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School and Community Garden Resources

Additional Resources for School and Community Gardeners

An Educator’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening.  Gardening is a powerful way to teach many important topics including basic food-growing skills, health and nutrition, environmental science, and more. Gardens provide opportunities for hands-on learning in a variety of subjects across a range of grade levels (see sidebar, page 2), but it can be intimidating to plan, install, and maintain an educational garden.  This publication provides a basic introduction to growing produce in an outdoor garden and includes information on recommended plants and a garden calendar. (Oregon State, 28pp.) https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/em9032.pdf

How to Organize a Community Garden.  A community garden can help transform people who happen to live in the same place into a united community. It celebrates diversity in individual plots while creating opportunities for people to work together and learn from each other—about gardening, food preparation, and more. They learn to respect each others’ differences and to appreciate what they have in common. Community gardens build relationships that last beyond the growing season.  (North Carolina Extension, 16pp.)  https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/how-to-organize-a-community-garden

MI Farm to School: Garden to Cafeteria: A Step by Step Guide.  his guide will walk you through the necessary considerations, tips and examples for using school garden produce in your cafeteria or food program.  A garden to cafeteria program can be developed to fit your school’s environment and needs.  There can be one specific goal for having a garden to cafeteria program, or it can be a component of an educational garden project. Regardless of the objective, school gardens require planning, involvement and attention, but provide learning opportunities, enjoyment and delicious fresh food!  (MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, 36 pp.)  http://foodsystems.msu.edu/uploads/files/garden_to_cafeteria_guide.pdf

Michigan Farm to School homepage; a project of MSU Center for Regional Food Systems:  http://foodsystems.msu.edu/our-work/farm_to_school/

Life Lab School Garden Resources webpage.  Based in Santa Cruz, CA, Life Lab cultivates children's love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based education.  Lots of resources for teachers, students, and families.   http://www.lifelab.org/for-educators/schoolgardens/

Collective School Garden Network website.  Planning, Designing, Supplies and Budgeting, Choosing Plants, Seeding and Transplanting, and more, including school garden instruction materials in Spanish.  http://www.csgn.org/csysg

Seed Savers Exchange Community Seed Resource Program.  The program is a collaboration with Seed Matters that supports community seed initiatives and empowers community organizing around sustainable seed.  Since 2014, over 300 community groups in 41 states have joined the program.  http://www.seedsavers.org/csrp

School gardens in summer: Options for utilizing your school garden during summer months.  MSU Extension.  http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/school_gardens_in_summer

Detroit Black Community Food Security Network currently occupies seven acres where they grow more than 30 different fruits and vegetables, practice season extension with three hoop houses, do large scale composting, keep bees, have a rain water retention pond and a solar energy station. They give farm tours to community, church and school groups. https://www.dbcfsn.org

Green Heart Education.  Curriculum, planning, philosophy, and links to related sites.  http://www.greenhearted.org/school-gardens.html