Synopses & Reviews
In this groundbreaking resource, two school garden pioneers offer parents, teachers, and school administrators everything they need to know to build school gardens and to develop the programs that support them.
Today both schools and parents have a unique opportunity — and an increasing responsibility — to cultivate an awareness of our finite resources, to reinforce values of environmental stewardship, to help students understand concepts of nutrition and health, and to connect children to the natural world. What better way to do this than by engaging young people, their families, and teachers in the wondrous outdoor classroom that is their very own school garden?
It is all here: developing the concept, planning, fundraising, organizing, designing the space, preparing the site, working with parents and schools, teaching in the garden, planting, harvesting, and even cooking, with kid-friendly recipes and year-round activities. Packed with strategies, to-do lists, sample letters, detailed lesson plans, and tricks of the trade from decades of experience developing school garden programs for grades K-8, this hands-on approach will make school garden projects accessible, inexpensive, and sustainable.
Reclaiming a piece of neglected play yard and transforming it into an ecologically rich school garden is among the most beneficial activities that parents, teachers, and children can undertake together. The book provides all the tools that the school community needs to build a productive and engaging school garden that will continue to inspire and nurture their students and families for years to come.
Review
"The bounty of information is presented in ways that will generate excitement and provide inspiration. [An] excellent manual for teachers and parents." Booklist
Review
"As a former early childhood educator and one who gardened with her students, let me say that I wish this book would have existed when I was in the classroom. How to Grow a School Garden takes away the guesswork and provides tip after tip from two women who have many ears of school garden experience under their belts....This book is a must-read for anyone (parent or teachers) interested in bringing gardens to their own school community." CafeMom.com
Synopsis
A school garden is a tremendously valuable tool to help young people turn book knowledge into real experience. This book is a must-have resource for anyone considering embarking on a youth gardening adventure. Mike Metallo, President, National Gardening Association
In this groundbreaking resource, two school garden pioneers offer parents, teachers, and school administrators everything they need to know to build school gardens and to develop the programs that support them.Today both schools and parents have a unique opportunity and an increasing responsibility to cultivate an awareness of our finite resources, to reinforce values of environmental stewardship, to help students understand concepts of nutrition and health, and to connect children to the natural world. What better way to do this than by engaging young people, their families, and teachers in the wondrous outdoor classroom that is their very own school garden?
It's all here: developing the concept, planning, fund-raising, organizing, designing the space, preparing the site, working with parents and schools, teaching in the garden, planting, harvesting, and even cooking, with kid-friendly recipes and year-round activities. Packed with strategies, to-do lists, sample letters, detailed lesson plans, and tricks of the trade from decades of experience developing school garden programs for grades K 8, this hands-on approach will make school garden projects accessible, inexpensive, and sustainable."
Synopsis
In this groundbreaking resource, two school garden pioneers offer parents, teachers, and school administrators everything they need to know to build school gardens and to develop the programs that support them.
About the Author
Arden Bucklin-Sporer is executive director of the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance, an advocacy organization for school gardens and outdoor classrooms. She is the director of educational gardens for the San Francisco Unified School District, and a founding partner of Bay Tree Design, Inc., a landscape architecture firm. Arden has worked with green schoolyards and public school gardens for over a decade, building an award-winning school garden program as a public school parent and working closely with school districts at the local, state and national level. Her interest in urban agriculture is fueled by her family's organic farm and vineyard in Sonoma County, CA. Arden lives in San Francisco and Sonoma with her husband and three mostly grown sons.
Rachel Kathleen Pringle is programs manager for the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance. She is also the urban school garden liaison for Occidental Arts & Ecology Center's School Garden Teacher Training Program in Sonoma County, California. Rachel has worked in the environmental education field since moving to California in 2002. She has taught in a public school garden, integrating the curriculum into the outdoor classroom and planning events, and has created and led workshops for garden coordinators, parents, and community members while collaborating with local environmental organizations. Before earning a Master's degree in Conservation Biology, Rachel raised cattle and kept a garden while growing up on a small farm in rural Maine.