Kids Garden News

This Month's Teachers' Room Feature: Planting Bulbs
Flowering bulbs magically transform schoolyards and amaze students as they watch beautiful flowers emerge from the homely storage organs they tucked into the soil months earlier. In most areas of the country, there is still time to plant a few spring-flowering bulbs before the ground freezes. Read on for ideas for using bulbs in your classroom this winter. Visit the Teachers' Room

This Month's Family Room Feature: Forcing Bulbs Indoors
This winter, why not enjoy the pleasure of an early – and vibrant -- indoor spring? Flowering bulbs are fun for kids to plant and watch, and they make great gifts. This month we offer easy tips for forcing bulbs to flower indoors during the winter. Visit the Family Room.

2008 Hooked on Hydroponics Award Winners Announced
The Grow Store and the Progressive Gardening Trade Association join NGA in congratulating the 2009 Hooked on Hydroponics Award winners. Click here to view a list of the organizations selected.

Call for Session Proposals ~ December 15, 2009
The American Horticultural Society is currently seeking proposals for presentations at the 18th annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium’s The Vitality of Gardens: Energizing the Learning Environment, taking place July 22-24, 2010 in Pasadena, CA. Children's gardening advocates of all ages are encouraged to submit proposals to share ideas, success stories, and dreams for engaging children and youth in gardening activities. For more information about the Symposium and the call for sessions, click here.

CSGN Announces Winner of California School Garden of the Year Award
The California School Garden Network (CSGN) selected Louisiana Schnell School’s Garden of Learning as the first-ever winner of the California School Garden of the Year Award. Louisiana Schnell is located in the Sierra foothills town of Placerville. Learn more about the award and the Garden of Learning at: http://www.csgn.org/page.php?id=196.

Register Today for National Environmental Education Week, April 11-17, 2010
National Environmental Education Week (EE Week, www.eeweek.org) connects educators with environmental resources to promote K-12 students’ understanding of the environment. Recognizing the importance of conserving both water and energy in order to protect the planet and reduce costs, and acknowledging the interdependence between water and energy, EE Week’s 2010 theme is Be Water and Energy Wise! Register for EE Week and join a national network of educators dedicated to increasing the environmental literacy of K-12 students. You will receive certificates of participation, free online resources, information on professional development and funding opportunities, and access to discounts and special offers on educational materials for EE Week participants. Register today at www.eeweek.org/register.

Green Thumb Challenge ~ Oct. 2009 – June 2010
This initiative of the Green Education Foundation calls on classrooms and schools to plant 10,000 indoor or outdoor gardens during the spring of 2010! GEF’s Web site provides gardening instructions; checklists for school approvals; plot location guidelines; container garden suggestions; funding resources; garden plans, vegetable and flower suggestions; and more. Green Thumb Challenge lessons link gardening to science, math, language arts, creative arts, and technology. Summer student internships and community service programs will be available, along with an online professional development course for teachers. Register by Dec. 15, 2009 and be entered into a raffle for free garden kits (gloves, tools, seeds, etc.) or cash prizes to jump start and/or fund your garden. For more information visit http://www.greenthumbchallenge.org.

Learning and Behavior Thrive in School Gardens
The Journal of Environmental Education recently published a new study out of Penn State University reviewing research in the U.S. on school gardening and its relationship to children’s learning and behavior. The study finds that, overall, current research indicates that gardening can have a positive impact on student achievement and behavior. Blair, D. (2009). The child in the garden: an evaluative review of the benefits of school gardening. Journal of Environmental Education, 40(2), 15-38.

Christmas Bird Counts for Kids
This program is a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday and help sustain the great tradition of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, now more than a century old. Spearheaded through Sonoma Birding in northern California, the event is taking hold in new locations in the U.S. and Canada. For more information contact the founder, Tom Russert, at sonomabirding@gmail.com. You can also examine a package of helpful "to do" hints for your own CBC for Kids by clicking here and adopt them to your specific needs.

Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program ~ March 1, 2010
The Bonnie’s 3rd Grade Cabbage Program distributes free cabbage plants to third-grade classrooms whose teachers sign up to participate. This year 1,200,000 third graders will plant and take care of their own cabbage plants. Learn more about the program, which also awards a $1,000 scholarship to one student in each state, at the Bonnie Plants Web site.

Send a Thank You to Michelle Obama
The White House Organic Farm Project, which campaigned for the creation of an organic garden at the White House, is organizing an effort to send thank you notes to Michelle Obama for all of her support. Click here for details.

The Growing Classroom Training
To provide educators in your area with the tools for success, host a Growing Classroom Training. Presented by the Life Lab Science Program and the National Gardening Association, this two-day workshop is ideal for those interested in supplementing their existing science program with garden-based learning. Using The Growing Classroom activity guide for grades 2-6, you’ll experience hands-on activities, learn basic science concepts and gardening techniques, and develop management strategies for a school gardening program. Click here for more details.

A Librarian's Guide to Cultivating an Elementary School Garden
From fundraisers to flower beds, this book contains everything you need to know about creating a school garden. The book presents clear, concise resource listings and summaries that allow a librarian to provide the most relevant and current books, Web sites, and activities to teachers and students to ensure the success of a school’s outdoor classroom. Co-authored by Bonnie Mackey, Ph.D., and Jennifer Mackey Stewart. 2008. Linworth Publishing, Santa Barbara, CA.

Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability
This new book from the Center for Ecoliteracy portrays the growing sustainability movement in K-12 education, showcasing inspiring stories of public, independent, and charter schools across the country. It features a foreword from Daniel Goleman and has been endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation, Alice Waters, and David W. Orr. Click here for details.

Our Shadow Garden
This children's book by Cherie Foster Colburn is the story of a special nighttime garden planted by a child and his grandfather for the child’s grandmother, who can no longer spend time outside in the sun. It includes educational how-to sidebars that can help you start your own garden, and features illustrations from the children of the Children's Cancer Hospital at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Learn more.

Nature Explore Families' Club
Nature Explore Families’ Club includes research-based, field-tested resources designed to help you organize a Families’ Club at your school, organization, or in your neighborhood. The free Families’ Club kit includes general information and customizable forms to get your club started; a facilitator’s guide with helpful hints on organization; and nine developmentally-appropriate, child-friendly activities with facilitator notes. This is a great program to connect families with the outdoors and each other, while introducing them to a variety of natural spaces in their community. Download the kit.

When Learning Comes Naturally
This new program in public television’s The Learning Child Series profiles the efforts of four schools in New York, California, and New Jersey to introduce children to the natural world and to involve them — through outdoor play, class activities, and their own creative work — in a process of outdoor discovery. Beyond the immediate benefits to child development that come with exploration and improvisational learning, the program documents how meaningful time spent outdoors can cultivate in children a permanent caring for the natural world — a crucial ethic of environmental responsibility. Learn more.

Growing Up WILD: A New Resource for Connecting Young Children to Nature
The Council for Environmental Education (CEE) has just launched this new early childhood initiative — the first nationally distributed nature-based activity guide for educators of children ages 3-7. Growing Up WILD encourages nature exploration, outdoor play, and scientific inquiry among young learners. Helping Hands suggestions build conservation ethics and bilingual Home Connections extend learning with outdoor activities families can do together. With a host of fun facts and activities, young learners can explore ways in which plants use water, disperse seeds, provide food and shelter for a variety of animals, and much more. To receive a copy of the guide and participate in a training workshop, contact your Project WILD State Coordinator. For more information about how Growing Up WILD can help you connect more children to nature, visit www.projectwild.org/GrowingUpWILD.htm.

Heinz Wholesome Memories Intergenerational Garden Award ~ Deadline: January 10, 2010
Designed to foster family-focused garden efforts in communities across the country, the Heinz Wholesome Memories Intergenerational Garden Award will provide 57 families with the tools needed to embark on a successful gardening adventure that will foster lasting intergenerational memories while growing wholesome food. Learn more.

Toyota TAPESTRY Grants ~ Deadline: January 18, 2010
The Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program, sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., and administered by NSTA, is now accepting entries for the 2009–2010 competition. Now in its 20th year, the program offers grants up to $10,000 to K–12 science teachers for innovative projects that enhance science education in their school and/or school district over a one-year period. For more information about the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program or to learn how to apply, visit www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry.

Project Orange Thumb® ~ February 26, 2010
Started in 2003, the Project Orange Thumb grant program provides community garden groups with the tools and materials they need to reach their goals for neighborhood beautification and horticulture education. Click here for more information about this year's opportunities and application process.

2010 Mantis Award ~ Deadline: March 1, 2010
Mantis sponsors this award program in support of charitable and educational garden programs that enhance the quality of life in their host communities. NGA will select 25 gardens to receive a Mantis Tiller/Cultivator. We welcome applications from all nonprofits; past winners include community gardens, schools, ministries, colleges, master gardening groups, and hospitals. Learn more here.

Captain Planet Foundation ~ March 31, June 30, September 30, December 31, 2010
Captain Planet Foundation provides funds for hands-on programs that promote understanding of environmental issues. Click here for details.

Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards ~ April 1, 2010
The 2010 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards is designed to give national recognition and $5,000 in plants to community groups and organizations that are improving their local environments. The annual award, sponsored by Omaha-based Nature Hills Nursery, will be presented in April 2010 to groups and organizations that are literally “greening” their communities, parks, schools, and public spaces by planting trees, shrubs, and other plants. The Grand Prize-winning garden project will receive $2,500 in plants from Nature Hills Nursery. The First Prize winner will receive $1,500 in plants from Nature Hills Nursery, and the Second Prize winner will receive $1,000 in plants. The plant materials may contain any combination of trees, fruit trees, bushes and shrubs, perennials, and vegetable seeds that Nature Hills Nursery offers. Visit the Nature Hills Web site to download an application.

ING Unsung Heros Awards ~ April 30, 2010
Each year, 100 educators are selected to receive $2,000 to help fund innovative class projects. Three of those educators receive the top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000. Learn more.

Build-A-Bear Workshop® Giving Programs ~ Deadline: April, July, and October
Champ-A Champion Fur Kids grants for children’s health and wellness are awarded twice each year to programs with measurable outcomes that make the world a healthier and happier place for kids. Click here for more details.

Annie's Grants for Gardens ~ Deadline: Rolling
Annie's offers a limited number of small grants to community gardens, school gardens, and other educational programs that connect children directly to gardening. These funds may be used to buy gardening tools, seeds, or other gardening supplies. Click here for application details.

Outdoor Classroom Grant Program ~ Deadline: Rolling
Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation, International Paper, and National Geographic Explorer! classroom magazine have partnered to create an outdoor classroom grant. The goal is to provide schools with additional resources to improve their science curriculum by engaging students in hands-on experiences outside the traditional classroom. All K–12 public schools in the United States are welcome to apply. Visit the Lowe's Web site for more information.

Teaching Tolerance Grants ~ Deadline: Rolling
Teaching Tolerance offers grants of $500 to $2,500 to preK–12 classroom teachers for projects designed to reduce prejudice among youth, improve intergroup relations in schools, and/or support educator professional development in these areas. Proposals from other community organizations and houses of worship will be considered on the basis of direct student impact. Learn more here

Fruit Tree 101 ~ Deadline: Ongoing
This program of The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation brings fruit tree orchards to schoolyards, so students can make a positive environmental impact at their school, while creating a source of tasty snacks for decades to come. Click here to download an application.

Operation Green Plant - Free Seed Grants
America the Beautiful Fund's Operation Green Plant program is offering grants of FREE SEEDS (vegetable, flower, or herb) to encourage citizen efforts to protect and preserve America’s lands and resources. Shipping and handling fees for the first set of 100 seed packets is $14.95. Additional set(s) of 100 packets are available for $5 per set. Click here for more details.

Grant Wrangler
Find funding opportunities for K-12 schools, searchable by grade level, keyword, category, and deadline at http://grantwrangler.com/.

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