Approximately 80 schools in the District of Columbia have a school garden. The benefits of school gardens are many: they engage students who are otherwise unengaged; support cafeteria changes by allowing kids to have a hands-on relationship with the food they are being served; connect the school with parents and the community; and encourage cross-curricular connections.
School Garden Coordinators (SGC’s) play a vital role in the success of a school garden program. SGC’s are responsible for not only maintaining the garden and structuring the program, but engaging students and teachers in rigorous garden science lessons and nutrition education. The mission of our school garden programs is to support and increase the number of school garden coordinators in the District.
The Growing Garden Teachers Program supports school garden coordinators with technical trainings, curricular resources, garden materials and a professional network to share best practices.
The School Garden Internship Program, places interns from local universities with SGC’s enrolled in our Growing Garden Teachers Program.
The Seedling Program, teaches students and teachers at Wilson to use their state of the art greenhouse to grow seedlings for all of the school garden programs enrolled, past and present, in our Growing Garden Teachers program.
DC Greens coordinated the creation of the Stoddert Garden in 2010 through a collaborative process that included the PTA, school staff, students, local businesses and the community. The garden design was based on local and national research of best practices, and the needs of the teachers and staff. DC Greens maintains the site as a model school garden and employs and manages the school garden coordinator.
Resources:
View and download a sample School Garden Coordinator job description.
Volunteer process
The School Garden Program
Checklist for a Successful School Garden Work Day
Checklist for Starting a School Garden
DC School Garden List 2011-2012
Service Provider List
Winterizing Your Garden
F(un)-Cook Book
