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 childcare facility located on 250 acres in Lignum, Virginia. We are a rural setting with 6 group homes housing 64 children. We have a school, chapel, riding barn, gym, petting barn, gardens, orchard, 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 statement is: “Childhelp exists to meet the physical, emotional, educational, psychological, and spiritual needs of abused and neglected children. We do so by focusing our efforts in the areas of treatment, prevention, and research”

Each of the children at Childhelp are given the opportunity to participate in our gardening projects. We have a dedicated and caring staff who are enthusiastic about this project. Each of out group homes has a dedicated garden area. Our learning goals are to help the children get in touch with the emotional and spiritual awakenings provided by a close relationship with nature. We want them to learn first hand how to become self-sustaining, ecologically aware human beings. We want them to understand the values of sweat-inducinging physical labor and the satisfaction of menaingful activity. We try to expose them to experiences they have never had before.

We are planting these gardens for a variety of reasons. The innovative nature of this project is in the ways it approaches and teaches the whole child, encompassing one on one therapy sessions with the staff of child care workers, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and volunteers. It encourages patience, hard work, and goal-setting skills. We also want to improve our turnover record for child care staff by enabling them to more deeply invest themselves in meaningful work with the children.

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!

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.

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.

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 chil 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 School - Applegate, OR

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 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.

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.

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.

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 communties.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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 - C