle School - Ft. Huachuca, AZ
We planted a natural habitat garden during the Spring of 2001. When we returned from summer break there were blooms everywhere! We have also planted lettuce for the cool weather, and collected seeds.

Colonel William Casey Elementary/ Adair County High School - Columbia, KY
Our elementary school has cooperated with the high school to create the 125,000-square-foot Adair Pride Arboretum. We started out in the spring of 2001 by planting 40 trees. Areas are devoted to plants indigenous to Kentucky. Next,we added a work area/shelter and a tool shed. In the Fall of 2002, students created mosaic stepping stones for the garden. We continue to add trees, bushes and perennials, and now have gardening clubs that use the area weekly. We recently added metal picnic table to the shelter for better use of this facility.

In 2003, we built bird blinds, adding to our native species and created a grasslands area. We purchased several field guides for attending groups. Schools have access throughout the year. We are fortunate to still have an abundance of community support. The students -- elementary, middle school, intermediate and high school -- work hand in hand to continue planning and creating exciting projects to teach and enjoy!

For the past three years, we have been able to contribute even more by providing a Fall Pumpkin Patch for all primary students! We are always on the lookout for more ways to make our arboretum beneficial!

Columbia Community School - , MI

Columbia High School - White Salmon, WA
the Horticulture students grow a variety of vegetables for the school lunch program at the high school. They also grow vegetable starts for a plant sale in the spring and a variety of flowers suitable for companion plantings. All vegetables are grown organically. The students developed a HACCP plan for the fresh produce. Several theme gardens are growing in the land lab where students can pursue their own gardeining interests after completing a course of studey on botany, soil characteristics, plant health and nutrition, IPM, fruit and vegetable production and landscape design.

Columbia Middle School - Decatur, GA
Columbia Middle School has 3 gardens that are being utilized to enhance the mission of educating our students for the future. "The Reading Garden" has flowering plants with two developing trees and seating. Students are allowed to read outside while observing nature. "The Weather Station" provides students the opportunity to explore, analyze data, and examine how the Earth's weather affects our quality of life. The theme of the third garden, still under development, is "The Butterfly Garden."

Columbus East High School - Columbus, IN

Columbus Middle School - Canoga Park, CA
This is the first year in 15 that our school garden is underway. We have an enormous area just waiting for us to return it to it's original beauty. This year, as our beginning year, there is only one full-time horticulture class with 30 students. Therefore man-hours are limited so the process is slow. There are also a couple Special Education classes that go out to the garden once or twice a week and work a few small plots.

Our class began by completely cleaning up the entire agricultural area. It took two weeks to clean up the weeds, clear the sidewalks and pick up the trash left over years of neglect. Of course this is a continual process but the upkeep is less now that we have done the big work.

We have completed one gardening plot thus far. Many of the students have never planted anything before so all of this is quite new. I chose to have many of them plant radishes so the students could see things growing right away. Other things we have planted are lettuce, spinach, and cabbage.

This week we are going to take another entire plot and plant cool-weather plants; broccoli, spinach, and lettuce. When the rain comes we are going to be inside more and learning about nutrition. At the end of the semester the students will be able to cook things that they've grown.

Commodore Sloat Elementary - San Francisco, CA
The Learning Garden at Sloat Elementary is a place where students engage in hands-on learning about the natural world around them. Each class works in the garden for 30 minutes each week, doing a variety of projects and activities.

Our primary focus is learning how to grow food and enjoying the process from seed to plate. Students are full participants in all stages of production and each class has opportunities to reap the harvest of their labors and to cook a meal to be enjoyed together.

The garden provides a learning environment where real world examples clearly illustrate the concepts being taught inside the classroom. Subjects range from the scientific (photosynthesis and life cycles) to the literary (garden stories and journals).

We also incorporate art (the mosaic wall) and nutrition (healthy food choices). Every student gets to enjoy the garden both during class time and as a beautiful and engaging physical feature of the school grounds. The children's enthusiasm for working in and around the garden is limitless.

Commodore Sloat School - San Francisco, CA
We are in our seventh year of our garden and environmental program. We have had three garden coordinators, a new principal, and been a part of a bond project that both brought our school facility into ADA compliance and ripped up 1/3 of our black top to expand our green space

Our composting program has moved beyond the lunch room and we are now composting all of our paper towels in the bathrooms. The lighting in our bathrooms has been updated to sensors so that the lights will turn off when not in use.


A garden program, like a garden, is a work in progress.

Community After School Enrichment for Kids - Wellsville, KS
Our "garden" is 1.6 acres that we are developing as an outdoor educational park. As part of the after school program's curriculum, the children and the community were restoring the park to long-grass prairie and wetlands. The area was to include an interpretive trail that highlights some of the indigenious plants and flowers that we hope will support much of the wildlife that that traverses the undeveloped portion of our city. We hope the park will continue to support wildlife as our city grows and as we work to create a riparian corridor to the park.

Community Day School - Georgetown, CA
We are learning about how different soils predict what kind of plants can be grown in certain areas. Our students are also learning the valuable skill of teamwork and cooperation. This is important to our student population; many come with more than academic problems.

Community Montessori of Boulder Valley - Boulder, CO
Community Montessori is a public elementary school in Boulder Colorado. The school opened 5 years ago and we have worked hard to establish our gardens. We would like to take the wonderful idea of a garden in every school one step further. We want a garden in every classroom! To date, every classroom opens to an outdoor environment which the children cultivate. They plant their raised beds to directly correlate with their yearly studies and have planted Hummingbird, Butterfly, and Insect habitats. The Preschool-Kindergarden classes plant yearly Theme Gardens. This coming year we hope to plant a songbird habitat on a barren plot of land on the school grounds.

Community School - South Tamworth, NH
The National Gardening Association helped get us started 10 years ago; when we bought our farm, we had no tools at all. We still are using NGA's red shovels and rakes. Now we garden four acres of certified organic vegetables. We also raise flowers and herbs organically. Kids have built an herb garden, bird houses, and their own gardens. We have received gifts of greenhouses, a farmstand, and help buying a tractor. Kids start raising our seedlings in spring, and some continue coming to school through the summer to work on the garden crew. Then everyone helps harvest and enjoys eating the harvest next fall. Our special project this summer is to build a memorial perennial garden for special family members and friends our students have lost.

Thanks. Martha Carlson, Director

Compton Elementary School - Powder Springs, GA
We have several themed gardens. Four raised beds make up the "Seeds of Change" gardens based on the Smithsonian exhibit. We have an African, South American, North American/Three Sisters and European/Asian gardens with plants indegenous to each continent. We also have a "Many Uses of Plants" garden where we grow plants used for clothing, medicine, dyes, beauty and food. For our kindergartens, we have a Peter Rabbit Garden. Also, we have a butterfly garden and a native perennial garden. The kindergarten through fifth grade students all help with the gardens. Lessons that are tied to the required science curriculum are taught through the gardens.

Concord Elementary - Milwaukie, OR
This is the first year of the garden and we are learning! The 4-H Wildlife Stewards program has been very helpful. Something very gratifying after our planting days in April '08...many kids were inspired to ask their parents to plant a family garden at home. The kids chose which vegetables and fruits they wanted to plant, and we also planted a rose garden and a native plant garden. The native plants are all either butterfly host and nectar plants, or plants mentioned in the Lewis and Clark journals. These plants will be used in the butterfly studies K&1 kids do, and the Lewis & Clark plants in the 4th grade study of Lewis & Clark and the Oregon Trail. We have tried to tie in the garden with our curriculum as much as possible. The space is also used as an outdoor classroom.

Concordia Elementary School - San Clemente, CA
The San Clemente Garden Club, in partnership with the Concordia PTA and teachers, have developed the Learning Through Nature - Junior Gardener Program at Concordia Elementary School in San Clemente. The purpose of the environment-based science education program is to introduce students to gardening; encourage water conservation through rainwater harvesting and CA friendly/drought tolerant butterfly habitat plants; and teach students to protect wildlife and instill a love of nature through the creation and maintenance of butterfly and bird habitats. The goal is to have students learn responsibility, respect, good citizenship, and stewardship of their environment at every grade level. Since November 2008, three instructional habitat gardens have been created.

Concordia High School - Concordia, KS
The Concordia Nature Garden/Trail is a seven-acre site of school property on the edge of city limits. Begun in 1997 it now encompasses almost a mile of trails and has 27 different theme gardens for demonstration and viewing. Agricultural classes have planted, built, designed, measured, and observed many hardscape and softscape additions. Over $20,000 has been invested from grants and hedge post sales into integrating variety and diversity without the benefit of a reliable watering system. The project may never be completed and the learning goes on and on.

Connections Academy - Shohola, PA
We are learning to garden in the Pocono Mountain region where our challenges include both a large deer popluation, who are active grazers, as well as bear families. It is best to use a greenhouse but we do not have the budget for one at this time. We are attempting rhubarb, tomatoes and hot peppers this year. We have some fruit trees and bluberries started. We are composting straw donated to us from a local resort. We are also using Ruth Stout's mulch method and are interested in organic gardening.

Coosada Elementary School - Millbrook, AL
Our school just started our gardening adventure and I am pleased that there is a site to help teachers with gardening with children. We have great plans, but limited resources.... more to come later!

Well there have been some delays, since we are adding over 30 new classrooms (more K & 1st and a 2nd grade wing) so most of our gardening area is being flattened by heavy equipment and construction debris. But we still hope to work with the PTO and get something started this year.

Copperopolis Elementary - Copperopolis, CA
We are a small school in the Sierra Foothills. The winter weather lends itself to growing fabulous cool-weather vegetables. We have even planted a summer garden with the helpful care of local Girl Scouts. It was great to return to school to see huge stalks of corn and brillant sunflowers welcoming the children.

We've learned that it's hard to stay motivated to garden with all of the curriculum requirements and with very little parent help. We stick with it and try to renew those commitments to do a better job each year. We struggle with irrigation issues and that frustrates some teachers. We've learned what not to plant to keep the gophers away.

This year we've undertaken composting. It has not yet borne fruit but we will persevere.

I would like our garden future to include more native perennials and some fruit trees.

CopperRidge Elementary School - Scottsdale, AZ
We have just gotten the OK to put in our butterfly garden. Students will be researching what the site looks like before we even start to prepare it for the appropriate plants. Then they'll research what should be planted there and project what our garden will look like in three months, six months, etc. Students will purchase the plants and then put them in the ground with the help of a school parent who owns a landscape company. Keeping track of every step along the way, students will be journaling, drawing, composing, planning, dreaming. They each have cameras to keep track visually of the developments of their garden. At the end, we'll have a dedication ceremony and release home-grown butterflies into the area.

Copper Rim Elementary - Globe, AZ
I am a third grade teacher in Arizona. Last year, my students wanted to "do something to make the world more beautiful". We decided to begin with our own campus, which is 20+ years old, and much of the original landscaping has deteriorated, particularly in a 10-by-20 area in front of our cafeteria. There was a tangle of rosemary and some dead shrubbery. We had help from the district landscaping crew getting that mess cleaned out, and installing a proper watering system. Lots of hard work and fertilizer yeilded a bright garden with tall sunflowers, zinnias, hollyhocks and sweet peas. We borrowed tools, bought seeds, and accepted donated bulbs and plants. This spring, iris, nasturtiums and marigolds are blooming. Oriental lilies and more zinnias were added for this summer. We plan to add shady-area plants to some of the places between the buildings this year. My original third graders went on to fourth grade, so I formed a club so that those interested could continue gardening, and others could join. Now we have 22 members from second, third and fourth grades. We have been adopted by the "grownup" garden club in town. They helped us to get a $100 grant from the national garden club. The children take great pride in their school grounds, as do all of us!

Coram Elementary School - Coram, NY
Several years ago Coram Elementary School underwent a building renovation project that resulted in the creation of a courtyard, now the home of our Coram School Secret Garden. Students suggested this theme based on the novel The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

There are several components to our Secret Garden. Each year butterflies are raised and then released outdoors. Previously, there was no real butterfly habitat to help sustain the butterflies. Now, when students are learning about butterflies they discover the need to provide appropriate plant species to support the butterflies once they are released. Students grow these plants for the butterfly garden, which we created after a garden design contest and class vote. The students designed the plantings to model the shapes of each stage of the butterfly life cycle. The students then harvest the flowers and give them to residents in the local nursing home.

Another component of our Secret Garden is our Multicultural Heritage Garden. Each year English Language Learners interview their family members to discover vegetables that are staples in their native countries, and then design and plant a multicultural heritage vegetable garden. The students maintain gardening logs. They design and create mini-lessons and give informational presentations to their mainstream peers showcasing their gardening accomplishments. The students have suggested that the vegetables grown be donated to families in need. In the next growing season, we hope to be able do this.

Everyone has been so supportive and excited about this project. The success has resulted in additional grade level students, teachers and parents wanting to become actively involved. Additional gardening beds are being designed by students as well as garden signs and a student suggested mini-stage and podium for student presentations.

Cornelia United Methodist Church MMO Program - Cornelia, GA

Cornelius Elementary - Houston, TX
I am very excited because I am a new addition to Cornelius ES as a science specialist and Garden Club/Caretaker. The Cornelius School Garden and greenhouse was started back in the early 70's and has been in use since then by all of the teachers. So far, I have added a new section with a "butterfly garden" that has been laid out to attract migrating butterflies and in order for the students to see the different stages of a life cycle of a butterfly. This project was created through a partnership with the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences Butterfly Garden Greenhouse Director.

We are now in the process of trying to create a natural habitat to be certified by the Texas Parks and Wildlife. I am also working on creating a larger ecosystem/wetland area in our pond section. Plus, we are going to expand our herb garden and to add cylinder gardens. I am hoping to create many different types of areas for learning to help create an awareness and respect for our Earth and the wonderful systems and cycles on our ever changing planet.

Cornerstone - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Cornwall Central High School - New Windsor, NY
Our garden began with an interest in creating an outdoor hands-on project for my Environmental Science class and has bloomed into a project with many distinct components:
1. Curriculum for Environmental Science, with the ability to expand to other disciplines.
2. Organic food production for use in the school cafeteria. Our food services director purchases 50% of our harvest for use in the school lunch program.
3. Mentoring program with first grade students. High school students pen-pal with first graders at one of our elementary schools. First graders planted pumpkin seeds in the garden in the spring and harvested their pumpkins in the fall.
4. Donations to a local food pantry to provide families with locally-grown vegetables.
5. Sustainability - ability for garden to grow and succeed over time as the project develops.

Corryton Elementary - Corryton, TN
We developed an Outdoor Classroom beside our playground area. We have a variety of perennial flowers and plants with a different reproductive habits. Our challenge was to find flowers that spread their seed in different ways, had differing flower heads, and provided a rich diversity of plant life to this area.

We also installed a pond with goldfish and water plants in the center of the outdoor classroom. During the last snow, we visited our garden and discovered many different animals had already visited our garden area, including a white-tailed deer.

Cortland BOCES - Cortland, NY
The McEvoy Children’s Garden is an established interactive learning landscape entering its third growing season. This garden was designed and named using the ideas of over 200 students and staff members in our school. Our school provides intensive mental health and special education services to high-risk children from over 20 different school districts in central New York.

This garden’s special emphasis has been fostering the physical and mental wellness of our students and staff members. We have worked diligently to ensure that the garden features encourage not only academic learning but also character education and personal healing. Much of our student population is receiving intensive treatment for serious mental health problems. Some students are challenged by learning disabilities and physically handicapping conditions. All of our students require close supervision for safety reasons. Given the diverse needs of this population, ages 4-21, our garden was designed with the following customized features:

1. Wheelchair accessible paths, ramps and raised containers.
2. Many paths connecting a variety of features including vegetable beds, perennial flower borders, an orchard and wildlife area, a tool shed, and a playground.
3. A healing herb garden with plants possessing soothing smells (mint, thyme, lavender) and soft textures (lambs ear and lemon balm.)
4. A small pet cemetery.
5. A Native American section with a 20-foot sapling teepee, three sisters garden, and a large wooden student-constructed totem representing the "Circle of courage."
6. A large sand play area surrounded by huge boulders, tree trunks, and ornamental grasses. This is our fossil dig site!
7. A tree nursery planted and maintained by students. The seedlings will be transplanted to sites around our community as part of the "Spruce Up" program led by our local Dept. of Environmental Conservation.
8. Two composting sites: a worm bin (our wiggly worm farm) and a 2-bin system for garden waste.
9. Several student-constructed raised vegetable beds have been wonderful features of our garden. These beds were constructed from a plastic-wood composite material that contains no chemicals, is splinter free, and requires no yearly maintenance. Garden benches were also made by our vocational students, dedicated to students in memorial ceremonies.
10. Our learning landscape has a "bleeding heart garden" that was designed and planted by a counselor and her students. Surrounding a gorgeous plant are several stones, painted by the students; symbolic artwork of painful memories...an exercise to foster healing
11. A "bug-a-low" science hut is a new feature of our garden. A 5-sided historic railway observation tower was salvaged and refurbished by our school’s maintenance staff. We are converting it into a science-observation hut. It will contain magnifying glasses, observation containers, and literature on insects. The students creatively painted the exterior with vines, flowers, and bugs.

In addition to the above, our children’s garden is unique because it is connected to our playground and is a wonderful example of an "interactive learning landscape." Students are free to garden, learn and play at the same time. Our garden tools, science equipment and sand play toys are always available. When outside, our students have numerous opportunities for learning at their fingertips!

Country Cradle Family Day Care - Leavenworth, WA

Countryside Montessori School - Charlotte, NC
We are a Montessori School gardening community. There are several groups/classes of gardeners who do projects around our school focusing on planting for beautification as well as creating a natural habitat for native plants and animals. We are constantly seaching for projects relating to plants/ planting, growing, maintaining, garden art, school nature projects, and studio art. We have completed many projects: garden bench, stepping stones, feeding stations, herb garden, birdfeeders, canvas paintings for gallery diplays, etc.

Country View Elementary School - Verona, WI

Courtland Elementary - Fredericksburg, VA
This garden area was designed to integrate the Hands-On Science program as well as the states Standards of Learning (SOL) programs. The children have an area to put hands on what they are learning in class. The garden incorporates all grade level activities and provides for outdoor classroom instruction.

Coyne Center Grade School - Milan, IL
Come take a walk through our gardens online! We have an extensive Web site created in February 2003 that details each of our twelve theme gardens and describes how they are integrated into the school curriculum. Click our link above to reach our Web site.

We have been enlarging our gardens since 1997. We started with a small butterfly and a pioneer garden, but now there are twelve plots, each with a different theme. They include: Butterfly Garden, Thomas Jefferson Garden, Sunflower House, Prairie Plot, Native American Garden, Millennium Heirloom Heart Garden, Bean Teepee, Gourd Central Trellis, Pizza Garden, Rose and Mint Patch, Woodland Garden, and a "Dino Dig" Discovery Plot.

Our school has also been involved with butterfly migration studies (Monarch Watch and others) for about 25 years. Two of our tagged and released butterflies have been recovered in Mexico. We also participate in the ornithology programs at Cornell University in New York. Details can be found on the Web site.

In 1999-2000 we received a grant from Ag in the Classroom, School-to-Work (Chamber of Commerce), and National Gardening Association Youth Garden Grant. Our school gardens were featured in the 2000 Harvest Edition of Seed Savers Exchange magazine.

JoAnn Whitmore, Garden Coordinator
and Second Grade Teacher
Coyne Center School, Milan, IL

Cragin Elementary School - Tucson, AZ
In our garden we grow different vegetables for the students to grow taste and take home with them. They plant several different forms in the garden, including seeds, bulbs and pre-started plants. We have a compost in that students and families contribute to throughout the year and is turned back into our garden at the end of the school year.

Cravens Elementary School - Owensboro, KY
Cravens Elementary School developed the outdoor classroom in 1994 to offer its students opportunities to learn more about scientific and natural processes. The gardens are designed to achieve the following goals: to provide students with hands-on activities to enhance their classroom instruction; to provide students with skills useful in preserving the Earth; and to provide students, their families, staff, and other members of the community opportunities to interact together.

Creative Connections Arts Academy - North Highlands, CA
Currently we have two separate garden areas. The first area is 2400 sq.ft of raised beds for vegetable production. This year's winter crop include radish, broccoli,and sugar snap peas, to name a few. The students select what they want to grow and do the work themselves.

The second area is a wildlife habitat in the center of our school. On Make a Difference Day 2005, 50 AmeriCorps and 35 students, parents, and community members planted 500 1 gal perennials.

A beautification committee was formed and maintains the habitat 7 times a year. Students propagate the plants for further beatification and habitat development.

Creative Montessori School - Birmingham, AL
Our CMS garden was started in the fall of 2008. We began by forming a garden committee and taking organic gardening classes at Jones Valley Farms. In the spring of 2009 we broke ground with 6 raised beds and a large pumpkin and watermelon patch. We began composting lunch waste this spring, with all the classrooms participating. This summer we are building a vermicomposter during our garden camp. This has been a wonderful experience for our teachers and students.
One great idea that our lead garden teacher had was a neat way to introduce composting to the teachers- she held a compost breakfast where she cooked breakfast and labeled all the food that was compostable. She also provided each class with a small indoor compost container that would be used to collect the food scraps and then transferred to the school wide compost bin. She also took this opportunity to pass out the seeds for the teachers to take back to the classrooms to start the seedlings for spring planting. This was a big hit.

Creekside Middle School - Patterson, CA
This is a new garden site at a recently constructed middle school. We have it divided into grade-level areas, each with their own water supply. Local service clubs have donated labor and materials to mark out roads and "pave" them with road grindings. Each grade level has their own plan to address their curriculum. The 8th grade section is the most developed, with grape vines and fruit trees planted this year. So far our major crop has been weeds.

Creslane Elementary - Creswell, OR
We are just beginning. My co-teacher Alyson Wortel and I wrote 3 grants and received all three, for a total of $850. We have an outdoor area with a concrete border of 6", and a great deal of parenting help.

Both Alyson and I have personal experience gardening, and lots of people that want to help us out.

We are in the design phase and don't have a single thing planted yet. We had a work day to eradicate shrubs and weeds in December. We're ready to start propagating seeds.

Creston Middle School - Indianapolis, IN
Our 6th grade classroom is interested in starting a garden to attract butterflies, and possibly some birds as well.

Creston School - Portland, OR
At Creston School last summer we began a Garden Club. We built ten raised cedar beds, recycled the tires from our old play structure, and recycled some wooden crates from an glass art company. Our main focus was growing vegetables for students to take home to share with their families and eat.

This year we want to expand to include perennials to attract bees for pollination, building a compost bin, and adding garden art.

We also have a Reading Garden on the side of the school. This spring the Columbia Regional Deaf and Hard of Hearing is going to plant a Butterfly Garden in this space.

Crestview Middle School - Covington, TN
Crestview Middle is an exciting school working toward becoming a science and math magnet school. The 4-H program works cooperatively with Junior Master Gardener and Wildlife Habitat.

Crockett Intermediate - Crockett, TX
We started developing our Outdoor Learning Center in 1996 with parents, teachers, and students helping to build a greenhouse. Have developed compost piles, GLOBE weather station, vegetable and butterfly garden. We're now working on interpretive trail, pond, native plant areas. Our Center will be a community resource with flowers and vegetables donated to local nursing homes and nutritional centers.

This fall we'll start groundwork for the Yellowstone Highway Bluebird Trail to follow route of US 287 from near the Texas coast, by our school, and up through Yellowstone National Park to Canada. Our students will use the Internet to try to encourage other schools located near US 287 to erect bluebird houses, and send data on their use to us, which will then be forwarded to the National Bluebird Society in Silverspring, Maryland. The basis of our program is student-centered, hands-on learning that uses the skills students are learning in the classroom in "real world" applications.

Crompond School - Yorktown, NY

Crossway Community Montessori School - Kensington, MD
Crossway Community Montessori School is a preschool, serving children ages 3 months - 6 years. The school is a component of a larger, non-profit organization which provides an educational/housing/family literacy program for low-income, at risk single parents with young children. The Montessori School is composed of 1/3 children of the residential family students, and 2/3 children from the wider community.

The garden program began with a parent volunteer and a tiny vegetable plot next to the playground in 2005. Since that time it has evolved into a environmental education program which is fully integrated into the curriculum of the school. The gardens now include: a 20' x 20' fenced, raised-bed vegetable garden; a small attached herb garden; an 8'diameter strawberry patch; a 10'diameter Three Sisters Garden; a Butterfly Garden with a variety of flower beds (designed to attract and nourish butterflies and birds) with bird feeders & houses, and a winding brick Alphabet Path. In addition, in the spring of 2008, we broke ground on a pilot community garden project. This season it consisted of 11 6'x6' raised bed plots, surrounded by a wire mesh fence. Community garden members were drawn from Crossway faculty and staff, residential families, and members of the surrounding community.

The garden project has been an exciting, educational, wondrous and rigorous journey. We have certainly had our growing pains, but the gardens have become a symbol of the spirit of the school & the mission we are trying to accomplish: providing a supportive, healthy, caring community in which families can thrive. The lessons of caring for a garden are the perfect practical metaphor for teaching families how to care for each other, and how to ensure that our children thrive.

Crosswinds East Metro Art and Science School - Woodbury, MN

Croydon West Primary School - Croydon,
Our school buildings are surrounded by wonderful garden areas which have become important for our students experiences and learning. We have chickens, a vegetable patch, indigenous plants(Bush Tucker garden), a garden area dedicated to Peace, a frog habitat, plus a newly planted sensory garden. We make compost and are very committed to recycling and bringing litter-free lunches to school. The students, and often their families, regularly work in the many different areas of our garden, weeding, planting, mulching, watering etc. We are about to launch into propagation of our plants using a new greenhouse and potting area. Artwork is showcased in our gardens also. We have just planted a variety of fruit trees in our newly established orchard area and are about to dig up more asphalt to create a Discovery Garden using only natural materials.

Curie Elementary - San Diego, CA
Curie features three gardening areas with different purposes: a butterfly garden, a native plant/water-wise plant garden, and a greenhouse/vegetable & fruit bed area.

Curley Middle School/EarthWorks Projects - Jamaica Plain, MA
EarthWorks and the Curley Middle School have been working in the schoolyard orchard to help students understand basic ecological processes. The orchard features grapes, raspberries, peaches, nectarines, apples, plums, cherries, pears, and medicinal plants. We have an active composting program and students use the site weekly in science classes.

Cuvilly Arts and Earth Center - Ipswich, MA
Our programs include: an organic garden and preschool/kindergarten summer program (grant-funded for "city kids"), an arts studio for adults, and a community garden.

Cyndi's Daycare - Saint Paul, MN

Cypress Cove Elementary - Slidell, LA
My kindergarten class of 20 kids was fortunate enough to be awarded a $500 mini-grant from a local electric company in order to create a butterfly garden outside my classroom window. We planned the garden in a butterfly shape with river rock defining the body of the butterfly and stepping stones winding a path from a main walking trail to the garden itself. The children share responsibility for weeding, watering, and caring for the garden, and sharing their creation with other students. The kids enjoy passing magnifying glasses and butterfly identification cards out of our classroom window to other classes visiting our garden. They have created garden stakes identifying plants and have learned the parts of a flower and the life cycle of butterflies by raising them in the classroom. We were really excited to be highlighted in the local newspaper during the planting phase of our garden.

In closing, this experience has given us a wealth of creative writing, math, science, language, and social studies learning experiences. The hands-on, child-friendly approach has been a wonderful opportunity for my children to learn and grow!

Cypress Parks Elementary - Cleveland, MS
Our theme is "Strengthening Our Roots." We are emphasizing how all the parts are more important as they work together than they are as a bunch of separate parts (gestalt). We are incorporating the teaching of teamwork, cooperation, interdependency, and community into teaching kids about plants and gardening.

Stacie is project coodinator for the "SALLY" project at the school.

Cypress Springs Elementary - Orlando, FL

D.A. Dorsey Educational Center - Miami, FL
We have a landscaping class here at our school. I have tried to plant a butterfly garden with plants that are drought resistant.

We have a huge empty field. There is hardly any shade here. With global warming here we are getting very hot outside the classrooms. I would like to teach the students about the environment.

Daggett Montessori - Fort Worth, TX
Our school garden was established about one year ago, with a focus on native perennials. We are in the process of expanding our garden. Plans include a "tiny Texas prairie", vegetable and herb beds, a shade garden, a butterfly habitat and a koi pond. we also plan to incorporate composting, rainwater salvage, and xeriscaping into the program. A greenhouse on campus is available for experimenting with plant propagation.

Dainty Center/Willow Wood School - Brentwood, CA
Dainty Center/Willow Wood school (DC/WWS) believes in engaging families through a hands on approach through gardening and education. Socrates once said “Every Garden is a point of creation.” DC/WWS realizes the importance of empowering not only young children, but people of all ages through educating others to make healthy diet choices, using organic methods to grow sustainable nutritional foods, affordably, on their own kitchen counters, patio, backyard or home garden. Through direct contact w/ cultivating their own food, we find that children & adults are more interested in eating the "fruits of their labor". It is a fun, healthy way to bring child, teachers, and the community together to learn about eating fresh,local, seasonal, and organic fruits and vegetables.

Through our gardening program, work invested is shared between the “workers” and positive social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and spiritual experience, that will re-align them with nature and open the way for a greener and healthier lifestyle that they as individuals can claim and feel in control of.

Danbury Elementary - Danbury, TX
We are working to develop a habitat for the migrating birds and butterflies. We will be using native plants and will learn more about xeriscaping for our area.

Danebo Elementary - Eugene, OR
We have a garden with 10 raised beds for planting. We have installed a watering system to sustain our garden over the summer. We are learning about plant cycles in our classrooms by growing seeds under light sources in the early spring. We have been studying about ladybugs and how they benefit the garden. We set 1500 ladybugs free last week, after we added additional soil and plants. We will be holding a plant sale in early May. All profits and plants left will be used toward the garden. Students are involved in jobs such as weeding, planting and composting in the garden. We will be planting flowers and vegetables that will be used by summer families in our community. We benefited from a Youth Garden Grant in 2003. This helped our students and the garden by providing seeds and tools. This year we need to replace some benches and encourage volunteers to work the garden during the summer.

Daniel Butler Elementary School - Belmont, MA
Each fall and spring the PTA at Butler Elementary hosts a grounds clean-up and gardening day. The past few years have resulted in increased planting of perennial flowers and trees. This spring there is an increased interest in taking the gardens and care of the grounds to a new level including gardening in the curriculum - I will be working with my daughter's second grade teacher and class to own one section of the grounds and create a bird and butterfly friendly garden. Other members of the school community are interested in tree planting, soil improvment and so on.

Dansville Head Start - Dansville, NY

Danvers High School - Danvers, MA

Davidson Middle School - San Rafael, CA

Davidsonville Elementary - Davidsonville, MD
Davidsonville Elementary School is a new facility, serving a small community between Washington DC and Annnapolis. A year in the planning, The Seeds of Learning Garden is a 6000-square-foot courtyard area, composed of five beds, each with a different curricular focus. There is a butterfly garden, a bird habitat, a native planting bed, an arts and performance area, and a Colonial and Native American demonstration plot. Intertwining these five beds is an ADA compatible walkway of brick sized pavers, funded by selling personalized pavers for $25 each.

The garden itself was designed by the parent of a former student, a landscape architect in Annapolis. All funding for the garden came from grants, private donations, and donations of plant material from local businesses. Installation began in fall of 2002, and will be completed during the winter of 2004, when the final section of our walkway is completed.

Davisville Middle SChool - North Kingstown, RI
We are just this year restarting the Garden Club at our school. There is plenty of interest but we need to find some seed/plant grants as we have limited funds and need to add more species to the gardens we have.

Daycroft Montessori - Ann Arbor, MI
Our garden began five years ago with my upper elementary classroom. We had moved into a new school on 9 acres of wetland and grassland. We took over a small area next to the wetland and made a classroom garden consisting of 4 areas: vegetable and fruit; wildflowers; herb; and a rock garden. The children, with my help, did all the planning and work on the garden. We planted and took care of the garden that first year. The second year we had a parent dig a pond for us that was 25 by 20 feet. The children put in a pool liner and we began to plant water plants and fish in the pond. They all did well. The third year, we continued to improve our area with new plantings, bushes, and rocks for naturalizing. The fourth school year we redid our pond. A pond company worked with us on a Kids Build a Pond Day. We redug the hole, put in a new liner and put in a filter and waterfall. We put in shelves to make shallows in the pond for more water plants. We hauled over 6 tons of rocks to go into and around our pond. The fifth year we put up a fence to help keep animals out of our garden. This year we will put in cement stepping stone pathways around our garden and pond.

Our lower elementary science teacher has become interested in enlarging an area next to our garden to put into wildflowers, trees, and native plantings that go around a retention pond. We are also working with him on a river table and indoor planting area. So far we have had to rely on our classroom budget for financing this project. We will look into grants and fundraisers this year.

Dayton Elementary - San Leandro, CA
We are completely new at this. We will have garden beds built and ready for planting in the fall. We would like to know how others organize their programs to provide a continuous experience for all the students in the school.

D.C. Barrow Elementary School - Athens, GA
Our garden is a native garden built by students, staff, parents, and community partners. University of Georgia students in Environmental Design first approached us about a collaborative project with the plant propogation department of the State Botanical Gardens. The project is in its first year and our garden is just beginning to look like a garden. We will use our garden as an outdoor classroom and space for relaxation and reading. Our garden includes a bog and two overflow raingardens which are fed from runoff from our school gym.

DCN Christian Academy - Cicero, IL

DC Virgo Middle School - Wilmington, ND
I am an avid gardener and would like to share my knowledge with my students with disabilities. I have found that gardening is an excellent way to teach youth how to communicate, share ideas, learn responsibility skills, and enhance character education. Gardening also offers hand-on learning that is relevant to the lives of my students. I would like to begin with small flower gardens and eventually expand to a school vegetable garden. Through this program, students will become environmentally conscious while increasing their knowledge of how foods and plants grow. The program activities will enhance students in Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Art. Students will engage in activities that encourage practice with manipulative/motor skills, computer/technology skills, social skills and community involvement.

DDc Kids Gardening Club - Dungannon, VA
We are a group of kids just getting started with a greenhouse and gardens. This past summer we had plants in the greenhouse that were simple to grow but this year we are looking to expand to a bigger garden involving older people in our community as well as help raise food for the food Bank.

Deane Porter School - Rumson, NJ

Deanna Davenport Elementary - Canutillo, TX
The Hummingbird Project is one of 18 Service-Learning projects selected to receive a mini-grant for the 2005-2006 school year. The project’s main goals are: first grade students will beautify and upgrade Davenport’s school landscape, create a “hummingbird friendly” garden, provide a sanctuary for community enjoyment, and increase students understanding of how migratory pollinators benefit our ecosystem.

Students, teachers and community participants will develop their technology, science, math, language arts, and social studies knowledge and skills as they select, create, plan and complete this habitat. This project will increase pride and ownership within the community.

So far, we are in the learning stages; first and sixth graders are learning about hummingbirds through an interdisciplinary approach.

Dean S. Luce School - Canton, MA

De Laveaga - Santa Cruz, CA
De Laveaga Elementary is home to a half-acre organic garden where students are provided a space to become inspired through hands-on exploration and discovery. The name Life Lab is short for 'Living Laboratory', as it provides a space for students to study Life Sciences through first-hand interaction with living plants and animals. In addition, students practice life skills such as teamwork, community involvement, environmental stewardship and nutrition. Since the first rows were tilled in 1968, dedicated supporters of the Life Lab at De Laveaga have built over 25 raised beds, a greenhouse, covered patio, fully stocked tool shed, butterfly habitat garden, three-tier compost system and are in the process of completing a native plant garden.

Delevan Drive Elementary - Los Angeles, CA
I teach an afterschool class, Reading and Growing in the Garden. About 5 classes do participate actively in the garden, and the kindergarteners have their own square foot garden by their classrooms. This consists of 12 varieties of vegetables, fruit and flowers. They are responsible for watering. We have irrigation in the large garden. We have a citrus garden, pizza garden, pumpkin patch and rose garden. We are working on a butterfly garden.

Della Icenhower Intermediate School - Arlington, TX
We are the Green Team. Our club has about 60 members after-school. We will be involving our Special Needs class and 5th grade science classes in all aspects of the gardens. This is the 1st year for us, so you can imagine that we will be seeking funding and support to help us with school beautification, community clean-up, recycling, hydroponics, composting, special needs green house, wild flower paths/butterfly garden and many other exciting garden adventures. We will send pictures to our website as the process unfolds. GO GREEN TEAM!

Deltona and other Volusia County Schools - Deltona, FL
Deltona, Florida was once inhabited by many animals as well as plants. The Garden Club of Deltona is working with the schools to teach awareness of the environment and to protect, preserve, and recycle. We have obtained many grants for garden supplies as well as trees and seeds. The enthusiasm of the students makes our efforts well worth every minute.
Annual Home and Garden Show
http://homeandgardenshow.homestead.com

Denbo Elementary School - Browns Mills, NJ
Our garden features flowers and vegetables. We also put up birdhouses and hummingbird feeders. Sometimes, we had 10 or 15 hummingbirds zooming around at the same time (they are a little hard to count because they move so fast).

Each student made a cement stepping stone with their name and the date on it. These stones will become a permanent part of the garden so that in the future, children can visit and find their stone. It is a way to keep a record of all of the children who have contributed to the garden.

Derby Alternative High School - Derby, KS
As an alternative high school we are always looking for new ways to motivate our students. Our garden is in the very early stages. We received 200 bulbs from a grant and several students worked to design the layout of the flower beds. This spring we hope to add even more flower beds and a vegetable garden.

DeSales High School - Louisville, KY
The Environmental Club at DeSales High School has started planting and maintaining container gardens around our facility. We have also started planting flowers for beautification around the grounds. We are getting ready to embark on seedling projects for plants on our grounds for the spring.

Our Alumuni Association has built a beautiful Veteran's Memorial that we would love to landscape. We have met with a Landscape designer and come up with a plan. The problem is that we are a small private all male school that does not have the funding for the project. We are very interested in finding out about funding sources for private schools.

We look forward to building our garden programs for the future.

Destiny School - Rochester, NY
We began our butterfly garden in the spring of 2007. With the help of staff and parents, our small garden is a 3'x15' raised bed. The students and parents donated the plants needed to attract butterflies: marigolds, coneflowers and mint to name just a few. This year we will be expanding our garden and including a summer vbs program about creation.

Detroit Day School for the Deaf - Detroit, MI
Detroit Day School for the Deaf has established "the bones" of our butterfly garden designed by students last year. It is, as all gardens, an ongoing, ever developing project with
exciting opportunities and discoveries for students and friends every day.

Students are actively engaged in planning, designing, planting, maintaining and using the wonderful asset to our school. Currently we are participating with Monarch Watch to record Monarchs in our garden on their way south to Mexico. Along with Monarchs we have sighted and identified other butterflies attracted to our garden and expect even more when it is in full flourish by next summer. Teachers interested in learning more about participating in Monarch and other great activities can check out monarchwatch.org

Devereux Glenholme School - Washington, CT
We started seeds in February in our greenhouse: basil, catnip, oregano, tomatoes, and pumpkins. We had a plant sale this month, selling our herb and veggie plants to our teachers, and netted enough money to buy some new and different flowers, like chocolate cosmos. In the summer we will be growing our tomatoes and basil outdoors near the greenhouse and our student-run lunch restaurant will be using the herbs and veggies in cooking. If our pumpkins make it to October, we will have a jack-o-lantern contest.

Dewey Elementary School - San Diego, CA

D. G. Cooley Elementary - Berryville, VA
We have been involved in gardening for six years. We started with a partnership with the high school horticulture and expanded our partnership with local garden clubs, master gardeners, boys and girl scout groups and community organizations.
Our garden projects/lessons corresponds with the Virginia State Standards of Learning. It is a cross curricular program of studies.
We enter many of our fruits, vegetables, etc in the county fair and we had our first plant sale in the spring. It was very successful. Our children are getting hands on experiences in economics and other subjects.
Gardening has been a wonderful and exciting experience for our children and the community.

Diablo View Middle School - Clayton, CA
this is our 4th year gardening and last year excavated a weeded area between 2 buildings to put 2 raised beds. We plant 3 seasons of crops, harvest and use them in cooking projects. My students have disabilities which often means they are particular eaters, so the level of involvement they have with planting, harvesting, cooking and eating has made all the difference!

Dilworth Traditional Academy for the Arts and Humanities - Pittsburgh, PA

Discovery School and Camp - West Chester, PA
Discovery School and Camp is located in West Chester, PA and enjoys 4 acres of outside environments. We also raise animals on the site that produce manure that is used for gardens. LLamas and rabbits plus goats are now raised.

The gardens vary in locations. The vegetable garden is located in a large playground area that has an out of the way place where the children do not play.

The pots and barrels are located throughout the property and the children plant herbs and flowers. We started an fish pond and garden area to attract butterflies and hummingbirds this year.

The families are all invited to help plant their own spot and help with the gardening chores. We have grandparents who love to get involved and this year to cook every week and let the children learn the natural food world of grow and eat for better health and nutrition.

Dodson Elementary School - Canton, MI
Dodson is a new school opened in the fall of 2001. Parent volunteers planted a butterfly and bird habitat garden June 1, 2002. The 4 butterfly bushes, yellow marigolds, heliotrope, moss roses, hens and chicks, allysum and delosperma all did very well this summer. The garden also has a small area of plants for the kids to smell and feel. It includes lamb's ear, dill, lavender and different scented mints. There is a stepping stone path leading under an arbor* and into an area where the sunflowers are over 5 feet tall. We have a site planned for a bird feeder.
*The morning glories became so heavy they toppled our arbor!

The front entrance to the school was enhanced with perennials and annuals in school colors of blue, purple and white, many of which are also good butterfly plants. This area was maintained and hand watered by family volunteers who brought water in containers. The area was planned with drought tolerant, sun loving plants.

Funding came from the PTO and families who purchased plants, gave cash donations, or donated plants from their own gardens.

Dogwood Elementary - Reston, VA
We are just beginning our efforts to "green" our schoolyard. We've planted historic trees and native wildflowers and are about to launch butterfly, flower & vegetables gardens.

We're very appreciative of our 2003 Youth Garden Grant award.

2004 update: Our first graders will learn about worm composting this spring and our 3rd graders will raise and release painted lady and monarch butterflies.

Donald Fraser Memorial - Plaster Rock, New Brunswick,
We are planting a memorial garden on school grounds that will honour the men from our community who died while serving our country in World War I & II. Students are learning how to grow poppies and other flowers using indoor light gardens. We will transplant to outdoors in spring. Also, we are growing the flowers for the school's brick planters.

Don Juan Avila Elementary School - Aliso Viejo, CA
Our Kindergarten through 3rd grade gardens are located in the heart of our elementary school. The 4th and 5th grade gardens are located near their classroom area and have been titled "Our Secret Garden." Our student gardeners are given mini gardening lessons. During the first semester students "grow a salad" and flowers. During the winter students learn to design and choose what they would like to grow during the spring...all the while learning to eat and share the "fruits of their labor."

Doodad's Place Pre-school - Bedford, IN
We are wishing to start a garden and have searched the web site numberous times for tips and useful information.

Dorena Elementary School - Dorena, OR

Do Right Educational/Sports Program - Phoenix, AZ
Do Right Educational/Sports Program was founded in 1998 by educator/counselor Gaylord Freeman. Freeman started this program to help give kids something positive to do during the week as well as the weekends. Sports bring the kids into the program, but once they're there the kids are always learning new information ranging from math, science, spelling, how to use proper English, social skills, and how to get along with others. This program is located in Phoenix, Arizona serving nearly 150 kids per year. It's truly growing. Do Right offers track & field, basketball, and starting in this year, T-Ball. The program is for boys and girls from ages 5 to 17. Do Right has a summer job placement for youth between 14-17 years old.

Downey School - Harrisburg, PA

Doyle Elementary - Roswell, GA
We will be starting a vegetable garden with tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and carrots. We hope to not only make them grow successfully but have enough for our family to eat and have enough left to venture into a vegetable stand.

Drexel Avenue Elementary School - Westbury, NY

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy - Salinas, CA
We have a large, well established garden. It has 18 raised beds - all on drip irrigation. We also have 8 rows of strawberries, numerous fruit trees and a seperate orchard. We are lacking in community support currently.

Dr. Rodriguez Elementary - Harlingen, TX
The mission of our Bookworm to Butterfly Garden project, which is aligned with our school’s mission, is for students to be excited and responsible learners who are encouraged by their home, school and community to be successful lifelong learners and productive citizens. We believe that the outcomes of our successful project, which will be engaging, interactive, and enriching, will show that this is exactly what will have been accomplished! By participating in the various activities, our students will have become more excited and responsible about learning. They will also have been encouraged by positive role models including their parents and community to value the importance of lifelong learning. Their participation in creating our Bookworm to Butterfly Garden “from the ground up” will help them understand the importance of teamwork and responsibility and they will have been empowered to become productive citizens of our great community and nation.
Our Bookworm to Butterfly Garden will motivate students to read and learn through innovative experiences and extraordinary activities that will stimulate students to further investigate, evaluate, predict and make judgments concerning the environment. The students whose primary learning modality is kinesthetic, tactile, visual or auditory will have better memory retention of topics. Creating a butterfly garden will address Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, the state curriculum standards in science. Students must learn about using age appropriate tools and models in the classroom and in the field to verify that organisms and objects and parts of organisms and objects can be observed, described and measured. Students are expected to observe, describe and record changes in size, mass, color, position, quantity, time, temperature and in the life cycle of organisms in their natural environment.
Teachers will incorporate the Bookworm to Butterfly Garden across the curriculum to teach growth projection of plants, geometry of layout, mapping skills and landscaping. Our library will be a great resource for researching species of indigenous plants, mapping butterfly migration, and identifying species of birds. It will be a springboard for creating poetry, story writing, drama, art and music.

Dubuque Community Schools - Dubuque, IA
We are a free children's garden program that is offered to Dubuque students that are interested in learning more about the enviromnent as well as learning about ways vegetables can improve our health. We focus on organic methods and each year our garden grows bigger and bigger! We share our experience on the MediaCom cable network. Our TV show has quickly become a favorite throughout our community and the state.

Duck Springs Elementary - Attalla, AL
We are in the planning stages for our outdoor classroom. We have built our birdhouses and are now preparing to hang them. We will be making our tracking box in the next couple of weeks and then we plan to begin on planting the butterfly garden. We have only recently discovered the joy of planning and following through with the gardens. Later we intend to built a water habitat, then a raised classroom for experiments and classes for the entire school.

Duff Elementary - Arlington, TX
In 1997 Duff Elementary received a small educational grant to build an Outdoor Environmental Classroom. Our great parents, along with local business, donated the rest of monies needed to complete the project. In 1998 we started with the following garden areas: Texas Wildflower, Butterfly, Pond, and 2 vegetable gardens. Vegetable gardening is thrilling when the kids can harvest vegetables, but in our Texas heat that means a lot of okra. Little else makes it through the summer. Because of this our focus has grown more toward habitat gardening and we have planted the vegetable gardens into more flowers and fewer veggies. We've have added a bog garden and have plans to plant prairie grasses to replace the wild Bermuda grass that tries to run and ruin our garden areas. Our small science club members have started calling themselves environmentalists because they realize the importance of building habitat that provides some of the necessary food for animals that otherwise suffer because of traditional loss habitat through growing cities.

We have hung hummingbird feeders, built multiple bird houses and fill different types of feeders. We have expanded to a second 1/2 acre area that is exclusively dedicated to the migratory birds and we're trying to keep the original area set up to attract hummingbirds and butterflies (if that's possible).

It has to be a personal teaching passion to integrate all subjects into outdoor science education and bring real meaning to otherwise forgotten facts and skills. Our kids tag and track monarchs to Central Mexico, map migratory bird journeys, test pH and acidity of pond water and soil, as well as the study of plant and life cycles that are a key part of life in the gardens. The added bonus is that the kids employee additional math, reading and technology skills on a daily bases to keep up with the changing habitat needs. It is a lot of work to teach with outdoor education as your theme, but it's authentic science, a lot of fun, and a true labor of love.

DuKette Catholic School - Flint, MI

Dularge Elementary school - Theriot, LA
The children on our campus planted a Remember Me Rose Garden for the victims or Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is also a symbol for all the private groups, businesses, military groups, church groups and individuals who came to South Louisiana and helped us rebuild our homes and schools. We have tied the Remember Me Rose Garden into our School Improvement Plan. For good behavior, the students on campus earn a ticket and they can choose to help me with the Rose Garden for one hour during the week. The Garden is also home for an outside classroom and mediation area for any child that may have a hard time dealing with something in the classroom. Many classes have taken advantage of the garden and many students have complimented on the fragrance of the garden and the beautiful blooms. I hope that this Remember Me Rose garden will continue after I have retired and will be my legacy that I can leave the children on the Dularge Elementary Campus. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to show children that nature is beautiful thru Roses.

Dumbarton Middle School - Baltimore, MD
I sponsor the I.D.E.A Club of Dumbarton Middle School. Our acronym stands for Improving Dumbarton's Environmental Areas. We maintain two outdoor flower gardens, one of which is a memorial garden to the former librarian of our school. We are also supported by the local Kiwanis group as a "Builders Club".

In addition, we maintain about 50 indoor plants in the commons areas of our school. The students are responsible for watering and caring for the plants in a specific area. They have been involved in repotting, pruning and cleaning the indoor plants and have planted bulbs, annuals and perennials, and flowering shrubs in our outdoor gardens. We have many ESOL students at my school and they are attracted to our club because it is noncompetitive and gives them a chance to feel more a part of the school.

Dunbar Math, Science & Technology Magnet School - Tampa, FL
Since our school became a Math, Science & Technology Magnet school, we have been continuously adding on to our butterfly, rainforest, and food garden. We had our Dad's Club help build picnic tables and a pond for outdoor observations and experiments. We are looking forward to building a greenhouse, butterfly tent and much more in the future!

Dundee Elementary School - Omaha, NE
Since the Fall of 1999, the PTA has spearheaded an effort to enhance the schoolgrounds and create teaching gardens. A plan was created for the entire site. Our gardens now include a Fairy Garden, a Butterfly Garden, a Secret Garden, a Bird Garden, a Shade Garden, and theme gardens, including a Wizard of Oz Garden, a Flower Garden, a Zoo Garden, a Peter Rabbit Garden, a Native American Garden, and a Know-Your-Neighborhood Garden containing mini-theme gardens connected to local businesses. These include a Tea Garden, an Edible Flowers Garden, a Cereal Bowl Garden, a Nature's Medicine Cabinet Garden, a Rock Garden (for local music store), a Performing Plants Garden (for the theater), and a Flower Bed, with bedposts. We hope to add an orchard, maze, pond, and prairie. We have held two Arbor Day Fairs and begun an after-school Garden Club.

Dunnellon Middle School - Dunnellon, FL

Durkee Elementary School - Houston, TX
We have turned our entire courtyard into an outdoor learning center. We have a Texas Native Wildlife Habitat, a vegetable garden, fruit trees, flower beds, a pond with observation deck, and a classroom deck. This area is being used by any and all classes to observe nature, plant what is appropriated in the designated areas, and as an outdoor learning classroom where students can have hands-on experience.

It took us four years to get where we are today and we still have room to grow.

Eagles Christian Preschool & Afterschool Program - Youngstown, OH
This is a new adventure for us so we are excited about getting started.

Eagles' Nest Academy - Herscher, IL
We are a homeschool cooperative of 5 families. We use the garden as our classroom to better understand the relationships of food to include, controlling pests, identifying native and invasive pests, wild foods, caring for Creation (birds, bees & butterflies), vertical gardening and soil studies. We recently began a community garden to grow food to contribute to area low income food programs. We are also planing to save seeds and to start a small scale aquaponics project.

Early Childhood Center - Port Washington,, NY
All the children planted various types of vegetable seeds which were kept indoors and watered reqularly. Once it was warm enough the plants were transplanted outdoors. We also purchased some vegetable plants from a Home Depot. The vegetables were harvested and donated to a food pantry. Later in the season, the children gathered the vegetables and enjoyed them at snacktime.

Early Learning Center - Belmont, CA
The Notre Dame De Namur Early Learning Center is a Montesorri lab school nestled in the hills of Belmont, California. Our climate is close to that of the Pacific Northwest, with the exception of the blazing sun in the mid-afternoon. We have misty mornings that allow for the children to work comfortably.

The garden is a true sensorial experience; we have flowers that can be bottled for scent and herbs that make any meal smell divine. The children have learned to be aware and repectful of their environment through this living class, and they are so proud of their progress.

Early Learning Center - Dorchester, MA

Earth Angels International Youth Service Club - Camp Verde, AZ

East Bay Waldorf School - El Sobrante, CA
We are a Waldorf school in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Ours is a diverse and growing garden habitat based on the permaculture and biodynamic models. We attempt to engage our students in a wide variety tasks related to life of the land.

East Cottonwood Elementary - Cottonwood, CA
We are a small community school of K-2 students. We started our garden two years ago after a granddaughter of one of our custodians died. We call it Victoria's Garden. It is an area between two buildings that gets a lot of shade and has a pond and four raised boxes. It is somewhat landscaped and was built completely on donations from a garden center in our area. We are trying to explore more native plants and growing vegetables as well as encouraging birds and butterflies to come live there. Our pond has goldfish, tadpoles, and snails as well as cattails, water hyacinths, and waterlilies.

East Elementary - Greenville, PA
In the spring of 2000, East Elementary in Greenville, Pennsylvania took on the task of establishing a schoolyard habitat. A volunteer landscape architect drew up the plans for the habitat, but students and teachers were responsible for putting the plan into action. We obtained a grant to purchase gardening supplies, a pond form and fountain, bird feeders and birdbaths. The community was involved in the project and many local businesses donated plants, mulch, and rock for the project.

Over 400 students were involved in putting the habitat together. They prepared the ground, broke up large slabs of rock, built a wall and borders with the rock, and planted trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. In the summer of 2000, we applied for certification as a Schoolyard Habitat site with the National Wildlife Federation. Elements needed to be approved were the ability to offer the food, water, and space needed to attract birds and wildlife. We were approved and certified.

A beautiful sign has been added to the habitat site to convey our school's commitment to wildlife and outdoor learning. In 2002, we added a pavilion. Students are now able to learn more about wildlife in their outdoor classroom.

Eastern School District of Greene County - Bloomfield, IN
We have a courtyard that we've recently renovated into a place where students and faculty can eat lunch and have meetings, while enjoying the outdoors.

The courtyard had previously been used as a place for the FFA to grow mums and it was rather run-down. From March 2002 until September 2002, the Science Club (which consists of about 47 high school students) worked to make the courtyard into a beautiful space. Over 21 tons of gravel, 20 railroad ties, numerous pickup loads of mulch, the installation of a pond, and a tri-axle dumptruck full of fill dirt, we were on our way. The courtyard posed a major challenge though as it is land-locked in the center of the school. Anything we brought in had to be wheelbarrowed down a hallway.

We built a massive two-level planting bed, eight picnic tables, and we refinished five existing flower boxes. Many flowers were donated to us by local individuals, and some were donated by local businesses.

I feel that school spirit has increased through the courtyard. Our school is small, underfunded, and lacking in support. The renovation of the courtyard has shown everyone what can be achieved when you work together.

Everyone seems to have an appreciation for the courtyard. The preschool class especially enjoys using it. They like going out and picking flowers, looking at fish, and counting rocks. This fall we hope to grow pumpkins so the preschoolers can decorate them and learn about how things grow.

The next project the Science Club is taking on is one much more involved. We are renovating a Nature Trail behind the school. There we will be building habitats for squirrels, birds, and bats. We will also be identifying trees and plants so the trail can be used as an educational device for students.

Eastern Shore Junior Academy - Sudlersville, MD
Our preschool teacher and her class grow marigolds and cherry tomatoes every year. They plant 2 4 ft.x4 ft. raised beds with these and sell the extra plants for classroom funds(extra crayons, paper, glue, etc.)

The whole school(preschool-10th grade) starts tomato seeds and sells tomato plants in the spring.

Our science teacher has just started a program to restore habitat in a former Christmas tree farm at the back of our property. We have a walking path mowed around the perimeter and the older students have installed birdhouses on poles along the path.

One of our plans for next year is to plant some evergreen trees for wildlife habitat in the same area.

East Gresham Grade School - E. Gresham, OR, OR

East Houma Elementary - Houma, LA
Each season, we change our bed over to vegetables and fruit suitable for growing that season. The students take care of the crops, and also record what they are doing in their Gardening Journals.

This year, we will start a "Farmers' Market" in the faculty lounge. The students will sell their crops to save money for supplies, seeds, and plants.

We have also begun plans for a flower bed that will contain a small above-ground pond and bird bath.

East McDowell Junior High - Marion, NC

East New York Family Academy - Brooklyn, NY

East New York Family Academy - Brooklyn, NY
During the fall the students prepared the bulb garden. They enjoy this activity since it requires them to use measurement as well as to work in teams. Summer 2006 was one of their most rewarding seasons. The students harvested the tomatoes which they enjoyed sharing with staff members as well as their families. We are looking forward to the school year 2006 - 2007 with the incorporation of the grow lab and hydroponics.

East Oktibbeha County Elementary School - Starkville, MS
We have only recently started our group with the help of a Master Gardener. We are currently interested in creating a more beautiful school environment. We have tested our soil, and would like to amend it in order to set out plants that would grow well in our environment.

Our children became interested in gardening after watermelon seeds that had been dumped in the spring resulted in several proliferating vines by the beginning of the next school year. The students were so amazed that the process was so simple yet productive. (Thanks to maintanence not cutting the vines away as well.) Before eating the melons, estimates of different aspects were given, then actual weights and measurements were taken.

East Palestine Elementary School - East Palestine, OH
SEEDS II: Project Enrichment Garden was started in 2003 by the students in the Gifted/Talented class and their teacher at our school. Our garden contains 7 types of herbs, 4 types of annuals, and 12 types of perennial plants. We actually have two butterfly gardens. Our garden also contains aesthetic elements such as an eight foot mosaic top picnic table and a 10 foot tall gazebo sculpture created by an art student from Youngstown State University. The steel constructed gazebo features depictions of the four seasons on each of the pillars.

East Park Infants School - Wolverhampton,

East Side Community (Open Road Park) - Manhattan, NY
We have a lot of space and abilities to change things around for groups to redesign areas.

East Somerville Community School - Somerville, MA
Funded initially through the Growing Healthy Collaborative, the courtyard garden at East Somerville Community School (ESCS) has involved students in learning about,growing and eating healthy vegetables and fruits.

The garden program is staffed by teachers from Groundwork Somerville, a community non-profit organization which promotes sustainable living in our very dense city.

We have begun transforming the school's concrete courtyards into lush growing spaces.

East Taunton Elementary - Taunton, MA
The 1999 - 2000 school year was our first experience with a gardening program at East Taunton Elementary School. We developed several projects for the entire school population, which would enhance the beauty of our grounds and serve a useful purpose as well. Each child and staff member planted a daffodil along the driveway leading to the school. Each spring is a beautiful reminder of their years at the school.
We strongly beieve in community service. This year (2005-2006), the Kids in the Garden Club, made ornaments for the local historical museum, and will help them plant flower beds in their newly renovated yard. The Club is an aferschool program for third and fourth graders and has 57 members meeting twice a month year round. KGC also planted 40 flower pots for the Taunton Nursing Home to be placed in their common room. To participate in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, the KGC will make firefly lanterns to be presented to all participants at the survivor's banquet. We hope they will symbolize a "ray of hope" for the future.
Our garden have expanded and are looking well. The KGC work very hard planting, weeding and mulching.

Eastwood Elementary - Baltimore, MD

E. A. White Elementary - Fort Benning Georgia, GA
Our third graders grow a fall and spring garden. They plant and harvest edible plants, and sometimes cook them at school. They take them home and cook them also. Mr. Ditchfield is the Media specialist and he has a large garden at his home. The teachers and students really enjoy the experience.

Ecole Cote du Soliel - Powell River, BC,
Our little school has been involved with greenhouse gardening for the last 4 years. It's always been a cool greenhouse but now we are equipping it to be heated and ventilated. We have a lot of flexibility in our curriculum and many ideas to choose from. Currently, the grrenhouse, which goes by the name of The Hidden Garden, has several projects. Tomatoes are growing and their seeds were gathered from a simulated outer-space environment. Approximately 200 basil plants are awaiting harvest, while others will be divided and sold in pots. The youngest class has their personal flower pot and others have grown hairy egg heads! It's such a blast!

Edgar School - Metuchen, NJ

Edgemont Montessori School - Montclair, NJ
Our classroom garden enables 13 classrooms of K-5 grade students to grow vegetables and flowers. We start seeds from February on and grow them in our NGA GrowLabs. Our GrowLabs live in various classrooms and we hope to have a greenhouse for them by the end of 2004. We have added a native New Jersey plants to our garden so now we tend a maze of perennials, a butterfly garden, apple trees, and herbs. The latter two are part of an ongoing third grade middle ages study unit wherein the children plant and maintain the trees and herbs. We continue to practice composting outside with our three "Earth Machine" bins. We also have indoor worm labs. We will be installing a wetland garden in conjunction with a study on native wildlife and to deal with a drainage problem. We've been trying to integrate composting lunch waste but that's been hard to monitor with volunteer staff. We may try to start a summer gardening camp!

Edison Junior High School - San Angelo, TX
Our garden is on a city lot that was donated for our use by our school's corporate sponsor. We have divided the lot into various areas: wildflower beds, herb garden, cactus berm, rose garden, perennial beds, pond, and a large vegetable garden. The vegetables that we harvest are given to "Meals for the Elderly." This year we are applying for grants to create a butterfly garden, a bird sanctuary, a xeriscaped garden, and an outdoor classroom. The outdoor classroom will be a large gazebo that is being built by our Construction Trades classes. We also plan to plant a mini-orchard and construct a compost pile.

The Master Gardeners and the County Extension Agent work with our classes. Our local electric company delivers truckloads of chipped tree trimmings that we use as mulch throughout the garden. I have joined the Arbor Day Foundation and through them have acquired tree seedlings for our tree nursery. The Art Department will be creating stepping stones, plant markers, and sculptures for the garden this year. The Science and Special Education Departments are the primary developers and maintainers of the garden. Our goal is to include as many classes and student organizations as possible in this project.

Edison Middle School - West Orange, NJ
We are in the first few years of establishing a garden in some abandoned areas around our school. We have brought in compost to amend the soil, but are really trying to make this a self-sustaining garden environment. We have also been focusing on making this an outdoor classroom area where non-science classes will come with their classes. We have installed donated bulbs, transplanted materials, and also work from seeds and have started a raised bed gardening area. This year we really hope to get our composting system to include material from our school cafeteria.

Edna Brewer Middle School - Oakland, CA
Our school garden is maintained by middle school students with disabilities and students in general ed. who work cooperatively in an innovative inclusion program.

Our garden consists of five raised beds where students grow a variety of herbs, vegetables, and flowers.

We place an emphasis on learning about ecology, farm-food relationships, California native plants, and crops that represent the diverse cultural backgrounds of our students.

Edna Maguire - Mill Valley, CA

Edna Rowe Elementary - Dallas, TX
Established in 2007, our garden features Native Texas plants chosen to attract a variety of birds and butterflies. Our most striking feature is a stone labyrinth walking circle that can be used as a meditative space.

Ed Smith Elementary - Syracuse, NY
This garden project will be fully underway in the spring of 06. For now our composting program is in full swing.

Edward A. White Elementary - Fort Benning, GA
I've been sponsoring a school garden for 16 years. Recently it's been a third grade school-hours project. We have two third grades and the garden is located just outside their classroom. One class does a spring garden, the other does one in the fall. The present site has been under cultivation for 16 years, so has rich, loamy soil. We begin with classes on elements of a garden, with emphasis on soil (components, pH balance, building it up, etc.), and move quickly into the actual work. The rite of initiation is unloading and spreading a pickup truck load of horse manure.

It is so exciting for the kids the first time they pull up a carrot or dig up a hill of potatoes, since most have never gardened before.

Initially, our biggest problem was deer who came out of the nearby woods and ate a nicely balanced diet of fresh vegetables from our garden. The product "Hinder" solved that. A water-soluable amonia-based concentrate, it works the first time. I've seen deer prints all over the garden, but nothing eaten after applying Hinder. It washes off easily before eating produce, but must be reapplied to the garden after a heavy rain.

Edward Hynes Charter School - New Orleans, LA
We have definitely gotten our hands dirty, laughed, been amazed, and have gone through a range of emotions. We celebrated plants living and were sad when some of our plants didn't make it (valuable lessons- too much and not enough water). We have learned what happens when you place a plant in too much sun and what happens to a plant in too much shade. We have plants inside our classrooms and plants outside. Both classes agree that this has been one of the greatest things to happen to our school.

Edward Milne Community School - Sooke,

Edwards Elementary School - Newberg, OR
We are an Oregon Green School of Merit learning to care for plants and worms in our courtyard using a strong recycling theme with Math, Social Studies and Science.

The four worm bins we have were are producing enough worm castings to sell at Open House and other school events. The bins use fruit and vegetable matter from our cafeteria and shredded paper from our district office. A third grade class has taken the responsibility to educate other students about what goes into the recycle bucket used for food for the worms. Classes take turns taking scientific readings to keep the worms healthy, happy, and fed.

We also have two raised flower beds that have only Native Oregon Plants in them. Students researched what plants the Pioneers would have seen coming into the Willamette Valley the first time. The research focused on these questions: "What really grew here at the time of the wagon trains coming through", "What could our courtyard sustain?" and "What is available today?" These beds are studied throughout the year by the fourth grade classes, seeing what the Pioneers would have seen coming over the Oregon Trail.

Science classes are studying water and wind erosion, plant sustainability, plant cycles and soil textures as well as other science themes.

We have plans for putting out a birdbath and more bird feeders for winter in hopes of attracting several different kinds of birds.

Edward T. Bowser, Sr. Unique School of Excellence - East Orange, NJ

E.J. Russell Elementary School - Pine Bush, NY
The E.J. Russell Courtyard Garden is the product of several years of work on the part of the Class of 2006. After Visiting the New York Botanical Gardens and websites of other children's gardens, the students planned the courtyard. A landscape students from SUNY Cobleskill did the actual design. A part of the garden aligns with the science curriculum for each grade level. Several fundraisers were held. Grants were applied for. Students each made a stepping stone for the garden. In August, parents, grandparents, students and teachers worked afternoons and evenings to prepare, construct and plant the area. Tables and benches requiring no maintenance have been added. Teachers use the bench area for instruction. Classes enjoy lunch at the tables. Kindergarten and first grade students are writing about what they see happening in the garden weekly. The older students have been able to apply their hours of work in the garden to community service credit needed for other activities in which they are involved.

El Dorado Elementary School - Stockton, CA
El Dorado's garden has been through fits and spurts of growth. A group of about a dozen primary and intermediate teachers work hard to try to keep it going, although it is difficult to do with our mandates to raise the test scores and meet California's very challenging standards.

For the past three years we have "dueled" with our district to get our irrigation system completed and our boxes rebuilt. We're almost there. Six large round cement planters in two courtyards also receive our students' attention. In addition to reviving our garden once the current work is completed, we would like to plant more shade trees (we have three on the whole site) and have students design more welcoming landscaping for our entrance. Our building is an unfriendly looking one-story brick affair. Students love getting their hands dirty, learning from the earth, and tasting the fruits of their labor!

El Dorado School Community Garden - SANTA FE, NM
The El Dorado School Community Garden is beginning at the Eldorado Comunity School, next to the library and the Senior Center.

We are involving the entire community, people of all ages and experience in gardening. We have the support of the school principal, the teachers, the kids, Master Gardeners, EarthWorks Institute and many members of the general community.

Our interests are varied but we will have an "Outdoor Classroom" where kids(and others) can learn to grow healthy food and eat it. Hopefully some of it will be served in the cafeteria.

Eleanor Rush Intermediate School - Cinnaminson, NJ

Elementary School Zimrovice - Žimrovice,

Elizabeth Cobb Middle School - Tallahassee, FL
The initial Cobb garden was started by the students in our Magnet Science and Technology Program. It was originally designed to be a butterfly garden for the beautification of greenway spaces between buildings.

Tragically, 2002 brought the untimely death of a local police officer, Sgt. Dale Green, who was killed in the line of duty. This is only the 2nd police officer killed in Tallahassee while on patrol. Sgt. Green was a former Cobb student whose father also taught at the school. The Cobb students and families came together and decided to dedicate the garden in his memory. The official Dale Green Bird/Butterfly Garden was born.

Families and local businesses donated plants, artwork, design services, and structures to enhance and expand the function and pleasures of the garden. Herbs were included for the culinary program, decorative walking stones were commissioned by the art students, and labor was donated by all. A student garden club is currently being formed to support the maintenance of the garden. The experience has left the students with a strong sense of community unity and a lesson in using our natural world as a living tribute.

Elizabeth Learning Center - Cudahy, CA
The newly built raised bed gardens are greatly admired by our staff and students at the school. They have been maintained by the students, who water the plants frequently. The plants are donated by a local nursery. I research ahead of time before the students receive the plants. This is a learning experience for both the students and me. It is such a wonderful experience for all students. The students that stuggle academically in the classroom find success in these gardens. It provides so much: developing vocabulary, inspiring oral and written language, utilizing math skill, locating and mapping origins of plants, and much more.

Elk Grove Park District Preschool - Elk Grove Village, IL
July 2005 - After a one-year hiatus as our building was under renovation, we have returned to gardening, more and better. This will be our 4th summer of having a preschool garden. We are now anxiously awaiting the larvae for butterflies and ladybugs to arrive for our summer camps. We will observe their "changes" and then let them go in our garden area.

We now have 4 different gardens: vegetable, squash, butterfly and herbs. Our "butterfly" flower garden is looking great, in full bloom, as are all the rest. We have had much help in watering during this drought in the midwest thanks to our Parks and Planning Department. We look forward to supplying many vegetables to the Help Feed the Hungry Program and the Elk Grove Township food Pantry. We just keep growing!

Elma Primary - Elma, NY
We have enjoyed keeping the Fish in their natural habitat for the past 3 years. The garden /pond is the focal point of entry into our school. The gardens need to be replanted with some new ideas for the children to help create a learning / reading garden

Elmhurst Academy of Early Learning - Elmhurst, IL

Elmhurst Elementary School - Ventura, CA
We are launching a Botanical Education Garden at our school. It's just in the planning stages right now, and we're waiting to hear if we get the grants we've applied for.

Elmont Elementary school - Ashland, VA
Jan. 2008: Elmont's Learning Garden has been renewed as part of a school garden dating back to 1995. Today's garden comprises a large outdoor courtyard and a nook adjacent to the art room. The garden serves as an outdoor learning environment incorporating a space where students can develop and experience many of the state learning standards. It includes: a pond with koi where students observe, measure, and monitor water quality; a Virginia garden in the shape of VA conataining native plants, and agricultural products of VA; plus an ABC garden, Butterfly garden, bird feeders, compost pile, VA rock specimens (including a 2 ton boulder!), and a color garden containing a sculpture designed and constructed by students and a local artist.

El Rincon Elementary - Culver City, CA
We incorporate the Growing Great program which incorporates Nutrition, Gardening and Community. The kids love it.

Elsberry Schools - Elsberry, MO
In the fall of 2001, with the completion of the new high school building, a fairly large triangular courtyard was created which is physically enclosed within the complex. A group including staff, faculty, students and community volunteers worked to design a series of garden "rooms" which would be constructed and planted within this courtyard. With the assistance of grant monies, the community has worked diligently to add soil amendments, build beds, dig decorative ponds, erect bird feeding stations, plant perennials, shrubbery and numerous spring bulbs. Since that time students have shown great interest in the area. Volunteers work regularly to keep the area free of debris and weeds. Small interest groups spearhead "workdays" to accomplish the many tasks required during changes in seasons and peak growth periods. Elementary grades added raised beds, which are used for vegetable gardens or special interest investigations. Finally, summer school students experienced daily pleasure exploring the grounds for bugs and insects, searching for the whereabouts of rescued turtles and simply relaxing long enough to discover the beauty around them.

Emerson Middle School - Los Angeles, CA
We are an urban community near UCLA. Certain classrooms have an indoor light garden growing successfully. Our outdoor gardens are beautiful. Students have designed both herb and vegetable gardens.

Emerson Middle School - Los Angeles, CA
We have themed vegetable gardens, a Roman and Asian patio garden, redwood seedlings, and flower gardens for butterflies.

Emerson Waldorf School - Chapel Hill, NC
I have been teaching gardening at the Emerson Waldorf School for five years, and we have lots of information to share. The kindergarden has an area in the playyard to garden. The larger main garden is for classes 6-8 and blocks of classes at various times of the year for grades 4 and 5.

We just built a potting shed by hand last year and we are working on a greenhouse for next year. Our highschool will become more and more engaged in gardening as the it grows (it is in just it's second year). We recently purchased a farm size area of land and we are currently looking at ways to make this piece a sustainable multiuse site.

Emeryville Rec. Dept. - Emeryville, CA
Started second garden area after five years with older raised beds. We have 18 two-foot raised beds and many two-foot circular planters. We grew with great success lemon cucumbers, strawberries, sweet corn, tomatoes, celery, flowers, and herbs. One pumpkin plant grew a vine across three other beds and produced 12 beautiful pumpkins. Three different kinds of lettuce made great salads. Our cabbage grew and grew but never made heads. The soybeans never got going. Our large sunflowers became the squirrel's favorite food. We will plant a winter garden in September.

Emma Elementary - Asheville, NC
Our Community Garden helps children learn through experience. It is also utilized by members of the multicultural community around the school who grow food for the Emma Family Resource Center Food Pantry.

Emmanuel/Faith Lutheran School - York, NE

Encinal School - Atherton, CA
The garden is a wonderful vehicle for teaching, soothing, and engaging the kids. We have a 4'x20' raised bed for each classroom and the kids typically have garden time once every other week with parent volunteers. The kids do all the work and they become very capable if you let them! Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade curricula are now well developed and are available online (see website or recap below). Our crops are tailored for the California winter growing season: peas, fava beans, wheat. We also have a butterfly garden, some citrus trees, a grape arbor and a raspberry patch. We also host several birdhouses and are part of the National Registry to repopulate the Western Bluebird.

Ennis Sixth Grade Center - Ennis, TX

Enon Elementary School - Chester, VA

Episcopal School of Acadiana - Broussard, LA
This project is for my French students and our community service program. The vegetables are given away to a food pantry in the next town.

Equestrian Trails Elem SACC - Wellington, FL

Erbil Koru Lisesi - KONYA AYDINLIK EVLER, MO

E. R. Crosby - Lake Katrine, NY
We have planted a red-white-and-blue-themed garden around our flagpole. Each student planted a flower. A friendship garden and sunflower hut were also part of our gardens. Another first grade class added a butterfly garden. We've added more perennials around our flagpole, and our friendship garden has grown tremendously, and each fall we add more bulbs to the various gardens.

On september 15 we had our first official garden club meeting. Twenty-five kids, 5 parent volunteers and a master gardener (me) are signed up. We are currently working in our Georgia O'Keeffe garden, started a couple years back by the art teacher, Mrs. T. We weeded, cleaned up the garden, and planted tulips, daffodils, and hardy mums, and added some garden art and scarecrows. Later, we'll mulch the area. The students involved in this afterschool club will learn through hands on experience.

Erwin Valley Elementary School - Knoxville, PA
I am a student teacher. In 3 weeks my students will begin a large unit on plants. During this time we will be looking at plant structures, types of plants, and nutritional value. The students will also be planting trees, herbs, and grass. We would love to share our stories, journals, and pictures with other elementary classes studying this topic.

Escuela Elementary Center - Los Angeles, CA
We are just beginning our garden-in-the-classroom journey. I visited the Chez Panisse Garden in Berkeley in March 2000 and was absolutely thrilled with the project. I want to create a project like it here in my home town, Los Angeles.

My students have enjoyed growing herbs and flowers and veggies this year and are feeding our worms their lunchtime scraps. We are going to enlarge the garden next year beginning in the summer of this year and hope to be able to continue to grow this project.

ESCUELA INFANTIL SAN JOSÉ - LA UNIÓN,

Esperanza School - Chicago, IL
Our special education students enjoy gardening in our very urban environment. Each class has a raised bed, and classes get to choose what to plant. We've raised carrots, cabbage, brussels sprouts, sweet corn, radishes, tomatoes, pumpkins, and peppers.

Essex Fells School - Essex Fells, NJ

Estill Middle School - Estill, SC
The garden is now known as the WASP project (With Agriculture Students Produce). Our project was started 8 years ago and has grown immensely. Students learn how to plan, grow seedlings, predict results, transplant seedlings, harvest produce, clean and prepare the harvest. Since the classroom has a full kitchen we study nutrition and enjoy eating the results of our gardening efforts. The garden helps us to improve our reading and math skills, not to mention science and social studies. Students research and vote each spring and fall on the different types of seed to be planted in each project. This fall we have a full garden with the following plants: cucumber, butternut squash, peanuts, gourds,(which will be crafted in the fall; we hope to sell them for field trip funds), pumpkins, and collards. The entire special needs department at the middle school is envolved in the planting and caring for the garden. I wrote a grant to build a permanent greenhouse and to set up a verimcomposting site and we did receive the money. In June 2003 we built our greenhouse and will also set up a vermiculture center in the fall. Please send any advice on community plant sales.

Eugene Field Elementary - Tulsa, OK
Eugene Field Elementary School (grades preK-5th) is the pilot project for the Global Gardens. Started in January 2007, the garden is now thriving and is used during classroom learning and also everyday during the after-school program where committed students take ownership of individual garden plots. Both during the school day and the after school program the garden is used as a hands-on science education tool while teaching lessons of personal responsibility.

Our garden features fruits, vegetables, flowers and themed gardens -- all initiatives of the children involved in the program.

Evans School - Tempe, AZ
This is a new garden that just got dedicated last week. There are 12 raised beds with irragation. We are a K-5 school.

Explorer Elementary - Williamston, MI
At Explorer Elementary in Williamston, our gardens surround our school. We have an evolutionary garden, prairie garden, butterfly garden, and a bird garden with feeders and a heated bird bath. Our greenhouse is located next to the third-grade wing of the school. Our school serves grades 3-5 with about 400 students. Seven worm bins are kept in the science lab and castings are added to the gardens at different times. All grades actively use different parts of the garden, except for the greenhouse.

Fairchild Elementary School - Houston, TX
Although there have been some setbacks (in getting our outdoor habitat going), we have been very sucessful with our wildflower garden. It was planted by participating Kindergarten through 3rd graders that attend Fairchild Elementary School. These students learned about two different methods of planting "Wildseeds": sowing the seeds the standard way, and making "seed cookies" and tossing them into the garden). "Seed cookies" are a precise measured mixture of humus, soil, water, and seeds mixed together and patted into cookie like shapes. The purpose of "seed cookies" is to make the group of seeds too heavy for birds to carry off. After the plants bloomed, the students first enjoyed the beauty of the wildflowers (the fruits of all their labor). Second, the students enjoyed identifying and sorting the different types of flowers, keeping a record using graphs to show how many flowers bloomed of each variety planted. They also showed various degrees of talent drawing the flowers and pressing flowers to be framed for Mother's Day Gifts.

Fairfield Elementary - Davis, CA

Fairlands Ementary School - Pleasanton, CA
Our "Go Green" team is revitalizing a garden for kids to learn about eating what you grow, composting and responsibility.

Fairmount Elementary - San Francisco, CA
There is a growing wave of support for all schools to include garden-based learning, and ours is no different. Our program is beginning this year to include K-5 classes plus special ed classes. We have had the teachers request classes tied to not only language-arts (English and Spanish), but math, science, history, art, and nutrition. Julie Hagelshaw and I are pleased to have more support and help as the program progresses, a trend we hope will continue!

Fairview Elementary - Hayward, CA
We're a seedling garden built on the side of a tired old hill on our school grounds. We are starting our garden as part of the Hayward Nutrition Learning Community Project to be an outdoor classroom used in the teaching of nutrition.

Faith Heritage - Syracuse, NY
We have just started our garden this year. We have prepared the plot by adding top soil, tilling, building raised beds, and making stepping stones for a center path. We also did soil testing.

We have planted pumpkins, seed potatoes and flowers (bulbs, perennials and annuals). We started a worm farm indoors and plan to start a compost pile near the garden.

Our theme is "heritage." One class will pass on a specific crop (pumpkins) to the next year's class. We are also incorporating Bible lessons on principles such as reaping and sowing and the fruit of the Spirit.

Falla Park Community Primary School - Gateshead,
We are currently in the planning process. Each class in school has been allocated a garden area, and the children are designing plans. For example, Year One students are designing a set of flower beds, taking into account when they would like the plants to flower, where tall plants shoulds be placed, whether we need pathways to access the beds for weeding, and so on. We are fortunate in that the Local Council will carry out the heavy work involved in the project, and will be responsible for its maintenance outside of the children's involvement.

Family Network Partnership - Hattiesburg, MS
Family Network Partnership is a nonprofit deliquency prevention agency. Our primary goal is to prevent juvenile deliquency on the east side of Hattiesburg. Our agency was founded in 1996 by Dr. Timothy Rehner and Dr. Michael Forster, who are the Professor and Associate Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work. We also offer a variety of programs such as visual art, computer literacy and repair, dance, bike shop, cooking class, and soon we'll offer a pottery class, peer groups, recreation, creative writing, boy scouts, girls group, youth action council, and other activities and events, such as field day and community service projects. We also partner with several community agencies in Hattiesburg. Please check out our website at www.usm.edu/socialwork/fnp.

Farmington Elementary - Kewaskum, WI
We have a 1000 sq. ft. prairie demonstration garden to teach our K-5th grades about Wisconsin native prairie plants. We started two 1000 sq. ft. sections of actual prairie restorations. Seeds and plants were bought and received as donations from UW-Madison Arboretum and a local nature center. In spring of 2006 we added window flower gardens all the way around our school with donations from staff and school families. Kindergartners through 5th graders, parents, and a committee of staff members have all contributed time, materials, and effort to these projects.

Father Keith B Kenny Elementary, Sacramento City Unified - Sacramento, CA
So far, at our school, we have about 10% of the staff interested in the garden project, now finishing its third year. However, the students are eager to work in the garden and are constantly astounded at how a tiny seed can become a HUGE pumpkin vine, or sunflower. Even more, they are beginning to take the experiences into their own home gardens.

Fayette Academy - Somerville, TN
We have five gardens, ranging from our butterfly garden to our action garden where the 4,5,and 6th grade raise produce. One is a water ecosystem and one is a Japanese garden. Our students came up with the outdoor classroom wish list. Then the 6th-11th graders submitted designs and six were chosen. These students were envolved in every step of the construction and continue to be involved in the care of the gardens. More than 350 community and businesses supported our fundraising effort.

Teaching the integration of insects and plants so our students are better stewards of our planet is our goal. Schoolyard ecology studies is our mission.

Fayette Academy - Somerville, TN
Mary Margaret's Garden consists of 5 different garden areas. This garden was designed by children, constructed by children and continues to be maintained by children today.

The Wings of Wonder Garden - Butterfly garden

Serenity Falls Garden - Water Ecosystem

Mystic Sands - Japanese Garden

The Action Garden - 9 10X15 raised beds for vegetable gardenings and service project

Fernbank Science Center - Atlanta, GA
Our gardens are the result of an initial grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to build a composting demonstration site. Because we felt that you can't compost without gardens to put the compost in, our garden began with a vegetable garden and a hummingbird/butterfly garden. We have recently added a shade garden, an herb garden, a bog garden, and a water garden. Fernbank Science Center serves as a resource for Dekalb County students as well as the public of Atlanta. We have 40 volunteers who work in the gardens every Saturday of the year, and are also available to teach classes about composting.

Ferndale Middle School - High Point, NC
In our first attempt at outdoor gardening, we created a butterfly garden with the goal of becoming a Certified Monarch Butterfly Waystation. In addition, we installed two 50 square foot raised beds to use in comparative studies, focusing on the different challenges faced by plants growing in different regions of the world. We incorporated history into our garden by planting things that the original, Native Americans and early settlers might have planted. We plan on incorporating conservation and ecology lessons with the addition of primitive and modern irrigation/farming techniques.

Fifth Ward Elementary - Reserve, LA

Fillmore Elementary School - Fillmore, UT
Our school has a new outdoor learning center. We had a big planting day as we celebrated Arbor Day on April 27. Pre-schoolers planted glads in their grow box and two Robust poplars. Kindergarten planted Johnny jump-ups in their grow boxes and also two poplars for the windbreak we are trying to establish on our west fence. The first grade planted 50 mountain plants in our mountain ecosystem and the second grade planted the butterfly garden. Each class planted a tree in the pond area. The third grade planted 50 desert plants in the desert ecosystem, and the fourth grade planted a blue spruce, our state tree. They also planted shade trees to beautify the fence area where we will eventually have picnic tables.We hope to be able to do journaling, drawing and writing in this area.

This was a great experience for our kids. My class spent two days with a fourth grade class pulling weeds and preparing areas for the planting. We had an assembly with song, poem, and history of Arbor Day, and the Mayor came and read the proclamation. We just felt the spirit of taking care of our trees and plants on this day.

First Discoveries Preschool - Rochester, MN
Our school is located in the city a few blocks from downtown. We do not have a large space for gardening. We thought it would be very beneficial to the children to see the process of growing and caring for the earth so we started the small school garden in 2007 with a group of 3 and 4 year olds. They loved it! They have learned so much.

First Indian Baptist Academy - Okeechobee, FL
Our gardens are special gardens that everyone can work in. We have a shrub garden, a water garden, fruit and vegetable garden, a butterfly garden, and others.Our Kindergarten through 7th grade raise butterflies and release them into our butterfly garden.

The students, teachers and other community members all work in the garden. People of all age come and enjoy our gardens.

First Steps Pre School - Middletown, NJ

Florence Hill Elementary School - Grand Prairie, TX
The Florence Hill Habitat is our outdoor learning environment that services our ENTIRE school including our special needs children. All 545 children are able to participate in some capacity. We have a special group of 93 third - fifth grade students that form our Green Team and they are responsible for our daily habitat, recycling and perimeter duties. We take pride and ownership in our Habitat.

Florence ISD - Florence, TX
Our ESL students began "el jardíin" as a service learning project. We built a retaining wall with stones from a local quarry. Another quarry provided us with more stones to build a patio. We brought in several large loads of dirt and built up our garden spot. With a lot of hard work and group cooperation, we were able to lay a patio, plant native trees, bushes, grasses and flowers. One of our planted flowers is the Texas state flower, The Bluebonnet.

Other classes, Kindergarten, Special Education, and GT, all joined in to help make the garden a beautiful spot on our school campus.

Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center - Covington, LA
We are planning to make our program a learning experience but also to supply our kitchen and a local food shelter will fresh vegtables. This gives the children a chance to give back to their community and also to learn from the experience. Our plans are to have 12 100-foot rows of veggies, an herb garden, raised beds, composting, and container gardening.

Floyd County Community Corrections - New Albany, IN

Floyd L. Knight School - Sanford, NC
The greenhouse is a project operated by primarily grades 8-12. The greenhouse began 3 years ago and has become a great science and vocational learning experience for all students involved. The students have learned about the science of plant growth and how to operate a greenhouse.

The students begin with seeds or seedlings and take the plants all the way through the growing cycle to their sale to the public. They learn vocational skills that will aide their transition into the vocational workplace. The greenhouse experience has also increased their self esteem. We have recently begun to beautify the school grounds

Ford Community Education Center - St.Louis, MO
Our students, teachers and parents were concerned about the large number of abandoned buildings in our area. About seven years ago, we began clearing vacant lots, and with the assistance of the mayor we had buildings torn down to make way for our garden. The students voted to name the garden after a next door neighbor and mentor Mrs. Ellen McKinney who was then 100 years old. She has since passed away, but McKinney family members are still active in the garden. Our harvests are very good some years and poor in others. The students, seniors and staff seem to enjoy our growing experiences. We will bake sweet potatoes from the garden this week.

Forest Oak Elementary School - Newark, DE
The "Imagination Garden" is a 35' diameter circle on the front grounds of our school. In spring of 2003, the garden underwent complete renovation with dedication on June 3, 2003. The circle garden features: 3 swirling walkways of stone dust, lined with colorful painted bricks (artist: school children and families); round, mosaic-topped benches made from concrete well liners; an ABC garden with flowering specimens whose names feature the 26 letters of the alphabet; 2 colorful, whimsical, painted "Garden Dancer" wood and steel sculptures (which look like dancing children with flowing hair); 2 painted 8' "entrance" posts with swirling copper tubing (spiraling out from the top to 4' from the ground) supporting climbing flowering vines; whimsical birdhouse; a "teepee" of 5 colorful, whimsically painted 12-18' tree branches (supports for climbing hyacinth beans, honeysuckle and trumpet vines, making a fun "hideaway" for kids); white "zigzag fence" with a colorful painted post supporting the birdhouse; a birdbath made from a trash can lid and painted stick supports; a large sundial with the child supplying the shadow to determine the time of day, geographic compass points on the outside of the garden, plus swinging butterflies, painted wooden birds and snails; growing cotton and peaches (peach blossom is Delaware state flower) among the flowers.

The garden is funded with $4,500 in donations from the students, PTA, parents, school administration, students from local vo-tech schools, and Silver Pine Garden Club. The garden was designed, built and maintained by Silver Pine Garden Club. This garden will serve as fodder for creative writing and art projects for the school, and as a community garden to be visited by students and families throughout the year. Beginning in September 2003, the second grade will participate in an ongoing fun garden workbook project of plant observation and identification, time study, and geographic orientation (North, East, South, West), with the workbook written and provided by the garden designer and Silver Pine Garden club member, Marjorie Kafader.

We hope this project may serve as A modelL of an affordable, fun, safe, child-friendly garden for other schools with a small space or budget. Silver Pine Garden club is compiling a complete "How-To" of this project (along with a time line and fundraising project ideas and information) for other interested schools or organizations. Our ultimate goal is that this be the beginning of an expanding garden interest for the students of this school and others.

Forestville School - Forestville, CA
Spending vacations with my grandfather who still gardened at 94 yrs of age and seeing how much pleasure he got from his garden inspired me. I wanted to give our kids who were active and excelled when given hands-on projects (as opposed to written sit-in-your-seat work) a chance to shine and be happy working outside. My tie to the classroom was to have our garden use history themes from grades 3 to 8. We used George and Martha Washington's Kitchen garden design when we built our beds. Eight beds have themes: Mexican-American, Native American, Colonial, Ancient, etc. One bed is for herbs and another flowers. We try to keep worm beds and composting going also. The kids love it. We make herb pillows, cook with our veggies and sell crafts and flowers. The challenges are maintaining the commitment of parent volunteers and finding funding.

Forster Primary School - Forster NSW,
News from "The Veggytation Patch"

We are ready to adopt the name and logo Emily Holmes from year 6 in 2006 created to win the 'competition to name the veggie patch'.

K21 has bean and pea varieties starting to germinate, K23 has a few roma tomato, carrot and cucumber shoots while K22 are awaiting chives, coriander and parsley to emerge. Mrs Rigby's K25 planted broccoli, snap peas and chives.
4/8 have planted broccolini, tomato and celery and are involved with 4/9 in growing wheat, oats, chickpeas and lupins as part of their 'products + processes' unit. Tian Boderus and Liz Lutherborrow are taking their classes on an exciting journey through the stages of growing and procesing a raw material to consumption. Kumut, a durum wheat has been sown and will eventually be made into pasta. Ventura wheat has been sown to make bread. Echidna, a variety of 'rolling' oats has been sown to make porridge/Anzac biscuits. Lupins have been sown to make flatbread and chickpeas can be turned into hommous.

3/15 have been very busy planting seedlings as well as seeds. They have put in strawberries, bok choi, onion, artichoke, passionfruit, rosemary, cauliflower and French dwarf beans.

Due to the appearance of a few unwanted guests in the patch (aphids, slugs, grasshoppers and cut worms) 4/9 have been making ORGANIC potions to deter these critters from wrecking havoc with our harvest. Garlic, chilli, soap, dipel (bacillus thuringiensis), coconut and mineral oil are the ingredients we are using - whilst not toxic these ingredients can still burn eyes and probably don't taste great. For this reason we wear gloves when handling these items, wash hands thoroughly after gardening and ask that students only pick and eat produce as directed by their teachers. We ask parents to please reinforce this at home.

Forsyth Country Day School - Lewisville, NC
We offer a program for bright students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. We make every effort to find individual passions that we can incorporate into the classroom. As a competitive college preparatory program, we cover difficult curriculum in innovative and creative ways. This year we introduced an agricultural business elective. The students have planted a garden and are responsible for maintaining it. We have incorporated the learning into many classes - for example, the geometry class planned the physical space, the science classes discussed soil and compost, etc. and the English class is helping to write a business plan for a farmer's market. The kids are enjoying it. Students who once hated classroom learning are finding they stay late and work in the garden.

Fort Belvoir Elementary Family Saturday School - Fort Belvoir, VA

Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary - Hesperus, CO
Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary's "Quinisa Memorial Learning Garden" is an incredible example of the potential of integrating school gardens into several aspects of the school character, activities, and curriculum. The garden design includes four distinct zones to display the various climate and topography of the Southwest Colorado region. Completed class and school projects include a peace pole, picket fence project, worm composting bin and birdhouses. There are 10 unique raised bed gardens that match each class' individual character or their grade's curriculum. Examples include a wildflower sensory garden, cowboy garden, three sisters garden, and Colorado History Garden.

Fort Vancouver High School - Vancouver, WA
We just started our Horitculture program after a six year hiatus. We have a greenhouse and 1 acre to work with. Right now I have six raised beds and five in-ground beds. This year we harvested 8 varieties of tomatoes, hot peppers, salad greens, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, cilantro, garlic, oranamental squash, beans, sunflowers, and many other types of vegetables. We are working with our Culinary Arts program to grow food for them to use in their cooking classes and catering events.
I am working within the Career and Techinical Education program so my students are also working on career pathways in the field of Horitculture.
My future goal is to have most of our area in food production, create a portable cooking station, and sell our food at a local farmers market.

Foster Middle School - Longview, TX
We have recently started to plant flowers and plants on our campus. We are doing a campus beautification program. Every organization is involved. The students, teachers and administrators come out on selected Saturdays and work in the flower gardens.

Foster Road Elementary - La Mirada, CA
When I came to Foster Road, one responsible teacher was in charge of the garden every year. We would tell him what we wanted to do and he would set up a plot for our class. An afternoon custodian who had gardening experience, would clean out the garden in the fall and maintain the water systems. He kept the garden attractive and students would maintain their plots and raise their vegetables and flowers.
He was able to answer almost any questions the students had.

Both gentlemen have left. I still want students to learn about earth science from a hands-on perspective. Students love to go to the garden with me and pull weeds and plant. They like finding the bugs and learning that bugs may be necessary in the process of gardening. I need more information on being a good gardener so I can give the students valuable information.

I continue trying to get the community support. I have asked for donations from hardware stores for gloves without success. They do donate old seeds.

Fountain Creek Nature Center - Fountain, CO
Fountain Creek Nature Center established a Native Water-Wise Demonstration Garden in 2004 with the help of many members of the community. Our garden is filled with native plants that can survive with little to no irrigation. We actively involve children in all aspects of gardening including planting, composting, watering, weeding, and more. We hope to expand annually and be a resource for families looking to save water, save money, attract wildlife, and enjoy the year-round beauty of a garden.

Four Corners Middle School - Davenport, FL
In conjunction with 90 sixth grade students, 3 parent volunteers, and the Osceola County Agriculture extension office, I designed and implemented a curriculum that was based on the creation of a "Healing Garden." Using an inquiry-centered model of leaning that emphasizes student-led investigation of meaning and interest, we engaged in a project that required the students to work cooperatively at decision making, critical thinking, and thoughtfulness, using an idea that was personal, meaningful and related to their lives and experiences.

This activity, done outside of the classroom, encouraged students to investigate causal factors involved in feeling connected to living things and sensing the effects of Mother Nature’s rhythm of life. The metaphor of gardening was used to give the students a new appreciation of and respect for the beauty and order of the natural world, and the benefits of creating tangible links to the physical benefits of hands-on learning.

The goal of this activity was to develop and create responsible, thoughtful, self-directed students, capable of posing and resolving complex problems through the course of a long-term project. I also wanted to create an environment where students would feel free to work, pose questions, and pursue answers to those questions.

Four Season Scholars (a homeschool) - Locust Grove, OK
We have to protect our garden from barnyard friends & too much southern sunshine (zone 6). We're feeding a family of 7 and neighbors too. So far we have gained experience in security & shading. FUTURE lessons (besides the horticulture aspects) will include bringing a water source to the gardens, integrating aquaponics, as we go along making the whole thing handicap accessible, seed saving, sustainability & marketing our products to our small local community via weekly farmers markets.

Foxboro Elementary School - Vacaville, CA
About twenty classrooms are participating in the garden on a 20 minute release. Each classroom plants a variety of vegetables and flowers.

We learn the importance of agriculture as well as what plants need to survive. We also discuss environmental issues to bring home each individual's responsibility toward the natual world. It is my feeling that the garden can easily support many more standards than science and still be a 'garden'. Our garden is a fun place to learn and grow.

Francis Harvey Green School - Boothwyn, PA
The garden at the Francis Harvey Green School is called our Language Experience Garden. Our special needs students benefit from the therapeutic landscape design by getting the opportunity to observe colors, scents, and textures of a garden composed of 4 components - a flower section, fruit area, vegetable garden and herb garden. A pavilion is centered in the garden and houses a bench to provide an area for students to enjoy the garden while watching the birds, bugs, etc. A bird bath is included to attract birds. Four brick pathways lead from the pavilion. Our garden also features 4 potting tables to enable our students to place their pots into the troughs along side the tables, making the potting process easier.

The garden was the idea of two teachers of the school, Kate Sevensky and Nina Krautzel. They received a grant to install the pavilion, walkways, and sod. Fundraisers have been helpful in providing the money to buy seeds, soil, etc.

The students love digging, planting, observing and just relaxing in the garden. The results of their labors have been beautiful and fruitful. The students are now looking forward to starting their second season in the garden.

Francis Mallory Elementary School - Hampton, VA
The Mallory CHROME/4-H garden is a school science project supported by the Hampton Parks and Recreation Department, VA Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners and the 4-H Club. As club sponsor, I search for partners that will aid the school with service-learning projects. Students have been involved in a fall garden; planted $1,000 worth of trees for a school landscape beautification project; grew a vegetable garden; and grew plants inside for the purpose of observing plant growth. The club members enjoy active service-learning to help their community.

For 2008, the Mallory 4-H, CHROME Club and Girl Scout troop maintained a vegetable garden outdoors.The project was funded by Met Life Insurance Company in collaboration with the Hampton Education Association. Students grew grass seeds for another planting project. In the coming fall, other plants will be planted in the outside school garden.

Francis Mallory Elementary School - Hampton, VA
The students in my second-grade class have produced an outside garden for four years. This outdoor project extended the science curriculum of the school division into an enjoyable learning setting for my students. Community partnerships from the Hampton's Clean Commission, 4-H Master Gardeners, and the Hampton's Parks and Recreation Department have been formed to continue the positive learning experiences for the Hampton Community CHROME/4-H Science club members.

For 2005-2006, the Mallory CHROME/4-H Science Club could not use the outdoors garden area at the school so the club's gardening experiences had to be done within my classroom. Students planted flowers and vegetables in the second grade classroom along with other plant projects, such as hydroponics and planting space seeds for observation. Students enjoyed maintaining the plants in the indoor setting.

The Mallory CHROME/4-H science Club was chartered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture. Each year after, the gardening projects have continued to provide the gardening experiences for my second graders and the members of the Mallory CHROME/4-H Science Club. For 2006,the Mallory CHROME/ 4-H Science Club received recognition from the Virginia Historical Society for completing the Va. SOL Timetravelers Project. The Mallory CHROME/4-H members received t-shirts,certificates and patches from the Va. Historical Society. Virginia's Governor and his First Lady. The First Lady of Va. will visit the Community CHROME /4-H members in June for their educational efforts in promoting super learning skills.

From all of the support from the community, I was selected Hampton's 2004 Hampton's Wal-Mart teacher of the Year, the 2004 overall Virginia Wal-Mart Teacher of Year for working with students,fellow teacher,universities and the community in developing youth through after-school enrichment state promoted educational program. For 2006,I was selected as the one of the Virginia Mentors for the Month of Children. It has been a joy to serve the community in this capacity.

The school garden for 2007-2008 was a success. Students planted vegetables to reinforce their classroom lessons ,All About Plants. During the summer months ,community volunteers maintained the school garden. Many vegetables were produced.

Francis Mallory School - Hampton Community CHROME, VA
For 2007, the Mallory 4-H/CHROME Club had an inside vegetable /flower garden. Students replanted plants in a classrrom garden. They provided plant maintance until June. The garden box was taken to the home of the club sponsor at the end of the school year.

Students in the Mallory CHROME /4-H Club enjoy planting each year. For 2007,the members had 3 times for planting. They planted grass to observe seeds grow. The planted beans to see seeds germinate. They planted flowers and vegetables in a indoor garden in the classroom. Students maintained the
classroom garden daily.

Franklin Elementary After School Education and Safety Program - Bakersfield, CA
Our gardening program began last year with a small group of students who like being outdoors but had nothing to do. They didn't like playing sports or just hanging out. The principal asked me if I could plant some flowers in front of the school. The school had submitted a entry for a nation grant and award and a site visit was scheduled for the following week. This was in January and of course the nurseries did not have an abundance of product. I asked the students for help in pulling weeds and cleaning up the campus. It was then the fun actually began because the kids enthusiam motivated me into starting a gardening club. Those students who were just hanging out found a new interest in being outdoors. No child left indoors became our goal. Discussion about the environment and other issues that concerned them were voiced and some solved. My growing and learning experience derived from listening to the kids as they dug in the soil, finding worms and bugs, and realizing that kids today don't have a safe place to just play in the dirt! It was the best experience that other students don't want to be left indoors either!

Franklin Elementary School - Lehighton, PA
We have been active at all grade levels with both indoor propagation of plants and growing plants from seed. We have a summer vegetable garden with active participation of teachers, parents, and students. Our water garden and butterfly garden are alive with activity. We have built an outdoor classroom and are working on a native plant area. In addition we have a nature trail through our woodlot with a bird blind and cover for small critters.

This fall we will be replanting our patriotic USA garden with daffodils for spring rememberance of our troops. We welcome input from other school gardens. As a Penn State Master Gardener I can do presentations for schools on establishing school gardens.

Franklin Elementary School - Littleton, CO
We are just in the beginning phases, trying desperately to really get things growing. As you all probably can appreciate, we are a little short on funding so the process is a bit more difficult.

A new school year is about to start so I am hoping to get a lot accomplished this year and try to get some of the garden ready to plant before the kids arrive. We might try something we can overwinter or some bulbs (just for a start). Wish us luck.

Franklin High - Rochester, NY
We started out with an old greenhouse desperatly in need of restoration and a little TLC. Our first plants were from professionally grown bedding stock. Since then we've grown sunflowers, zinnias, morning glories, and marigolds just to name a few. We sold beautiful mixed pots for Mothers Day and Teacher Appreciation Day. Our kids are both excited and interested in seeing their hard work pay off!

We are looking forward to a wonderful 2004-2005 school year.

Franklin High School (Finance Academy) - Rochester, NY
Hello,
I teach A self-contained biology class at Franklin High School. In collaboration with another science teacher and several students, we have decided to clean up and put to good use a school greenhouse that has not been used in years! What a shame huh?

There's a small classroom attached, a lovely courtyard, and a small pond. We are still in the process of getting things underway but have great learning opportunities in mind. A veggie garden is not only a business opportunity but a way to get kids involved in the community. A good percentage of the kids at my school are "at-risk" and the garden will help to give them a sense of ownership, pride, and self-esteem.

Frank Zeek Elementary - Ukiah, CA
Fairly small five year old garden, fenced to keep deer out. Grow fruit and vegetables year round, small green shed, drip irrigation, students do all propagating from seed, transplanting etc. Part of a nutrition based garden program.

Fred Williams Elementary - Oxnard, CA

Fremont Intermediate - Oxnard, CA
As of the spring of 2007 we are in the begining stages of developing our garden. We are currently looking for funding sources and sponsor agencies.

Freshwater Elementary - Denham Springs, LA
Outdoor Odyssey is a wonderful outdoor classroom with a butterfly garden, hummingbird haven, and pond with fish and native plants. Students grow flowers for a nearby senior citizen home and do many service-learning projects. We also have a Jr. Master Gardener program for 4th and 5th grade students. Students grow muscadines and make jelly for the homeless shelter. Also, other schools visit and complete lessons using our garden.

Friedman Middle - Taunton, MA
We are currently developing our courtyard. It was let go for 2 years and the trees and plants that were there were wild and overgrown with weeds. We scheduled a Saturday morning courtyard kickoff. It rained buckets but we all continued to work. The entire place was pruned, edged, and cleaned out. We cut out the shape for our butterfly garden. We planted colorful mums and mulch inside the butterfly so the students would see the change. The change was just remarkable. We made all natural bird feeders and the students tied them to the newly shaped trees. The kids are full of ideas about decorations for the upcoming holidays. We have a beautiful spruce that we are planing to light up and decorate. We just finished a few lessons on hydroponics, baggie gardens, and beta fish. We are now studying birds that are local to our area, including our school mascot the Falcon.

Friends Community School - College Park, MD
We are just beginning to plan a garden collaboration between a 1st/2nd grade class and a 3rd/4th grade class. We are thinking two 5' x 5' butterfly gardens. Any ideas or tips would be appreciated.
thanks

Friends School of Atlanta - Decatur, GA
FSA has undertaken the Outdoor Laboratory project because complex local and global environmental issues will be among the major social problems faced by tomorrow's citizens. Our Outdoor Laboratory, consisting of an Edible Food Garden, a Peace Garden, a Peace Path, and a Wildlife Habitat, will help students gain an understanding of their environment and its complex relationship with human activities.

The Outdoor Laboratory improves science, humanities and math education with a hands-on curriculum in an outdoor setting. Exercises teach students to think critically about environmental relationships, and our impact and dependence upon the natural world. Our hope is for our students to go forth into the world as educated voters with a community awareness of their environmental responsibilities. Through growing and tasting their own food, students will also learn the value of food production.

The Peace Garden is a large garden in the area of the warehouse at the far end of the playground. We installed the Butterfly Garden—part of the Peace Garden—in fall, 2003. Students worked with a landscape architect to design the Peace Garden. Installation of the Garden was completed spring, 2004. A waterfall feature was added in 2004 to increase the sense of peacefulness of the location.

The Edible Garden is a small garden site between the main school building and the playground. This garden is divided into six sections for each class, with wood-chip walkways between each plot. This garden was established through student and parent manual labor. Both the Edible Garden and the Peace Garden utilize methods of organic gardening.

Front Porch CDA, Inc. - St. Petersburg, FL
The Front Porch Community Outdoor Classroom and Courtyard Garden Project is a project that we take lots of pride in. The garden used to be a vacant lot in our community laden with debris. It had become a dumping ground for broken chairs, stolen cars and drugs. We are excited to say that today this once forgotten lot now features several fruit trees (Mango, Pink Lemon, papaya, starfruit and pomegranate). We have planted several plants native to Florida and recently won an Water Wise Award from the City of St. Petersburg. This summer we harvested 4 mangoes, 15 pomegranates, and are now waiting for our vegetable garden to produce bell peppers, squash, pumpkins and much more. We host a 4-H Club, summer camps, an afterschool program and workshops. It is exciting to see our program blossom like our garden has.

Fruitland Park Elementary - Fruitland Park, FL
My Special Education students and I started a square-foot garden at the beginning of the school year. We will be adding beds over the next several months for the rest of the school to use. We are growing vegetables to use in salads and for cooking in math. We have also started a butterfly garden and will be adding bird feeders, nesting boxes and plants to create a bird habitat. We will be adding a "dig box" for the students to explore bones from different animals.

Gage Middle School - HUNTINGTON PARK, CA
I have always loved gardening but I do not have much systematic knowledge about it.Last year I had the opportunity to become the school gardener here at Gage and I have attended whatever gardening event I can. I am willing to learn a lot about gardens. I would like to read books about the philsophy of gardens; what they really mean and the effect they have on human beings. I would also learn more about famous gardens, like Generalife in Granada, Spain, and Kew Gardens in London, to name just a few (I have visited both.) But my best interest is on learning how to create and sustain a school garden. Lidia Guzman, Gage M.S.

Galva-Holstein Community Schools - Holstein, IA
Our outdoor classroom involves five gardens and a pond. We are in the process of adding a 12x18 foot cedar greenhouse, and will then be able to start our plants there instead of in our rooms under grow lights.

Our gardens revolve around themes. We have a Pirate garden that hosts our school colors (black/orange), a rainbow garden, butterfly garden, prairie garden, salsa garden, and a vegetable garden that is used to provide produce to the local MidSioux office for the less fortunate.

Our environmental science class is looking forward to using the greenhouse for experiments. We have the upkeep of the gardens through the summer is done through students and their parents as well as local organizations such as 4-H groups and Girl Scouts.

Galva-Holstein Elementary - Holstein, IA
We developed a 45-by-60-foot area for the TK-4th grade students at Galva-Holstein. The area consists of three ecosystems found in Iowa (pond, shrubs, and prairie). The G-H elementary staff has been trained in the "Growing In The Garden" curriculum which is sponsored by the Iowa State University Extension Service. Many community volunteers help us plant our gardens each spring. The local 4-H clubs, scouting groups, and church youth groups help maintain the garden in the summer months.

Garcia Elementary School - Houston, TX

Garden City Family Resource Center - Garden City, MI

Gardenville Elementary - Baltimore, MD

Garfield Park Academy - Willingboro, NJ
We started a garden to grow herbs for the Culinary classes, it just took off from there. We offer a General Horticulture course, Floral Arts and Landscape Design. We don't have a greenhouse (someday), but we make the most of what we have. We have a dual spectrum 40,000 lumen gro light, a 120 gallon pond with a waterfall, all in a regular 25x30 classroom. We also have a Potter's Wheel, Kiln and clay Extruder to make our own Garden Art with.

Gateway Community School - Ventura, CA
My students planned and planted one of our plots in winter vegetables, which are thriving. We learned that crows can play havoc with seedlings, especially our sprouting onions. We foiled them with pieces of chicken wire laid over the sprouts. We are in the process of clearing a second garden plot of weeds and grass clippings. We used the grass to mulch potatoes. This plot will be planted in tomatoes. The third plot is still in the planning stage.

Gateway High School - Kissimmee, FL

GCS Newcomers School - Greensboro, NC
We are just in our second year of this program for recent immigrants and refugees. We wanted to create a sustainable food garden for our families to provide some food and memories of home. In our first season we have won a local "Greensboro Beautiful" award for our work. We are very proud of our beginnings and hope to continue to create and grow our garden.

Gebo - Global Children's Gardens - Evergreen, CO
Global Children's Gardens developed their first garden in 2001 in Evergreen, Colorado. The garden project is child-directed, community-guided, and organic. The Gebo structure was constructed based on the design of Richard Laws of Resonance Design. It is based on the sacred archetecture of the ancient pyrimids. Gebo is sited on private land adjacent to a 1,000 acre Mountain Park. Children from local Montessori schools along with a private nature school are the initial participants. Future Children's Gardens are planned for communities around the Earth. Please contact me for additional information and to connect with programs and projects. Namaste

Update Autume 2003: In March of this year, an incredible blizzard dumped 87 inches of snow on the greenhouse and eventually crushed the structure. Our plans for spring planting were temporarily destroyed. It didn't take long to decide what needed to be done. We comitted to rebuild and began this past summer. Significant progress has been made and we anticipate installing the cover over the structure before winter so we can begin planting again in the Spring of 2004.

Genet Elementary - East Greenbush, NY
The butterfly garden project has tremendous potential to offer hands-on learning experiences to our students. As There is excitement from the PTO presidents and the teachers at Genet for this project. I am a Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener for Rensselaer County, a member of the Greenbush Garden Club, and a Scout Leader, so we also have contacts and support from the local community.

The proposed location of the garden is adjacent to the picnic table areas running along the creek to the hill below the Genet School entrance. Yellow roping currently identifies it. This was done to provide a visual idea of the site and as a means of preserving the natural environment and habitat. This area was previous a mowed hillside, which was virtually unusable for any other purpose. This location was determined to be best for a butterfly garden because it is sunny, wind-sheltered and in a quite area away from the otherwise very active outside areas of the school. We have also requested approval for split rail fencing to be installed (ideally, two sections of 30 feet along the creek side for safety, and another 300 feet to delineate the area from the mowed lawn and for aesthetics).

Funding to establish and maintain this garden will be obtained from various community groups. The ideal butterfly garden is full of color and a variety of nectar flowers, once we have approval, the addition of an abundance of nectar-producing and colorful flowers that butterflies like would be done by volunteers in the community. Once established, the garden would require very low maintenance that I would personally oversee. Various community groups would be engaged to accomplish any maintenance work required, so the School Grounds Department would not be needed to do this.

I am very interested in working with the school on this project and the positive things we can achieve. Few gardening projects are easier, and few offer greater delight. Butterfly gardening is a regenerative activity, evoking in all of us a sense of wonder and excitement.

Gene Ward Elementary - Las Vegas, NV
We have a 1.25 acre garden in Las Vegas, NV. Our purpose is to allow students experience diversity of plant life in a desert community and to provide opportunities for a hands-on approach to science exploration. We have 4 quadrants at this time; desert, sensory, agricultural, mountain riparian.

Our desert quadrant features plants primarily from the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. There are over 100 varieties of plant life. There is also a desert wash where a variety of plant and animal life exist.

The sensory garden area's main feature is a 550 plant maze that the students raised funds for and planted. There is also a dinosaur dig area, a memorial rose garden, and a butterfly and hummingbird area. We have nine topiaries, a hippo, coyote, dolphin, rabbit, cat, dog, elephant, cactus and a pig. Other features are currently under construction.

The agricultural area consists of 15 fruit and nut trees and large raised planters for individual classes to plant vegetables year round. Students have had success growing tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, and a variety of herbs. Last year we enjoyed our first crop of apricots and peaches. We have several berry and grape vines also growing. Students have done chromatography experiments using natural vs. synthetic dyes. The natural dyes are created from the various plants growing in the garden. We have a variety of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks throughout the garden that students can compare and contrast.

Our garden is truly a community garden. We have partnered with Red Rock Canyon Community Bank and Canyon Ranch Spa at the Venetian Casino. All areas have been built by volunteers which include Boy Scouts of America, G. V. Kiwanis, Kauai Episcopal Youth, Youth Groups from the LDS Church, Green Valley High School Key Club, and Silverado High School: Key Club, Honor Society, S.O.L. Club, and Interact Club. Our students, parents, and faculty at Gene Ward Elementary have also worked diligently for 3 years on this conservation project.

Businesses that have contributed greatly to our Life Scouts’ Eagle projects are Star Nursery, Rainbow Rock, Discount Rock, Turner-Greenhouse, Cactus Joe's, Designer Tile and Marble, Hard Rock Casino, and Domino’s Pizza.

We have received several helpful grants: Southern NV Water Authority Conservation Grant, Toyota Tapestry Mini Grant, National Garden Association-Remember Me Rose garden, Wal-Mart Earth Day Grant, and Citi Bank-Project Green Thumb Grant.

George C. Clarke Elementary - Fort Worth, TX
We have an outdoor vegetable garden that is sponsored by our 5th graders. They sell their goods in order to fund their next project.

We also have a commons area with raised beds, a rock garden, and an arbor. The heat from the enclosed area is almost unbearable. Concrete flooring, surrounded by walls with no shade, limits learning experiences to early morning. We are still working on this area.

The second graders want to begin a butterfly garden outside the huge window in the cafeteria. The students want to go outside everyday. I have enlisted the help of a great mom.

Gerald R. Claps Career & Technical Center - Levittown, NY
I set up the horticulture program here in Levittown 30 years ago! I am happy to report that our program continues to grow more and more each year. We are located in a courtyard which contains four ponds, a greenhouse, rose garden, wildflower garden, bulb garden, turf areas, vegetable garden, and a lot of room to expand.

Germain St. School - Chatsworth, CA
We will soon start construction on our flower and vegetable garden. Students in grades 2 through 5 are directly involved with the creation, and all grades will participate in planting, growing, and harvesting the crops. This is a collaborative project between the general and special education population.

Germanton Elementary School - Germanton, NC

Gilbert Elementary - Gilbert, AZ
Our 6th grade garden began ten years ago as an extension of our CHAMPS (Champs Have and Model Positive Peer Skills) program. Gardening is integrated into our core subjects and there is also an after-school gardening club. Students raised money to purchase landscape timbers and fencing. The garden soil and labor to build the six raised beds were donated. We also have wildflower areas around the school and a really neat urban landscape, including Seuss-like garden art to welcome visitors to the library. When our town opened a community garden across the street our gardening territory was expanded another 3000 square feet. We have habitat studies, an herb garden, a native seed garden, and grow food for the local food bank.

Gilman School - Baltimore, MD

Gird Elementary - Chino, CA
The fifth grade teachers would like to start gardening next year. We are hoping to integrate it with Science and other content areas. There is an area where a garden used to be planted. We have an area and an interest. Now, we need help in planning, incorporating ideas with content standards, ways to get tools and seeds etc. We could use any and all help. We are willing to work, so please feel free to share ideas with us.

Girl Scouts Arletta Schluter - Bettendorf, IA

Giverny Homeowners Association - Charlotte, NC
In April 2001, three children began to establish a Childrens Nature Walk in a strip of wooded area which buffers our neighborhood from a church parking lot. The road recently was enlarged and extended. Our neighborhood has a great deal of speeding and safety issues. We decided to create the nature walk as a way of letting motorists know that children live and walk here. It also allows the children to see what positive actions can do, and to interact with nature and plants. Our project will expand this year to include more children in the neighborhood.

Glades Academy - Pahokee, FL

Glades County child Development Center - Moore Haven, FL

Glanton Hindsman Elementary School - Villa Rica, GA
Our class is growing winter veggies in the garden now. We have collards growing. Our lunchroom manager cooks them for us with smoked turkey for added flavor and less fat. Last year the kids ate them up!

Glasco Grade School - Glasco, KS
This project was designed by a 7th grade student. He collaborated with grade school teachers to germinate seeds in each classroom, then introduced them into the garden. Students planted, weeded, and harvested under the guidance of this student leader. He is continuing this for a second year. Produce is shared with the nursing home, senior citizens, and the school.

Glazier Elementary School - Norwalk, CA
Our garden began almost 13 years ago with school, community, and district support. We had plots for every class, a rose garden, an orchard with 12 fruit trees, and a cactus garden too. There was even an area designated for a future habitat.

For the first 9 years, we were 'blessed' with a 'community activities liason' who worked diligently to get anything we needed for the garden -- soil, seeds, tools. We even received several garden grants. However, she moved on to another school and the garden suffered, although several devoted teachers did keep up their classroom plots.

This year, a teacher is sponsoring an "Earth Science Club" to help the garden become beautiful and bountiful again. More than 60 students have already signed up to participate both after school and/or before school. Also being planned is a Saturday community barbeque/garden work day. Stay tuned for more info.....

glendale adventist - Glendale, CA
We have just started to plan our garden and are very excited. We are planning a butterfly garden but are concerned about the maintenance and cost. We found a website where parents can purchase the plants, have them shipped to the school directly and the school also recieves 45% of the proceeds as fundraising dollars. I am working on getting permission for this idea with the PTA type organization at the school.

Glendale Kenly Elementary - Kenly, NC
We have three large butterfly/hummingbird gardens, several small habitat gardens, a Monarch caterpillar garden, one 15-by-18-foot natural pond, and 6 small in-ground ponds. Bluebird boxes have been erected (and inhabited!) and bird feeders dot the grounds. We also have planted (and/or potted for later planting) 500 trees obtained from The National Tree Trust. The tree planting involved students, faculty, local business people, parents and grandparents.

Our school is a part of the NC State Museum of Natural Science's "Using the Outdoors to Teach Experiential Science" program. With a campus of about 25 acres located in a rural area bordered by farms and woodlands with designated wetland areas, we have the opportunity to use the outdoors for many teaching situations. We also have an afterschool environmental/art club called the Glendale Kenly Green Kids for interested fourth & fifth grade students. Two Boy Scout candidates created a nature trail for us that has trees identified. Our latest Green Kids project is a large bog installed in a site where water ponded each time it rained. The art teacher I see the connection to nature that children have and keep "critters" in my room for children to observe. Their drawings reflect their observations and interest.

Glen View Elementary - Escondido, CA
Will add later! :-)

Global Concepts Charter School - Lackawanna, NY
My students grew strawberries, sweet peppers, lettuce, basil and lots and lots of tomatoes hydroponically. We also made our own systems with 2-liter bottles and growing vegetables in 5 different types mediums. We took observations daily and made graphs. We tasted many different things we have never tasted before. We also learned about world hunger and how important it is to get proper nutrition. This year we want to work with the food bank to grow food to donate to the food pantries.

GMW Intergenerational Learning Center - Atlanta, GA
This project is in the beginning stage. Young people from ages 6 and up will interact with seniors to master this intergenerational community gardening project. They will learn to cultivate, plant, weed, reap the harvest, and become more aware of how food, flowers, and plants in general are grown; while interacting with seniors as they share their experiences through wisdom.

Gockley Elmentary School - Whitehall, PA
I began creating gardens at our school 10 yrs. ago as an environmental studies project with my 7th and 8th grade gifted students. My students and I were assisted by our local Penn State Coop. Ext. master gardener, local landscaping companies, parents, and custodial/grounds staff. The process took the entire school year, and the product was 2 beautiful garden areas at our Middle school: a formal entry garden and a simulated meadow garden with native plants and a working fish pond. The formal garden has been designated a a memorial garden in the memory of three Middle School teachers who passed away from cancer within one year of each other. Every year on Earth Day, I now take my Kindergarten classes on a "field trip" across the street to the Middle School. They and their parents clean up, plant, and beautify our established gardens. It's a wonderful experience for everyone and greatly appreciated by our staff and administrators. On April 22, we started a new garden area at Gockley. My hope is that the gardens will continue to be tended to and improved through the years by future teachers and students.

God's Kids Preschool - Evansville, IN

God's Little Acre - Twin Falls, ID
God's Little Acre teaches children all aspects of planting, growing, and gardening in the future, particularly when they have families of their own, and combines those lessons with correlations in God's word. We emphasize organics and sustainability through good soil management, beneficial organisms, seed-saving, interplanting, conservative water use, and soil conservation use through raised beds, drip irrigation systems using geothermal well water on property, a composting system, cold frame, and vertical gardening. Harvest is donated to the local soup kitchen, except that which is entered for competition at County Fair.

Golden Empire Elementary - Sacramento, CA
On a cold morning in January, over 50 students, staff, parents, and community members turned out to "break ground" on our garden. Today, we have two beautiful stone planting beds surrounded by decomposed granite, a cement curb, and an arbor entrance. Students filled the beds with seedlings of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Everyone enjoys visiting the site and its turning out to be a gathering spot for families.

Good Shepherd Montessori School - McKinney, TX
We offer an organic outdoor classroom where children are offered lessons to enhance the appreciation and respect for nature and all living things.

Goshen-Lempster - Lempster, NH
Our 4th grade staff has experience in growing bedding plants and vegetable gardening. Our students grow vegetable and flower seedlings indoors. New this year, will be establishing a vegetable garden at our school. We are asking community members to assist with plowing, harrowing, manure, and mulch hay.

Since each fall we do Native American activities that include using "the three sisters", we hope to use our own harvested vegetables in the fall for these school activities.

Gouge Elementary School - Bakersville, NC

Gouverneur Middle School - Gouverneur, NY
This is our first year doing a school garden. It will be a flower garden and everything will be in pots. We will be making our own stepping stones. We are raising butterflies in our classroom and will let them go in our flower garden when it gets warm. We will have Mexican Sunflowers, Lily's, Wild flower mix, Dahlia, Begonia, Lilium, Freesia, Anemone, Tigridia, Acidanthera, Montbretia, Sparaxis, Iris, Brodaea, and Liatris. Our classroom consists of 11 students with speacial needs. Mrs. Howard's Class.

Grace A Dunn Middle School - Trenton, NJ
Last school year we started with some grant money and an already existing rose garden/courtyard area.

We added pathways, cleaned-up the existing beds, and in cooperation with a local non-profit agency added a pergola with seating.

We raised butterflies and lady bugs and let them go free in our garden.

We got started late therefore some of our goals were not met but we will pick up where we left off and keep on this year.

With a generous donation of a large greenhouse we hope to start vegetables from seed and small plants this fall and continue with them in raised beds in the spring.

Grace Lutheran - Falls Church, VA
After almost 10 years of gardening, our site became a parking lot in an expansion of our church and school. We are now identifying a new site and beginning once again to improve Virginia's rocky clay into an organically rich soil to start our new organic garden. We are landscaping the church and school area as well as having 20 Earth Boxes for students to care for individually.

Grace Methodist Preschool - Venice, FL

Graebner Elemetary - San Antonio, TX
My first grade class use to garden every year in a bed that was located in an area that has been lost during a time when our school went through a building program. I have never had the funds since to rebuild the beds. When we had the beds we would contact the Master gardeners program and every year a Master gardener would come out and help. The Master Gardener would help with planning,donsulting and upkeep of our garden. The volunteers were wonderful and provided my students with great mentors.

Our special ed program was given one of the beds and they always had some of the best vegetables. It was a great hands on experience for our special needs population as well as all of the students.

We used the vegetables in many ways. My favorite memory was the year we had a fall garden. We had tomatoes growing on the vine and the weatherman was predicting an early freeze. We went out and picked the tomatoes which were still green. We decided to do two projects with the tomatoes. One project was to let the tomatoes ripen in a brown paper bag and the other was to try fried Green tomatoes.With the paper bag tomatoes we estimated length of time it would take them to ripen and graphed our predictions. Frying the tomatoes offered the students a chance to try something that was new and different. It was a first for all of my first grade inner city school children and also a first for me.

I would love to get back to gardening
with my class. The first thing I would do is call the masters gardner program and get a volunteer to help with my class garden. I would also access and research online the different plants with my class. I believe that gardening is a wonderful way to get children interested in their environment. This interest would hopefully carry on after school and give them another outlet that they might pursue.

Granada Middle School - Whittier, CA
Our campus is more than 50 years old. Our landscaping consists mostly of grass, blacktop, and some trees. In 6th grade, we cover Earth Science. Through many of the topics, my students have gotten very excited about making our campus beautiful. We decided to start a Gardening Club that meets each Tuesday and Thursday after school. My degree was in Horticulture, so it is a great hands-on way for our students to learn about gardening and horticulture. We are taking great pride in our beginnings and look forward to "growing" (we plan to open applications to the rest of our school next year). We've done it all so far with donations from parents and students (and me).

Grand County High School - Moab, UT
Since its inception in 1996, the Youth Garden Project (YGP), located in Moab, Utah has served over 5000 youth and adult community members. Closely associated with the Grand County Public School System, though an entity of its own, the Youth Garden Project is a 501 (c)(3), nonprofit organization that offers programs for all youth living in Grand County, Utah.

The Youth Garden Project offers High School and Middle School classes through the public school system. Students participating in these programs earn science and gardening elective credits.

YGP has cultivated an alliance with the National Park System by participating as instructors for Canyon Country Outdoor Education (CCOE). This program allows each fourth, fifth, and sixth grade class in Moab the opportunity to participate in a science field trip in the surrounding natural area. Garden Classroom is a sister program to CCOE, which enables K through sixth grade teachers to bring their classroom to the garden site and learn garden basics and participate in gardening activities.

Grand Traverse Academy - Traverse City, MI
Naturally we tie our garden into science lessons on plants, soil, the water cycle, and plant cells for science. From a Character Education stand point children learn about how hard work pays off, and that sometimes returns on our efforts aren't always immediate. They learn to work together because we cultivate our ground all by hand no roto-tiller, just lots of shovels and kid power.

Grandview Elementary - Alliance, NE
The students in my class are excited about getting involved with the garden. They have enjoyed transplanting annuals into the school garden. We are planning a bulb planting party in a few weeks after we complete the measuring and planning of the garden plots. This will coincide with their science unit on plants. This project allows students to grow in their knowledge of plants and soil and to develop further knowledge of measuring as they work together to plan and plant the garden. Later this winter, we will complete a unit on Butterflies. Students will learn about life cycles, insects, and migration. Students will watch butterflies hatch from cocoons and will release them into the garden. I hope to plant two butterfly bushes in the garden and to have them in place at this time.

Grandview School - Comanche, OK

Grandview/U'uqinak'uuh Elementary - Vancouver, AL
We began with a master plan after a design process involving all children and teachers and interested parents and community members. We have a large population of First Nations people (indigenous Canadians) and our project reflects First Nations culture. We began with class garden boxes for growing produce and flowers. One class does a three sisters garden each year.

Last spring we planted our butterfly and hummingbird garden and started our wild bird habitat. We have spent the fall on an ethnobotanical garden of native plants that have significant cultural use in this region. We have a community garden for school families and neighbors.

This fall we dedicated our Longhouse outdoor classroom, complete with totem poles, carved at school by the school elder and assistant and painted by all the children.

Grandville Christian Elementary School - Grandville, MI
In May of 2006 we began a school garden called "The Veggie Village". Students (K-6) at Grandville Christian were involved in naming the garden, choosing the crops, planting, learning, maintenance, and harvesting food from the garden. All the proceeds from the sale of our produce throughout the summer go to support the global partnership that we have established with a primary school: The Reverend Murupus Academy in Kapenguria, Kenya.

We use the garden to facilitate learning in many curricular areas including inviting students to be part of the "Green Thumb Gang" which takes care of our garden during the summer. We also offer classes utilizing the garden during our Summer Enrichment Academy. In addition, this year we have added plants to attract monarch butterflies to our garden. The monarchs are raised, tagged, and released by one of our teachers and her summer school students.

Granite Bay Montessori - Roseville, CA
We have 2 beds that have gone unused for several years. We are starting a student garden this spring, will incorporate growing/learning in the summer school program and plan to utilize much of what is grown for cooking trials and our annual Harvest Festival.
All sage advice welcome!
thanks

Grant Elementary School - Fontana, CA
The garden at Grant Elementary School is just getting started. We recieved a grant from the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and I have been sending letters to our local business owners asking for donations to help support our garden. Starting on January 15, 2005, we will be breaking ground for our garden, starting with building two raised vegetable beds and preparing the ground for the trees and native plants. This will be an adult prep day. Then on January 18 & 19 the students will be planting the trees and native plants.

We also hope that we will raise enough money during the PTA's February fund raiser to build a pondless waterfall, which is tentatively set for March 2005.

Wish us luck on our garden and I will keep you updated the progress.

Grant Elementary School - San Diego, CA
Our large garden has 20 planting beds, one for each class, and a native plant area. We are supported by parents, volunteers, and donations only. The garden has survived destruction by vandalism and decemation by gophers, yet still manages to rise to the challenges. We have learned to regenerate native habitats, incorporate our surroundings, and make gardening part of our curriculum. The garden makes our school shine and it is where our kids learn to grow. We hope that we can continue to receive support.

Grant High School - Valley Glen, CA
The Grant High School community has renovated its former agriculture area into an area that benefits our local wildlife visitors. The new name is the Serenity Garden for Wildlife Conservation and it includes various gardening projects. The main goal of our garden is to provide food, shelter, and space for our urban wildlife visitors.
We garden with that purpose in mind and we have created several projects: a butterfly house, a greenhouse, a potting room, a wildlife pond, a wildlife habitat garden, a native CA plants garden, a grove, a school community garden and two small theme gardens.

Students, parents, teachers and community volunteers have dedicated hours on the weekend to see the transformation a success.

This garden is a long term project that will need the support of volunteers. Feel free to call or e-mail the contact person and arrange a tour of our location. We work on both days of the weekend and we welcome donations of garden materials, tools, plants, artwork, etc.

Great Brook School - Antrim, NH
Not started yet, to begin the 2000-2001 school year with 6th graders.

Great Expectations School - Grand Marais, MN

Green Acres Elementary - Santa Cruz, CA
The science garden at Green Acres Elementary is a magical garden of three acres that has allowed students, families and staff to view nature from nature's eye. Creatures I have never seen anywhere in our area visit daily (i.e. Tiger Swallowtail pupa in California?) and the children get such pride from watching something they have created grow to its full potential. The support we get from our school families and community members is phenomenal. Green Acres was the very first site for the Life Lab program back in the 70's. Because of this program, schools across America have found the importance of relating learning to life experience, where the school garden becomes a living classroom.

Green Acres Elementary School - Santa Cruz, CA
Green Acres is the site of the FIRST LIFE LAB garden in the state. We have over 2 acres of garden, including a Nature Area in the back where we grow California native plants. We study Native Americans, Pioneers, California History, Environmental Issues, and Native Plants in the Nature Area.

Each of our classes has its own garden bed, with general beds of lettuce, asparagus, herbs, and artichokes. We grow most of our own plants from seed in our greenhouse. We also make our own compost. We have a program open to 3rd-5th graders at lunch called Lunchtime Gardening. Students can have a garden bed to garden on their own or with friends. This program is very popular and lots of fun!

We have University of California at Santa Cruz students work in the garden in exchange for credits. We also have workdays with the Youth Community Restoration Program.

We love visitors and would be happy to show you around our beautiful garden. Please call us at 475-0111.

Green Bay Elementary School - North Chicago, IL
I have learned that community, district and staff support is essential in the successful implementation of a school garden. Research on funding for building and sustaining the project is important prior to the start of the project. Patience is truly a virtue because it's very difficult to get people involved and maintain their support if they cannot visualize it. It's important to remember that it is your dream and everyone else has to realize the dream.

Greenbrier Elementary - Greenville, SC
We have just completed a butterfly garden. All the children at the school made pots to grow the seeds, planted seeds, and transplanted the seedlings outdoors. We are in the process of getting four outdoor tables so that students can enjoy the garden as part of an outdoor classroom.

Green Chimneys - Brewster, NY
Green Chimneys is a school for children who are emotionally disturbed, who have aspeger syndrome, and ADHD. Our emphasis is a combination of horticulture therapy and education. We currently have a 3000 sq. ft. vegetable garden and a CSA garden where the children grow vegetables. The vegetables are used in the living skills class, the cafeteria, or sold through the CSA. We also do landscape designs and floriculture for the campus beds. In early spring we also boil down maple sap for maple syrup. The school is next to the Great Swamp of New York, and we use it as a tool to study wetlands. As can be seen our program has many assets and interests for our students.

Green Cove Springs Jr. High - Green Cove Springs, FL
We are a special needs class and the garden we chose has local plants such as daylillies, marigolds, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, moonflowers and herbs. The students love working in the garden since many have never done this before.

Greendale Elementary - New Ellenon, SC
We wanted a garden that our students could take care of. We began two years ago and try to add something new each year. This year we added hummingbird feeders in the hopes to attract the birds.

We are still in the early stages of learning how to take care of our garden. We cannot use a soakerhose because of the location of our water supply, so during the summer we lose some of our plants.

We have planted three trees, added a birdbath, two bird feeders, and assorted bushes.

Greeneville Middle School - Greeneville, TN
Our garden is brand new to our school. Over the summer we built six garden beds, which are triangular in shape and are arranged to form a "pizza." We are also preparing to embark on a schoolwide lunch composting program. Our "Greene Scene" club meets twice a month after school to work on garden and environmental education projects.

Green Hedges School - Vienna, VA
I first taught gardening last year as an after school program using a 2'x 8' plot of clay. We planted radishes, parsley, tomatoes, soy beans, and zuchinni. The kids really enjoyed it, but the soil got so hard during the summer that I could not weed. This spring our school is giving us more space and building us three 4x8' raised beds, and then we will be on our own. The kids are thrilled -- we already have several students even though sign up for the class has yet to begin. It's a great opportunity for kids to learn where food comes from, how much effort it takes to grow it, and how much better it tastes when they grow it themselves.

Greenland - Puerto Vallarta,

Greenland Pines - Jacksonville, FL
Our first grade classes each have a garden box where they plant fall and spring gardens. We also have a rose garden that the students maintain. The students love to work and see their garden grow. We save the petals from the roses in the spring to make a special gift for our moms for Mother's Day.

Green Teen Community Gardening Program - Beacon, NY
Our Program, called the Green Teen Community Gardening Program, is about five years old. It is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County. We work with inner-city youth in Beacon and Poughkeepsie, and emphasize food systems and nutrition education in our programs. Each summer, we hire 8-10 youth in Poughkeepsie and 8-10 in Beacon. We work together on various local farms and gardens, and we develop, produce, and market a food product. For the past two summers we've made a salsa. Currently, we are seeking a Program Educator for the Beacon site. Read more about the position and our programs at www.greenteen.org.

Green Teen Community Gardening Program - Beacon & Poughkeepsie, NY
Our Program, called the Green Teen Community Gardening Program, is five years old. It is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County and funded through several grants. We work with at-risk youth on local farms and gardens, and emphasize food systems and nutrition education in our programs. During the summer, we hire 8-10 youth in Poughkeepsie, and 8-10 in Beacon to work on a community food project, which includes developing a food product. For the past two years, we've made a salsa that we sell locally at farmers' markets and in stores. Check out our website for more information about our programs as well as job opportunities!

Green Urban Living Center at Miami Dade College North Campus - Miami, FL
At the Green Urban Living Center, we aim to educate both kids and adults about gardening and local ecosystems. We have 4 different native South Florida ecosystems represented, plus a butterfly garden and organic vegetable/herb garden. We offer classes and workshops for all ages. We also have programs for schools and groups to visit for field trips. Please visit us on the web or call for information!

Green Urban Living Center - Miami Dade College North Campus - Miami, FL
The Green Urban Living Center's garden is all organic and representative of local ecosystems in south florida. It is used for educational purposes for all age groups. The garden is made up of an organic vegetable/herb garden, butterfly garden, hardwook hammock area, wetlands ecosystem area, and more. The area is used for teaching everything green - including environmental education, organic gardening, healthy cooking, yoga, and more.

Greenville Weston High School - Greenville, MS
My community-based (self-contained special education) class began a "Let's Make a Difference" project to beautify our school during the 2003-04 school year. We first planted impatiens, ivy, dusty miller, ajuga, marigolds, iris, honeysuckle and some bushes in planters under an overhang outside our cafeteria. Materials and plants were donated by Lowe's. We added a bench, garden ornaments, wind chimes that we made from pottery, and bird houses. We also planted seeds and rooted plants in the classroom, but most died due to overwatering!

Next, the Student Council donated money to buy flowers (daylilies, petunias, red salvia, ivy, ajuga, etc.) which we planted in front of our school and in two beds under trees. Our last project was to plant a vegetable garden in a small square between the school wall and sidewalk. We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, dill, oregano, and marigolds donated from teachers. We also started a compost pile and collected deposits from our lunch each day. We can't wait to get back to school to see how our garden has grown! I plan to continue this each year.

Greenwood Elementary - Kennett Square, PA
We are working on creating a Knowledge Garden which is a flower garden in our courtyard. This garden will also have pieces of art that incorporate major concepts learned by students during their time at Greenwood. Students will be researching and writing business letters to the community. This is a learning support class that is beginning this project and then an Earth club will be launched in the spring to oversee the garden for the future.

Greyhound Intermediate - Eaton Rapids, MI

Griffin Elementary School - Lakeland, FL
We have created a garden that has 19 areas. It is 17,000 square feet and growing. We grow food, herbs, flowers, and trees. Currently we have 105 pineapples, and sugar cane as well. We are planting constantly and are starting an heirloom garden next week. Our pond is loaded with gouramis. We are always looking for new ideas and resources.

Griffith Elementary School - Winston-Salem, NC
We have several small gardens: a vegetable garden, a pumpkin and sunflower garden, a flower garden, a butterfly garden, and 6 small Kindergarten flower/vegetable gardens. Our children are fascinated by every aspect of planting and harvesting.

This year we began an after school Science Club that met once a week for three weeks on different units: butterflies, gardening, recycling, cooking, bird watching, and orienteering. We want to continue and expand this club next year with more units.

We also have a student/parent/staff Campus Clean-Up day in the spring to clean out weeds and leaves in our gardens and around the perimeter of our building where shrubbery and flowers are planted. We have only been gardening for the past 3 years and find that this is a massive project that takes time to build and fund. We are planning a Nature Trail for next year to provide tree, plant, and animal track identification experiences.

Guggenheim School - Port Washington, NY
Our vision is to have a garden for the Guggenheim community. The garden is used foremost to provide an outdoor literary experience for children. It enables the children to appreciate a multi-sensory and naturalistic place to make connections to literature. Designated times are scheduled for teachers to take their class outside for special literary endeavors. We call it Guggenheim's Secret Garden.

A beautiful fence was built to go around the garden with a "locked gate" so that the children feel like they are traveling into a special place for their literary experience. Secondly, the Guggenheim staff community use the Garden as a place to have book conversations (for our book clubs), and to gather for lunch and/or meetings.

Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet Elementary School - San Jose, CA
Hacienda’s Outdoor Classroom is one of the greatest gems in the San Jose Unified School District. This acre of land was developed with limited funds from the school district. It is maintained entirely by Hacienda’s school community with support from the San Jose Water Company. The Outdoor Classroom showcases the native plants communities within Santa Clara Valley. It contains paths that wind through giant 30-year-old redwoods, around a riparian zone with two ponds and a connecting stream representing the Guadalupe River, oak woodland, and chaparral. It also houses many of the garden beds used by individual classes in the gardening program. When weather permits, the students at Hacienda use the Outdoor Classroom on a daily basis.

Halifax Elementary - Halifax, PA
Our fifth grade classes are involved in indoor and outdoor gardening. We do some special activities like vermicomposting and forcing daffodils for winter blooming. We got started with those through our local 4-H. We also grow a salad garden each spring. This past year one classroom contained a GrowLab which made it possible to grow more things. We grew Mother's Day flowers for May and started many of our garden plants indoors. This year we will try to expand our program even more. We may get involved in a tree nursery to grow plants to be used as a riparian buffer in our local watershed. We will be working with a local watershed organization.

Hall Fletcher Elementary - Asheville, NC

Hambrick Elementary - Stone Mountain, GA
We are totally revamping our garden through the master gardener program, so we are essentially just starting. It is a Japanese Garden so far.

Hamilton Central School - Hamilton, NY
Our garden is comprised of two phases that are underway and one that is struggling to survive. Our first phase is a perennial garden that is outside our front door. It has woodchip paths, a couple of trees and lots of perennials that were donated by the local garden club. Phase two, the troublesome garden, is a raised bed garden behind our school. We have had a hard time keeping up with this garden since it is out of sight. A third garden is a crescent shaped, perennial garden that was designed by a Colgate University student and maintained by second graders and their families.

Hamilton Elementary School - Chickasaw, AL

Hancock Elementary - Brockton, MA
This is our second successful school gardening season since it all started back in 2002. We have created an outdoor garden habitat based around the environmental education of our students in an outdoor garden classroom. Our students voted on a theme-based name for the vegetables that were going to be planted based on this theme! With a final vote we decided to name it a "Pizza Garden" filled with plants that were used to make pizza. Each year we come up with new and creative ways to make our gardening experience better for our students at the Hancock School!

Hancock Elementary School - Brockton, MA
My name is Pamela Gold and I am a full-time mom of three children and an environmental specialist. I volunteer-teach grades 1 through 6 in planting, composting and in the study of wild birds.

I have always had a deep desire to teach students the lessons of nature that I have a passion for. To teach children something you love is a gratifying experience!

The fifth grade has planted 300 daffodils, and they did all the digging and planting. Next spring when our daffodils are in full bloom we will invite the mayor of our city to cut the yellow ribbon to open our new and exciting garden habitat.

I am hoping to expand our habitat into a bird sanctuary and have it certified as a wildlife habitat. We are looking forward to learning about composting and wormology.

Last summer our school garden habitat held annuals and perennials and also an outstanding pumkin patch that yielded 32 pumpkins.

This has been a very special project for our school and and it's a wonderful feeling when you can bring our community together. With help of our wonderful school spirit and community, our "Hancock in Bloom" project will really be spectacular!

Hancock Hamline Collaborative Magnet School - Saint Paul, MN
Our goal is to create a habitat for butterflies. Third graders choose annuals to plant in the garden each spring.

Hamline University across the street from our school is a strong partner. Their Center for Global Environmental Education has provided leadership and direction for making the garden a reality. Their art department is also working with students to create ceramic tiles to direct a sign and bench for the garden. One Hamline student is making the bench for his senior project.

We hope classroom teachers will use the garden as an inspiration for writers' workshops and art projects.

We would like to use technology to create movies and presentations of our garden projects to share with others.
Our second graders have planted tulip bulbs as part of the Journey North website to monitor the arrival of spring across the United States.

Fifth graders use the garden to study environments, collecting data about the different insects living in gardens while learning sampling techniques.

Hanover High School - Mechanicsville, VA
We have a large 3-bay greenhouse for students to develop skills within the horticulture field. We maintain the flower gardens around the school. We have an aquaponics system for students to work with as well.

Happy Kids Learning Centers - Miami Beach, FL

Happy Valley Elementary - Santa Cruz, CA
Our grammar school has had gardens for twenty years! We were one of the first schools in our area to be the testing sites for a program called Project Life Lab. This is a science based program that uses hands-on techniques out in the garden to teach basic science and gardening skills. This program was developed at the University of California Santa Cruz and is still centered there if anyone wants to learn more about it.

We are located three miles out of town in the mountains having a redwood forest around us and Branciforte Creek adjacent to the school grounds. Besides formal gardens we do a lot of nature and habitat studies. We have been using our greenhouse in the winter to grow native grasses and flowers to be planted in restoration areas of the former Ft. Ord in nearby Monterey County.

Happy Valley School - Lafayette, CA
I am the Science Teacher for our elementary school and I provide hands on activities to all the children, from Kindergarten through 5th Grade. A small empty plot near our lab was the perfect place to construct a Science Lab Garden where the students could explore several areas of science, enhance their skills as observers, plus support the new California Science Standards and Benchmarks through an engaging curriculum.

The focus of the garden is California Native Plants.
As a Habitat Garden it supports diverse native fauna by providing cover, nesting places, a myriad of food and nectar plants, grasses, and berries.

This year students planted the main flora and sowed wildflower seeds. We observed the plant growth over the months and are now witnessing the full plant cycle as the California poppies and lupine are developing their seed pods. Students are harvesting pods for use next fall in a lesson on seeds. Third grade students will choose a wildflower to design a seed packet for. They will put the actual seeds from the Lab Garden plants into these packets to sow in their own yards, thus extending the reestablishment of our local plants, from their Science Lab Garden to the community.

I have also used several wonderful literature selections to support learning in the garden. "The Reason For A Flower", "The Life Cycle of the Dandelion", and "Miss Rhumphius" are some of the books that I have read.

I want the boys and girls to experience the value of reestablishing local plants, which in turn provide food and shelter to native wildlife. I hope that the garden will not only be an educational tool, but will also help the children develop a love for the land and a bond with nature.

Harambe Shelter School - Phoenix, OR
Students have created an enabling garden for disabled students. It is located on the site of an old county poorfarm and this has become its design theme. This garden contains a Three Sisters raised bed, a Salsa Garden, Heirloom plants from the poorfarm days, a bed of Hispanic Medicinal Plants, suggested by families in a literacy program. It has a bed of sensory plants for the visually impaired, and all the elements to attract birds and butterflies. Kids have engraved their names on can lids and nailed these to a salvaged Walnut Tree stump to record their participation in the garden project. Plants are harvested and cooked by students. The program features a weekly "Soup Kitchen", with patrons coming to the kitchen door with their own bowls and spoons.

Harllee Middle School - Bradenton, FL
Garden of Pride Junior Master Gardeners are from Bradenton, Florida. Master Gardener Brenda George is their leader. These kids really have done a lot in less than one year. As of this date, the JMGs have taken unused property at Harllee Middle School and turned it into the Garden of Pride community garden, using it as their classroom, opening plots to community residents to grow their own food, and to educate the community on proper gardening and environmental issues.


In Florida's harsh summer weather - summer temperatures of over 100F and little water - it's difficult to maintain green landscapes. The JMGs are now growing native plants, which they'll use to create low-maintenance landscapes in the yards of handicapped and/or elderly residents.

To raise money for the lumber and materials needed for the garden, the JMGs also grow plants to sell. They grow and sell only plants that we call Florida-Friendly.

Garden of Pride JMGs have won several grants. In 2003, they received the National Growing Good Kids Garden Grant sponsored by Minute Maid. In 2004, they've received a National Gardening Association Youth Garden Grant, and a $3,300 Community Education Grant from SWFMD to educate the community on water conservation in landscapes (the project has been named “Think Like a Plant”). The group has also been nominated as an exemplary program to be included in a national study of active, plant-based, K-12 learning by the National Horticultural Society and Partnership for Plant-Based Learning (PPBL), and just got accepted into a bug collecting project of the University of Florida.

The JMGs are so motivated in their learning and projects. They ask so many questions that they have almost learned the next level curriculum and have read lots of Extension publications. Their absorption of knowledge is so huge. When we leave the building to go out to the garden, they run to the garden and by the time Ms. Brenda gets there they are already scouting the garden.

The Principal has said how glad he is that the JMG program was available. Noting changes in attendance, attitudes in classrooms, improvement of grades, and overall “shining” in the kids.

Harmony at Centennial Project - Irving, TX

Harmony at Centennial Project - Irving, TX
To network history, preservation, genealogy and garden knowledge into a community preservation project.

Harper Elementary - Wilmette, IL
Our school garden began in 2003, and we have had much success since then! We have various perennial zones such as the prairie, shade garden, butterfly garden, sensory plants, and others. We also have 16 raised beds that are adopted by classrooms for further study of growing vegetables, annuals, etc. A BIG highlight has been the growing of 12 foot sunflowers and broom corn over the years. We recently experimented with a compost bin and spread our first harvest this week! We have had a fall and spring set of Garden Caretakers (an after school "club" open to interested students) since the beginning. These children serve as caretakers of the garden--deadheading, cutting back plants, and preparing the garden for winter, along with planting seeds and bulbs, along with other spring activities take up our after school time. We try to highlight various mini-lessons prior to our weekly work time, too. Learning about the value of pollinators (bees, especially) and the pests of the garden have proven to be invaluable! The students are excitedly awestruck when grubs are found and carried to the "Grub Grave" beneath a faraway tree, left for birds to enjoy! The love of gardening within these students is so thrilling to witness, especially within the boys! Our garden is bustling during recess time, too, thanks to parent volunteers. It provides a wonderfully peaceful place for those children that need a break from the busier, active playground setting.

Harris-Hillman School - Nashville, TN
Harris-Hillman School serves students who are physically and medically disabled. Our garden is ADA designed, and we plan gardening projects for those who are in wheelchairs or have other physical limitation.

Our garden is a sensory awareness training area the students at Harris-Hillman treasure. We have herbs for scent awareness (olfactory training), water features for our ears (aural training), and lots of bright colors to tantalize the eyes. We also grow strawberries to taste, we have birds building nests and feeding their young, hummingbird feeders and butterfly bushes.

Ours is a seasonal garden with mums and pansies in the fall, bulbs planted to bring bright colors is early spring, and summer flowers planted in early May to add bright colors until September.

Harrison Lane Elementary - Hurst, TX
We began by receiving a grant to create our garden space and to build raised beds and a potting shed. The garden is named The Small Garden after the late Ms. Carol Small, a previous principal. Every grade level has its own area to care for and to plant. There is an active garden club of about 20 to 30 students in grades 4 through 6 that meets every other week after school. Our focus is to garden organically and to teach the students to care for and to love the environment.

Hart County Middle School - Hartwell, GA
I teach a self-contained class of students with Mild and Moderate Intellectual Disabilities (one with Cerebral Palsy).

My students and I (with assistance from a local women's garden club and the Knights of Columbus) have created a sensory/vegetable garden environment for the students to learn a number of gardening-, recreation-, life- and curriculum-related concepts!

Presently, we have a sensory garden, mostly herbs and perennials. We also have cleared, tilled and filled with wood chips an adjacent area that will serve as a vegetable garden (raised beds), place to grow espaliered fruit trees and other edible fruits and nuts and will be a quiet area for study and faculty use. We are contemplating putting in a solar powered fountain and a flagpole for the US Flag, among other whimsical elements.

I obtained a grant from the Georgia Ornithological Society several years back and we have erected several feeding stations throughout the school grounds. We also purchased a number of supplies (binoculars, spotting scopes, etc...). We are beginning to utilize this wonderful gift - we also got a number of birding-related donated to us through sheer calling up/asking for donations... Special needs students seem to motivate potential donors :-).

I would like to find more opportunities for edible gardening. Over the summer (through web searches), I found an outstanding program in Berkeley, California called "The Edible Schoolyard" (see: www.edibleschoolyard.org). They utilize a holistic approach (utilizing the garden, kitchen and classroom for enhancing the overall knowledge and appreciation for what they call "Seed to Table" experience) - VERY INTERESTING!

Hart Magnet School - Stamford, CT
We have two separate gardens at Hart. One has a Japanese theme. The other is a flower garden with a koi pond. They were both started last year when we moved into our brand new school building. The architect left two courtyards filled with construction debris. We decided to turn this eyesore into a unique learning environment. We have a lot of work to get it where we want it to be, but the journey is the enjoyment.

Harvest for the World - Roosevelt, NY
Making a garden is one of the most pleasant things that one can do. Every spring you feel the same excitement when the seeds you have planted send up their first green shoots. If you raise flowers, you will enjoy seeing the blooms in the garden,and you can even cut them to bring into the house. If you raise vegetables,you would have the reward of eating some of your harvest, and sharing them with friends and the community.

Harvest Garden - Burbank, CA
In this garden for special need students, we grow our own food to prepare in our outdoor kitchen. Many organizations participate on a community service basis.

Harwich Elementary School - Harwich, MA
After a major renovation, we had a large courtyard with grass. With the help of the community we were able to make a butterfly garden, an herb garden, a bird area, raised beds for vegetables, a Wampanoag three sisters garden, a composting area and a solar powered water garden. We had a fund raiser
selling bricks for $5 to pay for an irrigation system. Each grade level has their own raised bed to plant.

Last year we planted bulbs. We tried a pumpkin patch but it did not work.

Hasson Heights Elementary - Oil City, PA

Hatfield Elementary school - Hatfield, AR
Hatfield Elementary school began working in the greenhouse this year. Our greenhouse was build too late in the year last year to do anything, but we are raring to go this year. We plan on creating a garden park around our greenhouse and having vegetable beds, flowerbed, and more. We plan to sell to the public to fund our project. Our city park is located next to our school and our plan is to keep it filled with flowers and habitat sites for small insects, flying animals and all kinds of creatures.

Havenwoods State Forest Buds 'n Sprouts Garden Program - Milwaukee, WI

Hawley Environmental School - Milwaukee, WI
Hawley Environmental School has a variety of garden projects. Students planned, designed and constructed a prairie garden on our school grounds during the 2005 -06 school year. They researched the plants and designed the garden space. Students helped construct the garden from creating the paths to putting up the fencing and planting. We continue to add more prairie plants to the space. We have a wide variety of plants that bloom in spring and in fall when students are in school. We also have a sensory garden that runs along the front of our school and playground. We have an indoor greenhouse connected to our science lab. Students grow plants and flowers for outside transplanting, conduct experiments, and grow things for pure enjoyment. In our greenhouse we are currently growing Fast Plants, Sensitivity Plants, Lavender, herbs, snapdragons, and many other neat things. We also have an outdoor classroom with a stone bench that can seat a class of 30. We have composting and soil bins to dig in to and explore. We have a great producing tomato garden and a pumpkin garden. Studnets at Hawley have many gardening opportunities.

Hawthorne Elementary - Keokuk, IA
Our garden is in it's 2nd year of operation and sits on one side of a newly constructed pond, with a pre-existing prairie on the other side. The garden is approximately 1/4 acre and will contain annuals, perennials, vine tunnels, a butterfly garden area, native grasses, and an agricultural and Native American garden area.

So far this project has been a learning experience in the arenas of fundraising, neighborhood awareness, and construction timelines. The idea is to provide opportunities for 3 areas for evolving environmental study: prairie, wetlands and aquatic habitats, and cultivated garden.

This past year, new paths were added, with vined tunnels for exploration. More students become involved each year as we begin educating students and staff about the kid-friendly environment.

Haynes Early Education Center - West Roxbury, MA
We are just starting out. We joined Boston Natural Areas Networks SLUG program this year (Students Learning Through Urban Gardening). They provided us with seeds, indoor growing supplies and vermiculture bins. We just got a large delivery of compost. We are going to have a volunteer day to spread the compost throughout our schoolyard. We will be planning with our parent group about where to locate more raised beds. We just won a grant to purchase 12 sets of children's gardening tools.

Hayward Nutritional Learning Community Project - Hayward, CA
The Hayward Nutritional Learning Community Project operates out of the Child Nutrition Services (CNS) department of the Hayward Unified School District, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California (East Bay). HNLCP is a California Nutrition Network grant recipient responsible for nutrition education in HUSD. We use classroom cooking, garden lessons, fruit and vegetable tastings (Harvest of the Month), parent and community outreach, and service learning projects to positively influence the food preferences of our students.

Hazel Dell elementary - Vancouver, WA

Hazen's Notch Association - Montgomery Center, VT
This is our first year doing a real agricultural program. In the past we have had a Native American garden, dug, fertilized, and planted by students in the fourth and fifth grades. We currently are restoring an old farmstead and orchard and will put in 3,000 sq. ft. of veggies, herbs, and flowers (all certified organic), as well as some native shrubs.

Our main activities will be held during our environmental education summer camp. Students will be involved in creating raised beds, incorporating and making compost, planting seeds and starts, watering, weeding, and designing based on our experiences and imaginations. Of course, the activities will all be age appropriate.

Health,Wellness and Environmental Studies - Jonesboro, AR
We are beginning to prepare a space for our gardens. We could use ideas and advice.

Hearst Elementary School - San Diego, CA
Three years ago, a private grant allowed us the means to create Hearsts "Kinder Gardens". Our vision was to create gardens that would allow our youngest students to learn about, and participate in nature. We now have three thriving gardens: A nature garden planted with drought tolerant and native plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies; a veggie garden made up of six raised planters where students plant winter and spring crops; and a science and weather station. We look forward to expanding our gardens throughout our campus.

Helendale Road School - Rochester, NY
Our "Discovery Garden" is a work in progress. Children have been involved in all aspects of the process: planning, planting, and maintaining. Some students have researched the plants and shrubs that birds and butterflies are attracted to. They then recommend plants for the garden keeping sun and shade in mind. They select a variety of annuals and perennials. These students then present their findings to their classes. Each classroom has it own plot in the garden. All students have the opportunity to plant in the plots.

In another courtyard children designed and planted a Three Sisters Garden. The harvest is used during our annual Harvest Festival.

Helen Hunt Jackson Elementary School - Temecula, CA

Helen Morgan School - Sparta, NJ
We have created a Monarch Waystation/Butterfly Habitat that will be registered with Monarch Watch.org. Our intent is to create wildlife habitats emphasizing the use of native plants to enhance the school's science curriculum as well as teach environmental stewardship. We will create a bird habitat and a woodland/amphibian friendly habitat in the fall of 2008. We were recently awarded a Toolbox for Education grant from Lowe's to help fund our project.

Helen S. Faison Arts Academy - Pittsburgh, PA

Hemet Academy for Applied Academics and Technology - Hemet, CA
We are just in the planning stages at this time.

Herbal Garden of ENY - Brooklyn, NY
Herbal garden is a community based garden under the Green Thumb. we at herbal garden do on site compost. we have received awards from our community for service to our community.

Rright now I work with daycare and through our youth program we have lots going on in the garden. As a master composter I do workshops every summer.

herbal garden is on the presevation list and we are proud of our accomplishments. Our problem is we do not fall into a spot that allows us to ask for various types of grants. right now our pressing need is for a computer that is internet ready. flyers, microsoft abc spelling. ready.

Hercules Elementary - Hercules, CA
Last year 100 students (four classes) enjoyed weeding a garden plot and planting various vegetables, fruits, and flowers. My third grade's most rewarding moment was when we released our classroom-grown anise swallowtail butterfly, and it came back a few minutes later and landed on our garden flowers.

We also planted natives, especially keeping in mind host and nectar plants for butterflies.

Our school is being rebuilt, but we will still get to plant a garden this year and enjoy some fruit before it becomes a playground. Then we will get to start in a new plot in our new school area!

Heritage Elementary - Layton, UT

Heritage Park Farm - Taylor, MI
Our gardens are part of the Heritage Park Farm where hundreds of children visit daily. There are two vegetable gardens, several herb pots and one butterfly garden.

The produce raised in our vegetable garden is donated to Gleaners Food Bank. We have just completed our first graduation of Junior Master Gardeners who completed a 10-week curriculum based on the JMG program from Texas. This curriculum is wonderful, and we encourage everyone who spends time gardening with children in any capacity to use it. We all had so much fun...students, teachers and assistants!

Herod Elementary School - Houston, TX
Over the summer this newly built garden was used as a community garden. As this school year (2004-2005) begins teachers will use it with their classes. Our science lab teacher will be the liason to our parent garden committee.

The garden includes a solar-powered irrigation system, large compost bin, and benches with an instructional area.

Heron Pond School, Milford Elementary - Milford, NH
During spring 2000, MES PTO held a mathathon to benefit grounds improvements and other needs at the Heron Pond School. Principal Peter Bonaccorsi expressed his interest in seeing a Butterfly Garden in the courtyard of the new school. A third grade teacher was the first to express interest in working on the project. So in the fall of 2001, the 3rd grade classes that began their year studying Insects and initiated work on the Butterfly garden. The students began with a 1-hr. class " Bugs, Butterflies and Beetles" (donated by a local environmental education nonprofit). This included insect anatomy, diversity and adaptations as well as field collection and identification by the students.

The students were asked to research 3 species of moths and butterflies native to NH, 3 species of native caterpillar or adult food plants, and other needs of butterflies, ie. shelter, sunshine, water, rocks, etc. The results of their research were compiled. It was used for a display board on the garden project. The display board illustrates native butterfly species of the area as well as plants that were planted in the courtyard.

Students began soil preparation in Oct 2001. They removed rocks, sifted, raked and actually built a third flower bed in the sun. Students added 1600 lbs. of composted manure and humus and began planting plants. Edging, mulching and labeling the beds followed. The 4 remaining third grade classes planted early blooming plants and continued the care. Different classes signed up for garden maintentance chores.

For this and future outdoor education projects, the PTO purchased 2 dozen child-sized gardening gloves, a small lawn cart, rakes, trowels and hoes.

Because the project used 4 practices from a cooperative extension list, the school received a certificate and an outdoor sign marking the garden as a Backyard Conservation site. (Mulching, planting native species that utilize less water, using compost and improving wildlife habitat).

Hertz Family Homeschool - Oklahoma City, OK
We are a homeschooling family incorporating gardening into our daily curriculum, and ultimately making gardening the main subject of study this spring and summer.

H. G. Hill Middle School - Nashville, TN
Projects that will further awareness of global and local food and nutritional needs. Science, literature, health, social studies, and math teachers have been contacted and are excited at the opportunity to include this interdisciplinary unit on food and nutrition in their lesson plans for the 2007-2008 school year.

Through the Pencil Partner program in Metro Nashville Public Schools, H G. Hill MS has recently been adopted by Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. We have consulted with experts at Cheekwood and plan a courtyard garden area. Within this area we will incorporate a herb and vegetable garden. The horticulturist will help us select plants that will be good companions to the vegetable and herb garden. The students will help construct and tend a raised-bed vegetable garden.

As a graduate of Tennessee State University I am planning a field trip to TSU’s agriculture facilities. On the same day the field trip will include a visit to the Nashville Farmer’s Market to see first hand fresh fruits and vegetables produced in Tennessee.

Lunch will be at the Bicentennial Park where they will be able to use the huge state map to find the counties where the food was produced.

The cooperating teachers are excited that the children will be given the opportunity to make the connections between the middle school classroom, garden, literature, university research, the farmer, and geographic locations throughout the state. Connections will be made for addressing state and local standards in Math, Social Studies, Science, Literature and Health.

Hickory Flat Elementary - Canton, GA
What a great year! We have doubled our student interest! We have numerous gardens around our school that needed some TLC & finishing touches. We started a program this year called "Education to Grow On". We are lucky in that we have many local wholesale nurseries in our area (The Nurseries of Hickory Flat). Each one has adopted a garden to sponsor and has offered their expertise to the kids, as well as plants and materials to finesse the gardens into shape. In return we can provide advertising to 1500+ families. We will also donate a plaque to each garden with the nurseries name on it. Each nursery has its own specialty and we have applied that to our various garden themes.

This spring promises incredible growth at Hickory Flat School. We are primarily PTSA funded. The rest comes from the generous and hardworking gardeners in our community who have the vision and passion to see the importance of programs like this in our schools. The students in the afterschool program have voluntered to work. We have an outdoor classroom surrounded by our herb garden, a butterfly garden, a southwest garden (complete with cowskull and cactus), the promise of a water garden with goldfish to be completed by local Girl Scout Troop 2125, and& many other beautiful outdoor spaces around our school.

The kindergartners planted our sign w/pansies this year. Our emphasis is to provide lots of bright color, interesting foliage, and student-painted garden art. Our hope is for all students to develop an appreciation of the outdoors. With much effort from all, by spring we should be well on our way to finding our own "Garden of Eden". Of course none of this would be possible without the continued support of our incredible admininistration! Thanks everyone, you're doing a great job!

Hickory Hollow Day School - Hickory, NC
Herbal Treasures of Hickory Hollow began as a dream in 1988, was established in 1998, and has grown with thyme -- a gift of the desire of our hearts. Our love of herbs has taken us down another garden path, with a delightful lakeside garden setting nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our theme gardens include: Cat's Garden, Children's Butterfly Garden, Culinary Herbs Garden, Cutting Garden, Medicinal Herbs Garden, Tea Garden, Water Garden. Our family garden adventure and business, Herbal Treasures of Hickory Hollow, offers unique herbcrafting workshops, special events and select gift items.

Hidden Hills Elementary School - Phoenix, AZ
The highlights of our garden include enthusiastic children who enjoy the hands-on learning opportunities provided by the gardens, increased parental, community, and multigenerational involvement, and improved campus appearance.

Hidden Hills Elementary School Garden Science Class has provided numerous outdoor learning labs for the 700 children at our school. A group of 200 students meets every Thursday after school to plan, plant, and maintain these habitats for the entire school community to enjoy. More than 13 teachers and 26 parent, grandparent, and community business volunteers round out the staff of our after school enrichment program.

A $4,000 grant from the Arizona Game and Fish Department provided plants to create a hummingbird habitat in front of the school, as well as cameras to capture these fascinating creatures for our school Web site. A group of students meets in the computer lab after school each week to develop and maintain the Web site under the direction of the school's librarian and library assistant.

A $30,000 grant from the Christa McAuliffe Foundation provided funds to study earth biomes and to create models of the desert, grassland, chaparral, woodlands, and tundra biomes on the north side of the school. Students are learning the importance of the flora and fauna in each biome and the need to preserve the delicate balance in nature. Fifth grade teacher Dave Bissegger directs the planning of the biomes because the topic is studied extensively in the 5th grade science curriculum.

With funding from the Paradise Valley school district and the school PTA, the south side of the school now is bordered by geometric raised beds and a butterfly garden designed to feed people and butterflies. The second grade teachers conduct an important interdisciplinary unit on butterflies each spring and asked for this garden to reinforce the lessons learned inside the classroom. In addition, this fall, the students planted a winter garden for the local food bank that will mature just as the holiday season begins.

The children at Hidden Hills Elementary study companion gardening, plant life, and the needs of our community in all of these gardens. These lessons are designed to meet Arizona state standards in everything from music and art to science and math. The four-year-old program has a lot of community and student support and has grown from a handful of teachers, parents, and children to include nearly one-third of the student population.

Higher Horizons Head Start - Falls Church, VA
Our children's garden features framed garden beds containing fruits and vegetables. The garden is a tool to meet Head Start performance standards, teaching children about eating healthy foods, cultural diversity, and incorporating parent involvement. Our garden was featured in Children and Families Magazine in the article "Nutrition Education at it's Best!". We were also a proud receipient of the 2003 Kids Growing with Dutch bulbs award and have since planted bulbs to accent the garden area.

Highfield Primary School - Leeds Ls17,
We are just starting off and only have great plans. We would love to get some ideas to help us get started and also to raise money for equipment for the children. We would love to have each class -- 4-year-olds up to 11-year-olds -- growing vegetables and helping.

Highland Meadows Christian Preschool - Colleyville, TX

Hillbrook School - Los Gatos, CA

Hillcrest Bridge Center - Kenosha, WI
I've embarked on a service-learning project in partnership with the local extension officer and a community garden highlighted in the April 2005 edition of the North & Central Midwest Regional Report--the Field of Dreams. The garden raises vegetables to donate to local food pantries to feed the hungry in our communities.

We've already planted seeds for tomatoes, peppers, muskmelon, and cucumbers indoors, and we will be planting carrots and collards on site. I've spent several years cultivating African Violets successfully, so I'm hoping that and my science background will get me through this successfully! I'm always open to any insights anyone might have!

Hillrise Elementary - Elkhorn, NE
This Butterfly Garden has grown dramatically in the last two years. All sorts of plants and flowers have been planted to attract a number of differnt species of butterflies. A number of host plants have also been planted around the garden so that butterflies may lay their eggs on these plants for a better chance of survival.

Fundraising as well as a few grants have helped fund this project.

Hillsdale Elementary - Hillsdale, KS
Our garden was part of a grant from our endowment association at USD#368, Paola, Kansas. Volunteers, including parents, businesses, and a local men's organization, helped to get it started. The students and I have planted and now maintain its beauty. It has become a focal point for learning, enjoyment, and solitude. Many species of wildlife visit, too. My students have a feeling of ownership and stewardship for our garden and the Earth. This is a teacher's dream come true!

Hillside Middle School - Simi Valley, CA

Hillside University Demonstration School - San Bernardino, CA

Hindley Elementary School - Darien, CT
Our garden was finally completed in the of spring of 2001 thanks to the contributions of our Hindley parents. Our garden includes: alphabet ID tags, plants for the senses, a wildlife sanctuary, an ecosystem, conifers, rocks and minerals, a weather station, trellises for vertical growing of veggies and flowers, and composting. The kids have helped with all the construction and planting of this garden and we continue to include them in projects such as bulb planting and garden art. They will have full access to this garden in conjunction with their school curriculum. We also encourage parents to meander through and enjoy the fruits of their child's labor.

Hinsdale Elementary School - Hinsdale, NH

Hinson Middle School - Daytona Beach, FL
My 7th/8th grade class had a learning garden design challenge and the winning design was used to create a learning garden. The garden is funded by a grant from our local area educational support foundation. We also have an agreement with our county environmental office to raise mangrove seedlings and replant them on the coastline every year as a mangrove habitat restoration project.

HLWW Dist #2687 - Howard Lake, MN
This is a brand new garden we will be creating during our summer program...

Hobgood Elementary - Murfreesboro, TN
Each year my 20 four-year-old pre-kindergarten students plant a garden outside our classroom back door. The children help prepare the soil, plant, and tend our garden. Many of the students live in apartments or public housing where gardens are not a common thing. They are always so proud of the garden. Each child brings in a plant or seeds of their choice (or I provide them) enabling each child to have ownership. Years later, I continue to have former students visit and talk about the garden we planted.

Hogan High School - Vallejo, CA
We are going to study, design, and plant out first garden soon. Any advice?

Holbrook Elementary School - Hamtramck, MI
Thank you for your interest. Our sixth season is winding down. We have maturing trees and a great habitat for birds and insects. Butterflies love our garden. We are looking for sponsors, volunteers and donors of items we need. Our program used to include a well-developed after-school program, but is now strictly volunteer-run and most of the tending takes place during the school summer vacation. We meet at least once a week to water from buckets, hoses and a rain barrel, made for us by a dear volunteer. We are part of the Holbrook Elementary School, which is the oldest public school in the state of Michigan at 111 years old. Our students are mostly Yemeni, Bangladeshi and Black Americans.

Holland Township School - Milford, NJ
Our site is known as the Learning Grove. It is a learning site that has over 40 different trees, a retention wall, a wildflower background, and is served by electricity, and running water. Much of the area was created with grants from the state, industries, PTO, and private donations. The entire site was planned by students and professionals gave additional help. Today, it is a beautiful place to do all types of learning in science, math, art, reading, etc.

Hollis Hand Elementary School - LaGrange, GA
We have recently started a butterfly garden in an empty section of our school yard. The Second Grade students study in depth the life cycle of the butterfly. Through the Second Grade Science Club we grew flowers in an indoor light garden, designed a garden for butterfly growth and observations, obtained many grants to help with planting costs, and are in the process of having a pond habitat included in the garden. Many parent volunteers, along with the students, tilled, planted, and maintained the garden this spring. We hope to continue this garden for many years to come. All students at Hollis Hand will benefit from our garden!

Holly Springs Elementary - Pickens, SC
For the last ten year, we've had the use of a greenhouse at our school. Each year we teach our students about composting and the cycle of life, especially in the garden. We grow flowers and vegetables in our greenhouse and sell them at the last PTO meeting. We have developed a butterfly garden in collaboration with the Pickens Garden Club. We have a directional garden theme: North, East, South, and West Gardens with a sun dial in the center. We are planting flowers and host plants for the butterflies. The Pickens Garden Club has donated many plants and we have grown some of our own.

We also have developed a wildlife habitat in our courtyard. This includes a pond and fish/pond plants. We have weather instruments placed in the courtyard for data gathering purposes. Through a grant from Learning Landscapes, we were able to purchase native plants for the courtyard as well. Parents have helped to construct bridges and fences to beautify this project. Ours is now an official National Wildlife Schoolyard Habitat. Our school garden club and students help maintain our landscapes.

Holly Tree Elementary - Wilmington, NC

Home Hi Middle School for Girls - Urbana, IL

Homer Pittard Campus School - Murfreesboro, TN
Several classrooms have developed a nature trail around the back of our school. Some of the unique features are a pond, butterfly garden, wildflower garden featuring native Tennessee plants, bird habitat, Tennessee Iris garden, herb garden, berry garden and a tracking pit. We also have a Cedar Glade which features plants that have been rescued from areas that are beng destroyed. Our children work and learn in our unique outdoor classroom.

homeschool - Jacksonville, FL

Homeschoolers Growing Green - Kearney, MO
We are a homeschool group that is begining to explore various gardening oportunities. We are growing a pole bean tipi and a pumpkin gourd tunnel, sunflowers, zucchini, peas, onion, tomatoes, corn, Indian corn, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, black raspberries, broccoli, kohlarabi, watermelon, herbs, and more. We plan on canning and cooking with our crop.

We are just begining and as a homeschool mom I am turning my garden into a classroom for the "Homeschoolers Growing Green".

We will be taking field trips to various gardens. Our science experiements will explore photosynthesis, pollination, and other topics. Journaling will be a big part of our class. Later in the summer we want to rear, tag and release monarchs. Bug collecting and investigation will also be included.

Hood River Middle School - Hood River, OR
October 2003. We have started a vermicomposting and composting progject with leftover vegan food waste from the cafeteria -- averaging 20 pounds of food a day! The students are very active in this program, and more and more teachers are signing up to participate.

Garden planning is under way. We will start by using existing beds and landscape areas for gardens and then hopefully expand to a larger area.

Hood River Middle School - Hood River, OR
The Hood River Middle School Outdoor Classroom Project offers students a higher level of connectivity between school and community. Using a hands-on approach to solving real-life problems, students accelerate through the basic skills and concepts outlined in the Oregon Academic Benchmarks. The Outdoor Classroom Project is a work in progress where students are the researchers, engineers, designers, architects, builders, and users of a multidisciplinary, multi-sensory learning experience. The Outdoor Classroom Project connects students to key concepts in sustainability through a field-based, experience-driven curriculum. Key themes of the project include Diversity, Water, Food, Energy, and Waste.

The Outdoor Classroom Project follows a set of ideas called Permaculture, a term developed by Bill Mollison of Australia. Permaculture looks at food production as a design system that links water, shelter, plants, animals, and energy. By seeking to create gardens that are ecologically diverse, biologically sustainable, and economically productive one must take into account a wide array of variables. In these variables we find rich opportunities for math, science, writing, and social issues.

Hope High School - Providence, RI

Hopi Head Start-Polacca Center - Kykotsmovi, AZ
The project is located in Polacca, AZ beneath the First Mesa Villages of the Hopi Reservation. This project will serve as a demonstration model for the Hopi Head Start Sites.
The Polacca Head Start Schoolyard Garden Project is comprised of students, teachers, parents and community members, who come together to create a learning environment rooted in the principles of working in harmony with nature, while reinforcing the traditional values and customs of the community.

Horizons School of Ithaca - Ithaca, NY
We are just beginning to restore some gardens at a nursing home next door to our site as well as on our playground. We are trying to manage and save the mature trees on site.

Howenstine High Magnet School - Tucson, AZ
The gardens in our school are planted and maintained by several self-contained special needs classes. Our school is a service-learning magnet, so our classes service to the school is to beautify and educate. We have one small vegetable garden that we hope( fingers crossed) will produce enough to sell at a local farmers market. With the Arizona heat who knows what could happen? We have a ramada area that we have transformed into a "desert oasis" for student and staff enjoyment using low-water desert landscaping. This spring we planted a butterfly garden and have attracted many different types of butterflies.

H.S. Thompson learning center - Dallas, TX

Huck Finn & Friends Play House - Springfield, MO
Huck Finn & Friends Play House
www.huckfinnandfriends.com

Our preschoolers are learning about the world around them. This is our first spring in our new classroom. We will be exploring and creating our butterfly garden full of perennials and bulbs. We'll also be planting veggies and herbs. We hope to grow bigger tomatoes, okra and eggplant than last year. Also, we'll try our hand at gourd planting. Afterwards, we'll be creating birdhouses out of the gourds we plant to house a variety of feathered friends.

Huerta Elementary School - Norwalk, CA
This is my first year with the school garden. Crops planted by last year's students are somewhat alive still. I'm looking forward to bringing back some life to the school's garden. Students will be pleased with the outcome of the hard work and time put into the garden. All in all, we'll have a great time working with each other, and GROW a new friendship...

Huffman High School - Birmingham, AL
We started organic gardening three years ago as a hands-on activity for the Environmental Science classes at Huffman High School. We have planted corn, hot and banana peppers, string beans, carrots, and turnip and collard greens the first two years. This year we plan on planting peppers, collard greens, turnip greens, string beans, radishes, tomatoes, and other plants.

Hunter Middle School - Ootewah, TN

Hunter's Green Elementary - Tampa, FL
Our third grade team has been gardening for 3 years. We have rose, butterfly, desert, sunflower, ornamental, fruit, vegetable, and herb gardens.

The students painted murals on the walls behind our garden. They also leveled fill dirt to keep the area from flooding. The students planted plants they brought in from home and mulched.

The students regularly take measurements of the plants and make observations as well.

They have learned how to recognize weeds from their seedlings, and that aphids can be a nuisance!

Hunters Woods Elementary - Reston, VA
Our gardening program at Hunters Woods, a science and art magnet school, started with the Headstart class. Now the kindergarten through 6th grade are involved in gardening. Our students plant and harvest many vegetables and herbs. We are most proud of our Native American Three Sisters Garden. We have plans to create outdoor learning areas corresponding to every grade level. We hope to have a colonial garden that surrounds a traditional log and chink cabin. Our wildflower meadow will be planted this fall.

We have a National Wildlife certified schoolyard habitat in a small forest near our school. We have also built a butterfly garden with host and nectar plants.

Our hope is that the children at Hunters Woods would be greeted by the flowers as they enter the building every day. We also have flowers inside. There is a long hallway that has window boxes full of geraniums that bloom all year long.

Our school is newly renovated and we have successfully made our gardens a part of the planned work.

Hurlburt Field Child Development Center - Hurlburt Fld AFB, FL
Our program serves Air Force dependents aged 6 months to 5 years. What began as small garden plots on each playground has grown into a parent and community project that involves several gardens on each playground and a separate schoolyard habitat. The habitat is complete and has a butterfly garden, pond, bog, wildflowers, native trees, and an area for growing vegetables. Paths encircle the habitat making it accessible to children and teachers.

Volunteers developed "Critter Cards" for children to use when they visit the habitat. These cards have 2 to 8 pictures of insects, plants, birds, etc., that can be found in the habitat. The children mark their cards and then the teachers are able to help them journal, graph, and record their sightings.

The playground gardens are filled with blooming flowers, herbs, and textured plants such as lamb's ear. Parents and children plant these gardens each April and the children and their teachers maintain them throughout the growing season. Children are able to pick flowers for their classroom, and fresh flowers on the table at breakfast and lunch has become a tradition. In addition, the gardens have become an important part of the curriculum as children learn about insects, birds, and the life cycles of growing things.

Hurt Park Elementary - Roanoke, VA

Hyde Elementary - League City, TX
We started our garden in March of 2008. We had grants from Walmart and support from our PTA. Perennials were planted as a habitat for butterflies,etc. An arbor was erected for grapes,etc and the other half of the garden is for seasonal vegetable and plants. We have had workshops from Master gardeners for the teachers and received money for teachers to further utilize the garden with their classrooms studies integrating science, reading, language, math, and all modalaties. We intend to compost food from cafeteria using our student council members to help with the gathering and distribution of the green and brown materials put into the compost pile. We have a garden committee that helps provide advice, plants, seeds, and watering volunteers. We found that 600 square feet wasn't enough space so we also have container gardening for any teacher who wishes more space for growing plants or trees of their choice. We will be transplanting tomato seedlings that will be sold at our annual Hyde Family Holiday Dinner this week. Plants are also grown in the Science Lab.

The Butterfly Garden has generated great beauty and excitement as the children watch the metamorphosis taking place. Many larva are brought into the Science Lab and classrooms so the children can watch the transformation and then the adult Monarchs are set free!

Hyde Park Elementary School - Hyde Park, VT
This is a new garden that is being put together in May. Our school is very excited on this. Our community is very supportive and will use what we plant in the lunch menus in our school. It is a new experience for all of us.

I Am That I Am Training Center - Dallas, TX
Our goal is empower inner-city youth with the skills to develop a plant-based entrepreneurial program with two purposes; (a) across the curriculum learning, (b) student develop a entrepreneurial gardening business.

I had a little experience teaching children how to grow a small garden a few years ago. Now we are attemping to expand our new gardening program using across the curriculum objectives.

Ida Redmond Taylor School - Santa Maria, CA
Ida Redmond Taylor is in its second year at a new site. Presently, we have alphabet barrels at the administration building. We also have barrels outside each classroom and workroom. We are looking forward to having an in-ground garden to start working in the spring.

We are very pleased with the amount of support we have had from the community, businesses, and local university. We think that gardening with students is a great way to learn math, science, language arts, social studies, and the visual arts.

Idlewild Elementary - Lakewood, WA
We have primary-grade behavior-disordered children who are in a self contained classroom. These children learned how to use tools as they created raised beds, how to care for things, to take responsibility for something, and how to work together as a team. Most of these children are from low income families. They are learning how to grow food and how to use flowers to beautify the classroom. Our plan is to have these children teach the regular education students what they have learned. The regular education students already enjoy the garden. It has helped us transition this program into a new school where the parents and students were unsure how we would mesh with the rest of the school population. Chalk another one up to old Mother Nature. It has helped special needs children make friends.

"I Have a Dream" of Southwest Washington - Vancouver, WA
A place of their own...Dreamers in the "I Have a Dream" program come from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. We have the privilege of being with the same group of children for a decade -- and watching them grow! Dreamers have been part of the process as we work with AmeriCorps members to learn about soil, plants, and even have tasting parties to see what we might grow! After excavating the rocks from the garden, Dreamers created garden art by painting a hoola-hoop sized circle of rocks for their very own plot. Then they helped to fortify the soil and planted their seeds and seedlings. Every time we gather (most every Saturday) Dreamers observe and calculate growth in comparison to the previous week in their Garden Journals. Older Dreamers (11th graders) and the younger kids work together to create the community portion of the garden which includes a bean teepee, sunflowers, corn, pumpkin and watermelon. This common garden is in the middle of their neighborhood, located at the Unitarian Church, adjacent to Burnt Bridge Creek.

We couldn't do this without the generous donation of 2 plots by Kathy Silveria and seeds from WSU Cooperative Extension, and rototilling by the Clark County Mabry Center.

Immanuel Lutheran - Hooper, NE
Recently, we improved our outdoor landscaping by planting hostas and a variety of flowering plants and bushes. We used bricks from the chimney of the old teacherage for highlighting the landscaping.

Immanuel Lutheran School - Bristol, CT
Our school Garden Club started about 13 years ago. Our 2 advisors are sisters, Roze and Alice, who grew up on a Minnesota farm! Our first garden started because we won 500 Dutch bulbs! We picked a spot on our school property. A parent dug it up for us. Another person brought his truck so we had a place to put all the stones that we found. We enriched the soil with composted manure and topsoil. Children helped with all of this, from the soil preparation to the planting of the bulbs. Those bulbs are still growning beautiful flowers! Our next flower bed became mostly a perennial, butterfly garden bed. Our third garden is an annual bed, and we need annuals also for the bed with bulbs. 4 of our classrooms have grow labs. Just last week every child in grades K-3 planted flower seeds in a pot. They are now sprouting! Just yesterday, first graders were looking carefully at their pots and plants and writing in their science journals! K kids are so exited to see sprouts and are noticing that some sprouts and big and some are very tiny. In late May, our Garden Club members (about 20 kids who meet once a month) will plant the flowers in our outside gardens!

Independent Community Freeschool - Pittsburgh, PA
Our Neighborhood just started up a community garden and we have our own plot and responsibilities to the community areas. We are all very excited to share in this adventure. Our ultimate goal is to help the rest of the community 'catch the gardening bug' and start community gardens near them.

Independent Educational Progams - Anderson, CA

Indian Trail Elementary - Frankfort, IL
It is hard to believe that our garden program has been going for five years now! Each year has brought new themes to our 8 raised bed gardens, with most of our plants grown from seed in our school's light lab. This year's 2008/9 Indian Trail Garden Club has been busy planting tulips and hyacinth for the spring and planning their theme gardens. This year's theme gardens will include our two permanent gardens the donation and butterfly hummingbird garden as well as a fire garden, crazy vegetable garden, yellow banana garden, garlic garden, succulent garden, and patriotic potato garden (with red, white, and blue potatoes).

In March we will be busy starting seeds, and planting potatoes as soon as the weather permits. Harvesting potatoes in the fall has become a tradition, and a great way for one year's club to pass on a harvest to the next. Before you know it, May will be here and it will be time to put together the cold frames and plant what we have grown this winter.

Thanks to our teacher sponsors and Master Gardener volunteers our garden program continues to be a success, and wonderful experience for the students at Indian Trail.

Inkster School - Winnipeg,
We are currently in the planning stages of creating an outdoor classroom. We are working with a group called "Evergreen" They are supplying us with their expertise as well as possibly granting us some start up funding.

We would like to hear from any groups that are going through this process and hear how they are doing and what they are planning. Sharing ideas is a great way to broaden all of the children's horizons and show that this is truly a global village that we need to green up and protect.

Inner Harbour - Douglasville, GA
The biggest use of our learning comes from us giving our knowledge to the garden by using the big ideas and concepts (Mr. Glick says we HAVE to know these) that we learn in class. Stuff like systems and cycles that the books go on and on about, we get to see these things at work in the garden and even with each other! We’ve seen the potential energy stored in a potato and then we activated it and guess what? It made more potatoes!! There’re systems all around us, from as big as the solar system to as small as the electrons orbiting around the atoms that make up the particles that are bonded together to make up the whole world around us! And we can’t forget about the money system either. We need this system so we can buy our seeds and celebrate our success. One little economics lesson we are using is how turn one woman’s trash into another’s treasure! It’s our T-Bag project, where we turn old useless t-shirts into recycled and beautifully tie-dyed reusable grocery bags!

Our garden will be better than ever this year, because we have learned about the concept of inter-connectiveness. This is a science concept that sounds complicated, but, really makes a whole lot of sense. Using the garden as an example, we know that the plants depend on the sun and water to survive, but to really thrive, another concept; the plants need to be connected with other animals, from the worms in the dirt, even to us! See, we make waste! That’s right, no matter what we do, how careful we are, human beings make waste. Well, we have learned to capture some of that waste that comes to us in the form of leftover or old food. We compost it at our garden and then work it into the soil. This is great for the beneficial micro organisms and worms and they help the plants thrive. But wait, there’s more. We want the plants to make things for us to eat, like fruit and vegetables and the only way this can happen is if we involve even more animals. Like butterflies, hummingbirds and even BEES!

Mr. Wilbur has just joined our class. He is Inner Harbour’s experiential lead teacher, and with him we have started a new unit all about bees. Because of this we have been inspired to “bee” the pollinators of the garden. That’s right, we aren’t going to grow vegetables or fruit in our little patch of the garden, we’re going to grow the plants and flowers that attract those most important of all pollinators, the honey bee! Did you know that 80% of all the fruits and vegetables that you eat have been pollinated by a bee? That’s a lot. It also means that bees are very much interconnected to plants and to us. Mr. Wilbur has taught us many facts about bees and soon we will be learning about their biology, habits and traits. We even hope to make a field trip to a local Apiary; that means bee farm! So Mr. Wilbur’s bee unit has inspired us alright, but it has also given us a hypothesis to try out. You see, we know from books and teachers that bees pollinate plants and because of that the plants make fruits and vegetables, but we really have never seen it work. So the question is, “Is this really true? Do plants really depend so much on bees and other pollinators that without them, they would not produce fruits and vegetables?” Stay tuned family and friends because the class of Kiowa is going to find out!!!!!

Innoko River School - Shageluk, AK
This is an ongoing project. We are a small tribe of Athabaskans in the interior of Alaska. In the past the Bureau of Indian Affairs through 4-H and the Tanana Chiefs Conference has enabled us to make a community garden in the spring. However, over the past 4 years we have not had a community garden. I would like to start a gardening project this year in my classroom and transplant the starters to our community garden once the ground thaws at the end of May.

Instituto Nezaldi - Monterrey, Nuevo León,

International Small Hands Academy - Istanbul,
We love doing things related with outside, garden...Children love garden time for playing....We would like to arrange garden again as a learning tool.....We would like to set up reading garden project..putting lots of readings outside as weel as doing projects...

Invisible Preservation Network - Irving, TX
Invisible Perservation, Genealogy And Camps Projects

aka
Harmony at Centennial

We offer tours, hands-on workshops, and the opportunity to explore garden, business and education careers in perservation. These can support youth in need of physical, social or mental development.

All camps and preservation projects involve enjoying the natural beauty in the garden and having a good time. We also encourage youth to look closely at the needs of their communities, and to be sensitive to lovely areas close to home.

IQRA Academy - Frederiksted,
We live in a location that allows us to plant year round (school year). We have a gardening club that has several box gardens and one large garden that focuses on two main crops. Each class also has its own box garden. Classes can plant what they wish, but must keep in mind our two gardening competitions that happen during the year. Judges look at all aspects of the gardens from design and maintenance to plant choice and health. We love it because one competition is voted on by parents. We have a vegetable market where each class gets to sell its produce to parents as they arrive in the afternoons. This money is then recycled into the garden. Classes must research local produce prices, set prices, weigh produce, balance finances, etc. The garden allows us to teach science and math in a great, fun way. We wouldn't trade our garden for anything.

Iroquois Middle School - Grand Rapids, MI
The main focus of the program is to teach children where our food comes from, and the season in which it is grown, through the use of vegetable gardens visits to local farms – the basis of the farm-to-school program model.

The children tour Trillium Haven Farm, a partner farm that provides all of the produce (aside from that grown in the garden) for the kitchen classrooms.

In the kitchen, children are guided through structured lessons, working as teams to prepare delicious, seasonal vegetable dishes. The recipes include a cultural and nutritional lesson, and allow the students to have the experience of eating together as a group.

In the garden and greenhouse, students have the opportunity to work with the plants, learn about the growing cycle, soil health, and teamwork. Some lessons give the students the opportunity to sow seeds and watch them germinate, while others give the students the chance to plant seedlings, tend them, and gather some of the early harvest.

We also partner with the local food bank and community kitchen as a donor of fresh, organic produce for their emergency food services.

Isable Elementary - Jackson, MS

Issac Miller Elementary School - Santa Maria, CO
Our garden is just beginning. We had an old garden that was in disrepair. We spent last year fixing it up and this is our first school year that we are actively using it. We are focusing on developing curriculum and increasing support from the staff and community.

Jackie Robinson - Chicago, IL
Jackie Robinson School is an inner city school whose students were doing poorly academically and whose school had no curb appeal. Carol and Bobbie, both Master Gardeners, undertook a year's project to teach gardening, worm farming, composting and nutrition. In the year since the program began, 13 of the 15 classes at the school participated in the process of learning to measure, design, construct, plant and then harvest their garden. For their endeavors, they were awarded the "Angel Soft" award for intergenerational sharing with their neighbors. In addition, the grade scores of the students improved dramatically.

Carol and Bobbie were asked to present the program to the AGCA conference in Toronto. The Jackie Robinson School is still underachieving, but their scores are getting closer to normal and the staff is completely supportive of the program. Every room in the school now participates. Every child will be involved in creating a class worm farm, composting, closing the garden for winter, planting spring bulbs, ordering catelogs, writing for grants, planning and planting our garden for next spring. We now have school pride.

Jackie Robinson - Chicago, IL
Jackie Robinson is an inner city school on the south side of Chicago. The school had no curb appeal and no pride in its building. Bobbie and Carol, two master gardeners volunteers, created a school-wide program of education to create a school garden. For a year, 13 of the 15 classes learned how to read catalogs, create worm farms, seek grants, get donations, measure space, create design, and construct raised beds. Each class was assigned a specific space around the building. The students created unique designs and plantings for their garden. When you walk around the building, you will see raised beds built by the students that are unique to the site. The students wrote valentines and invitations to their only neighbor and invited them to share the space. This cooperative endeavor won them the Angle Soft "Angel Award".

Each of the raised beds has stimulated new interests. The tomatoes that they raised created an interest in how many different ways they could use tomatoes. They made salsa, fried green tomatoes, and tomato salads. Eating fresh strawberries was a new experience for many of the students. The peppers were compared for spiciness.


Students also learned about butterflies. We researched for plants that would attract them and then planted them. At the same time, we bought kits for the classrooms and released our butterflies into our gardens.

Our students reading and math scores have also improved. We feel (hope) that it is a reflection of applying the academic to the practical.

Our school takes great pride in our garden. Neighbors, when the pass the school, comment on how attractive the building is now. We think we have become an asset to the students and the community.

Jackman Elementary - Toledo, OH
This is the first year for our garden. We have planted mostly perennials and hope to add more things next year. Each grade level has its own space and their own theme that relates to the Ohio Academic Standards.

Jackson County Comprehensive High school - Jefferson, GA
We propagate a wide variety of plants.

Jacob Beidler Elementary - Chicago, IL
Jacob’s Garden, is a service learning project, using the arts/science and nature play. Students facilitated a design charrette to discuss how they wanted to improve the physical environment of their school. Bringing a beautification project such as container gardening and raised beds will promote the power of “greening” to their school community. Students also learned about environmental art and made various structures to be installed in the garden.

James B. Randol Elementary School - San Jose, CA
This acre and a half of gardens includes the large three dimensional map of northern California with its representative biomes: montane, desert, riparian (dry), oak woodlands, redwood forest, grasslands, and chaparral. The Central Valley section includes an herb garden, heritage orchard, cultural garden representing the continents, historical gardens, and five seating areas for classes. It is graced by a 180 foot history of California mural, a desert and redwood forest mural and one depicting the Golden Gate as the "rivers" flow out of the Delta. There is also a traditional vegetable and flower garden. Students in grades K-5 use the gardens across the curriculum. Most lessons in the Nature Trail are coordinated through the school's science lab. Contact Cheryl for more details.

James Cox Elementary School - Fountain Valley, CA

James E. Dottke Alternative High School - West Allis, WI

James Madison Memorial High School - Madison, WI

James M. Bennett - Salisbury, MD
Our Memorial Garden was originally designed in remembrance of students whose lives were lost during their enrollment at James M. Bennett High School. The Garden has become a living memorial for fallen students everywhere, as well as students lost in subsequent years. Those students, teachers and adults involved in the perpetuation of the Garden experience spiritual growth through the dedication of this beautiful space in remembrance of lost students. In addition, this Garden adds to the beautification of the school grounds.

James Mckee - Elk Grove, CA
Within the school garden area we adopted a raised flower bed that was seedy and over grown with all manner of weeds. It had many "not-garden-friendly-bugs" living there. Some of our disasters (and there were many) taught us things about certain plants and our planting methods. We soon learned that timing was a key ingredient to plant success.

Ever hear of a Jerusalem cricket? We dug one up and it was a true case of "shock and awe" for the class. The cricket looked fierce and poisonous, though it is harmless to humans. The students began to research information on the cricket and if it was harmful to our newly planted bulb garden.

James Monroe Elementary - Wyandotte, MI
Year-round program 1-2 hours weekly at present. Time increases in the spring and summer. During the school year this program meets twice weekly and is involved in the MSU extension Jr. Master Gardener course. We began our courtyard garden in the spring of 2002. In the spring of 2007 we added a sensory garden, two butterfly gardens and a raised bed herb garden. We are happy to have many of nature's friends in our garden, including butterflies, birds, rabbits and an abundance of toads.

James W. Hennigan Community School/EarthWorks Projects - Boston, MA
Since the mid-1990's, EarthWorks Projects has planted and maintained orchards and gardens at 6 to 8 inner-city Boston Public Schools. The hilltop orchard at the Hennigan School serves as an exciting outdoor classroom learning space for the 7 classes and 1 afterschool/summer program whose students get to enjoy it. In 1999, the students dug and planted a Butterfly/Beneficial Insect Garden near the orchard. In 1998, we constructed and planted an Educational Garden on a very busy street corner near the school. The garden is a learning space for 3 second grade classes.

In the course of a year, we witness profound changes in the children's attitudes towards soil, worms, bees, and plants. Most of our students have had very little or no experience in Nature. For many ESL, SPED, and LD students, the garden and orchard provide a positive hands-on learning environment which has been sorely lacking in their regular school experience.

Orchard Uses: In mid-March, we start observing buds and branches on the still-dormant trees. Each third grader ties a piece of yarn around a bud, and then visits their bud twice a month for three months until the end of school. Students have been amazed to watch tiny buds turn into fat buds, flowers, leaves and fruit. We also teach kids how to prune their fruit trees. Pollination has been a major spring theme. Children have gotten to hand-pollinate the flowers on apple, cherry, plum, peach, nectarine, and other trees.

We play a card game called "Good Bugs and the Plants they Love", which kids enjoy a lot. The card game and dramatic skits provide children with an appreciation of beneficial insects' roles in orchard and garden ecosystems. We end the spring series by planting those plants which will attract beneficial insects to our Butterfly Garden.

We use the garden mainly with second graders. We teach them composting, indoor worm composting in the winter, basic tool use, planting, and observing the interaction of animals and plants.

James W. Parker Middle School - Edinboro, PA
Our garden began as a restoration/reclamation project for a space in front of the school when the district renovated our building. Within that first year it became a memorial garden when teacher John Gillette was shot and killed at an eighth grade dance. It is a strolling meditation garden

Janesville Elementary School - Janesville, CA
Our garden began with one small raised garden box built and planted with bulbs by our kindergarten class. After the flowers bloomed, other teachers wanted to help out in the project to expand the garden and also incorporate composting, vermiculture, vegetables, and recycling. We now have 10 raised garden boxes of varying sizes in the old unused playground area at the front of our school. The local Boy Scouts also refurbised a building for a garden shed as a service project.

Everything has been donated from local businesses and the school community so far. We are always looking for soils, tools, plants and seeds, and new ideas to expand the garden. But the most important aspect of the garden is to get the students outside, working in the soil, learning about plants and their environment.

We are using the garden to tie many lessons to State Standards. Our goal is to expand the garden and tie into community groups like the Jolly Elders. Now that we have two new work tables outside, the garden will also be used as a place for creative writing and to participate in the visual arts. Our needs are supplies and materials to keep improving the garden, to expand into every classroomm with meaningful and useful lessons, and to get a "buy in" from everyone in the school/community to support the garden as a place of learning.

Because we live in an area with a short growing season, we are working with Junior High students to design greenhouse covers for the boxes to extend our growing season. Eventually, we hope to give any food produced to the local shelter, Crossroads. Please support our garden with material, grant funds and ideas for lessons.

J D PARKER - Stuart, FL

Jefferson Elementary - Little Rock, AR
The Kinder "garden" at Jefferson Elementary School in Little Rock, Arkansas began in the Spring of 2004. Three committed and energetic Kindergarten teachers, Kathy Brotherton, Brenda Dorman, and Carmen Walker, applied for and received a $5000 grant from the Public Education Foundation in Little Rock.

The students have planted a salad vegetable garden, held a salad supper fund raiser, enjoyed a back to school watermelon from the garden party, sold Dutch Garden bulbs as a fund raiser, planted several flower gardens, and have a butterfly garden. We've enjoyed watching the butterfly, frog,and ladybug lifecycles.

Our Kindergarten children grow and learn each year as teachers' implement cross-curricular skills through our gardening adventures. We've enjoyed plants, insects, weather, composting, worms, and economics to name a few of our high interest themes. Two of our favorites are our "graduation" program which is a garden musical and our annual stepping stone art projects!

We've been extremely fortunate with our PTA's support and have even included grandparents as far away as England. We have been blessed with parental assistance consistently each year. Our garden continues to grow and expand each year as parental support flourishes and students come back year after year as Kinder "garden" buddies. It is a home/school connection that we hope continues for years to come.

In the fall of 2007, Brenda Dorman and Kathy Brotherton began an afterschool Garden Club. We meet every other Tuesday with interested 2nd and 3rd grade students. We usually have between 30-50 kids during each meeting. We have also incorporated a 4H contact person as a resource person for our gardening adventures. We have begun to plan for our garden club project of creating a "Thomas Jefferson" garden theme area to learn about our school's namesake and his contributions to gardening.

Jefferson Elementary - San Leandro, CA

Jefferson Elementary School - Little Rock, AR
Our team of Kindergarten teachers (Kathy Brotherton, Brenda Dorman, and Carmen Walker) received a Public Education Foundation grant last April to begin our Kinder "garden". One of our super dads, Danny Deislinger, was instrumental in building our raised garden area behind our Kindergarten classrooms. We planted sunflowers, pumpkins, watermelons, beans, cucumbers, zinnias, and marigolds last May. We used a soaker hose on a timer during the summer to keep our garden watered during our vacation and parents and teachers took turns coming to tend to the garden. When we returned in August, we harvested sunflowers and watermelons, and are anxiously awaiting some pumpkins. We also enjoyed a few cucumbers and green beans this summer. Last Friday, Sept. 3, we invited our first grade garden buddies to join us for a watermelon feast. Our city newspaper came and we had a photo of some of us enjoying watermelon in our paper on Saturday. We've added tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, and squash plants. Before leaving on Friday for our Labor Day weekend, we planted radish, turnip, spinach, and lettuce seeds. We returned today to find our seeds had sprouted! We're loving our kinder "garden". We hope to enjoy a garden salad party later this fall!

Jeffersontown Elementary - Louisville, KY
We have an 11 acre campus with an outdoor classroom that includes:
an energy garden that has a water feature run by solar energy, windmill,and native plantings;
a vegetable garden tended by community volunteers;
a butterfly garden;
a "senses" garden planted in native
species.

We are working on adding trees each year and have had geometric shaped benches built around trees.

Different classes use the grounds to extend and complement the science curriculum. The students planted the gardens and tend them each year. They also use the grounds to journal and daily to keep weather information. We participate in Journey North and record information from observations in the garden. The kindergarten students have grown pumpkins and will use the new senses garden in the fall.

Jewett-Hanson Elementary - Buxton, ME

JFK Elementary School - Winooski, VT
I see tremendous potential for the JFK School Garden, which now hosts a summer enrichment program focusing on food security in Winooski, to become an integral part of the school's budding nutrition education program, and to act as a link to the Winooski Community Garden.

The garden provides a base for the Winooski Garden and Cooking Club, which encourages intergenerational sharing of cooking skills and tasty homegrown delights.

There is a growing enthusiasm for the garden in our community that will continue to grow as more people become involved.

Jimmy Carter High School - La Joya, TX
Our science garden was funded by Investment capital fund from TEA. Tt was an enriching experience, bringing the community together. Parents were able to work with teachers and their children, and it was beautiful to see parents and guardians, teachers, students and administrators working together for a common goal: a satisfying experience. It not only beautified our school but it also helped the science teachers to expose their students real-life application of what they have been learning in the classroom. It is a nice project.

John Adams Elementary - Alexandria, VA
We are now a National Wildlife Certified Habitat, with three garden areas within the habitat. It's also home to three eastern box turtles and many varieties of birds, plants, trees, and butterflies. Our school serves a very diverse population and our herb garden has made many cross-cultural connections. We continue to develop our two other courtyard areas. One area is now a home for two rabbits who happily roam free eating grass and pleasing our students. Curriculum connections are expanding with a workshop being held in our habitat this October.

John Adams Elementary - Corona, CA
I have a class of 14 4th-6th grade students. We have gardened for 3 years. We have grown tomatoes, carrots, and pumpkins. The students really enjoy getting outside and watching their plants grow. It has been a great learning as well as fun experience for all of us.

John C. Coonley School - Chicago, IL
Coonley Elementary School has worked hard to create a beautiful school/community garden space with the help of Greencorp (an agency of the City of Chicago). The space which is heavily shaded by a large tree is adjacent to the school. It had been just a patch of dirt. During the 2004-2005 school year, soil and mulch were added as well as a variety of plants from city donations and neighbors. With no water source, it was difficult to get anything to grow. Eighth grade students studied and planted a variety of bulbs however not much turned up in the spring. During the 2005-2006 school year, a water source was added and we began our work with Greencorp.

John C. Fremont Elementary - Glendale, CA
At Fremont Elementary we have a large area which had been useless for several years after diseased trees had been cut down. New trees were planted in between the old ones but the stumps were never removed. These were huge, hazardous stumps and no one was allowed in the area. Finally, through the volunteer efforts of our school parents and donations from a local landscaper the stumps were removed last year. Over the summer the soil was tilled and prepared for planting. Two teachers, Mrs, Downer and Mrs. Minsker, prepared a bed of soil for their students to plant a garden this year.

The hands-on science class is creating their own little bit of magic. The garden is 16 X 8 and divided into 18 spaces which are assigned to specific groups of 2-3 children. Each child has their own area to plant and take care of. It's full of vegetables and flowers and has inspired us to keep working on the rest of the area still to be developed.

We will be leveling areas for tables to create a quiet space for reading groups. We will add benches and a stone pathway connecting it all. In the spring, we will plant a pumpkin patch. The pumpkins will be sold at the 6th grade Halloween Carnival as a fundraiser. In the past the pumpkins were donated, now the kids will be able to pick their own! We are very excited about creating a space that can now be used and enjoyed as well as provide an intereactive learning space.

John F Kennedy High School - Bronx, NY
I have been In the Enchanted garden at kennedy high school for 2 years now and I am currently the gardens vice president. The consist of many different things from weeds to plants and trees and lots of bugs and animals. I have learned many things in there like whats a weed and whats not. Its a really wonderful place to be in.

John F. Kennedy High School - Bronx, NY
The Enchanted Garden is a true gem.

A botanical treasure trove hidden deep in a remote corner of the Bronx, it is located just south of 230th Street on Tibbett Avenue. The garden is in effect, the front yard for John F. Kennedy High School. A little smaller than an acre, this oasis serves thousands of people every year, whether they live in the community or attend Kennedy.

When you enter the gate to the garden, you have the kinds of choices you have when you come into the Magic Kingdom of Disney. You can view our wetlands, which contains one of the few remnant cat tail stands left in NYC. You can gaze out on our pond, where you can observe frogs, fish, and sometimes even turtles.

Breathe in the aromatic air in our herb garden. Count the butterflies in our butterfly garden. You can walk among the dozens of trees in our forest on a hot summer day, and stay cool. Or perhaps pick a peach on Orchard Hill. And if you are really hungry, come down to our farm, and check out our award winning tomatoes, zuchinni, eggplants, peppers, and collard greens. The choices are limitless. This is the kind of garden where you can escape the city, and get lost in nature.

John F. Kennedy High School - Silver Spring, MD

John G. Dinkelmeyer Elementary School - North Bellmore, NY

John G Prendergast School - Ansonia, CT

John I. Smith Elementary - Doral, FL
Our class has been exploring the natural habitats in the school grounds and within their communities. We have studied the agriculture of our community and state as well as those involved in our Flat Stanley pen pals in California and Canada. For Hispanic Heritage, we transformed the room into the regions of Chile with a focus on it's agriculture and providing foods using the ingredients-mainly cinnamon. We have studied worms by observing worms from Canada (night crawlers) and red wrigglers from the US. We have learned the body parts, compared and contrasted differences and have discovered their beneficial contributions to our lives. Darwin studied worms for about 40 years and believes that all topsoil has been through worms. We are growing radishes in the classroom and have been gradually stepping them to the outdoors. They will be transplanted into our garden along with the addition of new seed-planting activities. They have studied the local trees and are fascinated with the Mahogany pods and their seeds. They've set them free (helicopter seeds), planted them, and have disected them. We have a variety of cultures and needs in the class. All students share and contribute stories, artifacts, or information of activities performed with family members. They've learned about the nutrition of the foods they eat and that the more colorful the plate, the healthier the meal. During their explorations, they've discovered local birds, butterflies, insects, spiders, and plants as well as exotics. They have been much more responsible with the outside life and creatures accidentally roaming in the halls or home.

John Malcom Elementary School - Laguna Niguel, CA
Our school has approximately 900 children from pre-school through the 5th grade. We have a California Native Garden for butterflies, a teacher-run classroom area, and our area for students to work on their own projects at recess. We are just starting a school-wide vermicomposting bin to recycle lunch materials. We have an elected Ecology representative on the student council who helps keep the environment on the front burner.

John McManus Elemntary - Chico, CA

John Muir Middle School - Burbank, CA
Our garden is all in raised planters. We are developing themes: Italian, Middle Eastern, Native, Native American gardens. Also we have a raised planter for science and vegetable planter.

We have a big emphasis on composting, including tradional, vermiculture, and Bokashi.

John Newbery Elementary - Wenatchee, WA
The Edible Schoolyard at John Newbery Elementary in Wenatchee had its ground-breaking on Earth Day in 2006. Thanks to sponsorship by the Newbery PTA and Heifer International, EAT and other community partners were able to remove the old soil (lead-arsenate contaminated soil) and bring in clean soil to raise the garden at least two feet in a functional two-tiered terrace. Scott Parsons, a local organic farmer, designed the garden and has contributed much through his expertise in both gardening and nutrition education. The Welcome to our School Garden sign was designed by a second grader at Newbery complete with Spanish translation.

Newbery students and Summer Care program students have participated in planting, fertigating, insect monitoring, harvesting and taste-testing the crops grown. Last year's harvest included a variety of salad greens, herbs, and vegetables. The students were able to participate as a vendor at the local farmer's market Kid's Day. A butterfly garden was also added to compliment second-grade curriculum. This year's garden includes several mini-theme gardens which include salsa, pizza, 3 Sisters, herb, stir-fry, herb, salad, and a cut-flower bed.

In an effort to engage the majority of classrooms, we have compiled a directory of online resources related to school gardens and ways to link them with existing science, art, math or other curriculum. A picture book based on the garden was created specifically for the first-grade "New Plants" curricula. We would like to thank Home Depot, Smith’s Excavating, Integrated Fertility Management, Wenatchee Sand & Gravel, and Bob’s Apple Barrel for their in-kind donations and we appreciate everyone’s help in making the garden flourish!

Next year's goals include construction of a simple greenhouse or exploring the concept of cold-frame gardening (showing our students that even in the colder climates vegetables can still be grown).

John Paul II Catholic School - Houston, TX
Our vegetable garden was built in March 2006. Fourth and fifth graders planted cucumbers, squash, beans, peppers and tomatoes in the spring. Each student was responsible for their own plant and kept a journal documenting the plant's progress. We harvested over 600 lbs of produce which was sold at the school and the proceeds donated to the local food pantry.
The garden also includes an area for perennials, herbs, annuals, sunflowers, and roses which were planted by seventh and third graders. Both science and art classes have been held in the garden. The favorite plant of the pre-kindergarden is lamb's ear.

John R. Downes Elementary - Newark, DE
At Downes, I've been dabbling in habitat awareness and outdoor art for a couple of years with students. This fall we are beginning a "Smartyards" project in conjunction with the Delaware Nature Society. This will enable us to become a habitat certified with NWF and will award us over $250 in native plants along with other habitat support materials (bird feeder, bird bath, rain barrel, bird house). Last year, we installed a small form pond and we already have 2 frogs!

I look forward to adding to the education of students interested in providing for the habitat needs of our local birds and other animals. Last spring, I also had a wonderful group of students from the U. of Delaware (wildlife conservation, etc. majors) who provided a lesson for grade levels K-1, 2-3 and grade 4 last year. I hope to get some of the students who did not graduate last year to form the nucleus of a mentoring group for our Team Habitat this school year.

Tomorrow, we are going to gather twigs in the wooded area behind school to bring to the landscaped area in the front and create an area of potential shelter for birds and other small creatures against rain, wind and cold weather. We hope that our planting selections will encourage butterflies, a variety of birds, and other animals to enjoy our school grounds.

John Reith Elementary - Sacramento, CA
We started a new garden in 2002 with limited funds and space. We were able to get a nice start through grants. In the fall we planted a number of vegetables. We are currently in the process of learning about vermicomposting.

Johnson Elementary - Mesa, AZ
The Johnson Garden Club sponsors Storybook Gardens on Wheels. We use picture books that have plants, flowers, and vegetables in them to create gardens in half barrels that can be moved into the classroom for teachers to read the books and talk about the plants that are in the barrel. The Garden Club also began a worm farm this year and we are now using a commercial composting bin. Our next garden project is an enabling garden for our special needs population.

John Swett K-8 School - Oakland, CA
John Swett is a K-8 urban school with a low-income multicultural population. The school garden has been utilized for the past 12 years as a teaching tool. It was originally created in collaboration with Project YES, but is now being managed by the SDC/SH teacher who uses the organic garden to teach functional life skills to her students as well as core curriculum. In addition, several teachers make use of the garden to support core curriculum, science, and art. A variety of small grants have enabled the school to make improvements and purchase tools and plants. Projects undertaken include the study of insects, including butterflies and silkworms (two mulberry trees were donated), cooking projects, and study of the sensory and medicinal properties of plants through the planting of herbs.

John Swett K-8 School - Oakland, CA
The John Swett School Garden was established as an East Bay Conservation Corps project about 12 years ago. All funding and materials were provided by the Conservation Corps. Planning for the initial garden was a collaborative effort between Conservation Corps staff, teachers, and students. The design of the garden was incorporated into the mathematics curriculum for upper grade students. In collaboration with Conservation Corps staff and teachers, each class utilized the garden to integrate science, mathematics, reading, and social studies curricula with gardening activities. Each class worked at a scheduled time with a staff member from the conservation corps to plant and maintain their assigned area.

We established an organic composting program and a worm bin in order to maintain the nutrient-rich soil in the beds. We built a short wall to teach early construction methods (using hay bales as a foundation) to the fifth grade class about five years ago. We've also integrated art, including decorative tiles on the raised beds, and a mural on the wall of the facing building embellished the garden over the years.

Due to funding cuts, Maylou Bartlett’s special day class (grades 1-3) and peers from their classes (grades 2-4) garden and perform maintenance tasks.

Mrs. Bartlett’s special day class for students with moderate to severe disabilities used the garden as an integral part of thematic units which incorporated language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science curriculum. The majority of students in the class received occupational therapy, and the therapist and teacher collaborated in incorporating tasks to practice and improve motor skills in gardening activities. The speech therapist used garden activities to develop expressive and receptive language skills.

Community service was fostered as students shared food and flowers they grew with the school community. The garden developed recreational and leisure skills within the special day class population and fostered self-esteem through the success students experienced in growing and preparing their produce.

Some examples of garden learning activities included:
• Students grew a fall crop of lettuce (transplanted) and radishes (from seeds) which they used to prepare a salad for the teachers’ luncheon and for their own Thanksgiving feast. Students made salad dressings. They shared pickles they made while learning about preserving food along with the salad as part of a fall unit on how we get our food.
• Students grew vegetables from seeds as part of a unit on nutrition to encourage students to eat vegetables. Mustard greens were cleaned, cooked and eaten. Peas and carrots were utilized in mathematics activities to develop one-to-one counting skills, estimating and concept comprehension (colors, shapes, smooth/rough, thick/thin, tall/long/short…) and eaten as rewards after math time.
• Bulbs were planted in fall as part of learning about seasons; the blooming of the bulbs signified the arrival of spring.
• As part of a short unit on medicinal herbs, students collected, explored and identified medicinal plants in the garden, learned the relationship between plants and medicines, made tea from chamomile they had grown from seed and lemon balm picked in the garden.
• Students grew and picked bouquets of flowers which they had planted from seed for use at a variety of school events.
• Students maintained a worm bin and explored the garden as part of a unit on insects. The role insects played in the garden was explored during observations.
• Pumpkins were planted in fall and again in June. Seeds from pumpkins were roasted and eaten.

Children with disabilities in the inclusion program worked with peers in their classroom on projects in the garden that supported classroom curriculum. Girls in the science club explored gardening with native plants.

John Tyler High School - Tyler, TX
Two years ago I took over a special education horticulture program. I did not know anything about gardening or growing plants. It has been a fun learning experience for both the students and teachers. My students are mentally retarded and some are also physically disabeled. Gardening is something that all of the students can participate in regardless of their disabilities.

Jornada Elementary School - Las Cruces, NM
My behavior disordered/emotionally disturbed students are maintaining an organic vegetable garden started in the Spring of 2005. We have also been maintaining a herb/flower garden since 1998.

My students are garden buddies for two K-2nd grade classes.
We donate produce to the local soup kitchen.

Joseph J. Greenberg Elementary School - Philadelphia, PA
Our garden is just 1 year old, we have worked hard to bring to life a boring area that was the front of our school, the area that greeted all visitors to our school. We had a problem with the roots of an evergreen tree that had died and had to be removed.

The garden was planned out with thoughts of what was native to our area. We had a generous area that stayed in the shade, and the shade plants were something that we had to experiement with, and will continue to experiment with this spring.

We have a core group of volunteers that continued the work started by the entire student body: they turned soil, laid down old newspapers, and spread a 3 inch layer of mulch, which had been donated by a community landscaper.

In the fall, the school took place in a bulb exchange, and about 800 bulbs were planted. We are all looking forward to the flower show this Spring.

Joseph Lanzetta School - P.S. 96 - New York, NY
we need help in starting one up

Joshua School - Lancaster, CA
Ours is a classroom garden. Each fall we plant a variety of bulbs in the late fall for blooming in April. At the end of April we will then prepare the garden for planting seeds of both vegetables and flowers.

Our main objective is to observe what happens in the garden and to have the experience of sowing seed and watching the growth process.

Joyner Elementary School - Tupelo, MS
The Discovery Garden features a wealth of beautiful gardens where teachers in all grades help students visualize and not just memorize. These gardens are as follows: Butterfly Garden; Herb and Produce garden; Native Garden (featuring Mississippi’s favorites); Rainbow Garden; Water Garden (our students don’t just read about the stages of a tadpole - they witness it first-hand!); Test Gardens (If a child wants to plant a seed and watch it take root, this is the place to do it!)

A long counter area allows children to pot plants for classroom use. Both the amphitheater and work center are handicapped accessible. The existing sidewalks have been transformed into "teaching tools" for younger elementary students, featuring painted letters and pictures that correspond to the alphabet. The garden also features an outdoor weather station.

Juan Morel Campos Secondary School - Brooklyn, NY
The Juan Morel Campos "Edible Schoolyard" is partnered with Slow Food NYC to bring valuable experiences with "good" food to NYC Public School children. The garden produces vegetables which are being used in the NYC Harvest Week and as part of the NYC Farm to Cafeteria pilot program. In addition, Slow Food is providing the students with lessons in Taste Education. We will also partner with the Council for the Environment of New York City to start a Greenmarket using our produce as well as a local farmer's in our school court yard.

Julian Union High School - Julian, CA
We are in the very beginning stages of starting a school garden. We are planning to design, build, and plant the garden this school year. The garden involves Special Education students along with Introduction to Agriculture students.

Junipero Serra Child Development Center and other sites - San Francisco, CA
The participants are inner-city children and youth learning to work together with adults to transform their community and grow a sustainable ecological landscape including gardens. They utilize mathematical, spatial, ecological, artistic, and problem-solving skills through hands-on, interdisciplinary learning.

Four of our schools are located on the Islais Creek watershed where we are developing a Living Library Nature Walk. Students are learning about what this means, and are involving the larger community in the development that highlights the underground water resources and other local features.

Another Branch Living Library & Think Park is being developed in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Just 4 Kids Hi-Tech Academy - Jacksonville, FL
My gardening and growing experience started when I was in elementary school. We did gardening about 3 days a week and I really enjoyed it.
When I got married my in-laws did gardening as their living and I would volunteer to go and help them out and I loved it. As an administrator now, I have dreamed of doing a vegetable garden with the children. I did a flower garden as a parent involvement project and it was a success. We have now moved into another building with a huge empty back space and it is perfect for this gardening project.

Kadima Hebrew Academy - West Hills, CA

Kaiser Elementary - Oakland, CA
Kaiser's school gardening program involves all the children in the school in growing and caring for food crops. Students do projects based on state science standards. They plant, harvest, maintain and enjoy the garden space at their school during garden period, recess and before and after school.

Kaiser Elementary is an Oakland Public School.

Kamiah Middle School - Kamiah, ID
Kamiah students are in the beginning stages of experiencing the outdoor gardening adventures.

Our science courtyard was the first project completed by the 6th grade students at Kamiah Middle School.

Students are now involved with a service-learning campus beautification project which will include creating and designing a sustainable green space school campus. We are excited to share and learn from other schoolyard gardening adventures!

Kansai International School, Ashiya Campus - Kobe,
Our campus is covered in pine trees and some deciduous trees, but we are starting some container gardens with fruits and veggies. Our classrooms have some orchids as well as other seasonal flowers. We are a school mostly Japanese children from 1 years old to 5th garde and we do know English.

Kansai International School, Higashiosaka campus - Higashiosaka City,
Our school has several garden areas. Two areas are traditional Japanese gardens, one area is for the birds and butterflies, while another section is full of flowers for the little girls to pick. Planters line the fences and are full of strawberries, vegetables, and herbs. We have many tress and have just added olives, cherries, and mulberries.

Kardinia International College - Geelong,

Kate Sullivan Elementary - Tallahassee, FL
Kate Sullivan has a 10 X 20 raised bed organic garden. We cultive flowers, vegetables, and herbs. Students in a 2/3 grade special education class maintain the garden. They use the garden to investigate science, math and health, and as an inspiration for writing, art and music. Many of the state's benchmarks are measured in the garden. Students give garden tours to other classes in the school. This has been a great tool to foster leadership skills. Students are developing skills and interest that will last them a lifetime.

Kemper Heights/Waycross - Cincinnati, OH
Kemper Heights ELI preschool is creating a garden designed by the students. The garden is in the process of being created. We recieved a county grant to help start the garden. We are new to the process and eager to get started.We will start seeds for the garden in early February. Any suggestions are appreciated but keep in mind this is a child centered garden.

Kenilworth School - Phoenix, AZ
The Kenilworth Junior High Hydroponics Project is designed for students to be able to investigate the viability of using the hydroponics growing to partially or completely replace conventional gardening. On a small scale, students will be able to plant, grow, and harvest their own vegetables during the nine-month period that school is in session. Much of the plant growth of a traditional garden takes place during the summer months while school is in recess. Conventional garden projects already in place at the school will be continued to allow students the opportunity to actively compare these growing methods. On a larger scale, the 7th and 8th grade students are researching and analyzing the implications of using hydroponics gardening to combat world-wide environmental issues such as land and water shortages, and world hunger due to massive shortages of food. Some researchers claim that hydroponic agriculture alone could provide enough food to feed the entire world, while others believe that hydroponics is a risky venture that is rarely successful on a commercial scale, and that conventional agricultural methods should continue to be practiced. This project will provide facilities and equipment on our school grounds for field-based studies regarding the viability of hydroponics gardening. Initially, 90 seventh and eighth grade students will be involved in the planting and harvesting of the fast-growing lettuce, and tomatoes. The seventh graders will become the experts, and the Hydroponics Project will be expanded to include all of the 650 students at Kenilworth School.

Kennedy Montessori Elementary School - Louisvile, KY
We have 15 gardens in 4-by-8-foot raised beds for classrooms to use or share. Most classes pick a theme such as Peter Rabbit's garden or Plants with Animal Names. This year we have had several Lewis and Clark gardens, including one given to us by the State Fair.

We also have a native plants area that represents plants found in the plains, a desert garden, and a butterfly and hummingbird garden with plenty of milkweed. In addition we have now put in a wetlands area.

We have had problems integrating this into the curriculum, mainly because of a shortage of time and the pressure of test scores.

Kennedy-Powell Elementary - Temple, TX
Our P.T.O. Beautification Committee decided that our school needed to add a special feature to a rather plain section of our school grounds, as well as add a valuable teaching area. Parents, students and staff worked together to contribute ideas of what should be in this area, and how to arrange the ideas. The ideas were then used to develop a blueprint for the Outdoor Learning Lab.

Our Outdoor Learning Lab consists of two phases. We have began the first phase by installing a pond habitat, with adjoining stream and fountain. There are a total of eight garden beds -- one for each grade level to design and maintain -- plus two designated as butterfly garden beds that everyone contributes to. The Outdoor Learning Lab has been used for Junior Master Gardener and G.L.O.B.E (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment)lessons. The students also enjoy "Gardening day" on Fridays.

Kennedy School, PS #9 - Jersey City, NJ
We have been working on the school garden for about ten years. Every year the children add to the garden. They created a pond. They planted a tree each year. They have made the garden an outdoor classroom where they learn about plants, weather, composting, and creating a butterflies garden.

Kent City Elementary - Kent City, MI
The Donna Loveland Memorial Garden is in memory of 5th grade teacher Donna Loveland who passed a