Garden Stories

A small organization with big ideas, the Maine School Garden Network (MSGN) has been carrying out its mission to promote and support youth gardening in Maine since 2002. With over 250 school gardens registered in its online Garden Directory and collaborations with...

When parents and teachers at Granby Elementary in Columbus, OH, formed a garden team in 2017 to develop goals for their school garden, one of their guiding principles was to help make the school more environmentally friendly. “We wanted sustainability to be a theme...

In the heart of Detroit, where asphalt meets earth, a revolution is growing – the Food Warriors Program. Born from the fertile grounds of Nsoroma Institute, this initiative is about more than planting seeds; it's about nurturing souls. As a teacher at Nsoroma, Hanifa...

Jacqueline Briggs Martin is the author of numerous books for children centered around nature, farming, and cooking. Her most recent titles, Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table, Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious, Chef Roy Choi and The Street Food Remix, and...

At Borah High School in Boise, Idaho, what started as an outdoor space for science lessons has transformed into a thriving school garden, orchard, and gathering space, all sustained by a dedicated club of students and their advisors known as the Borah Green Team. “The...

Since 2016, the Heritage Citrus Grove and Gardens project in Rialto, California, has planted over five hundred citrus fruit trees across nineteen elementary schools in Rialto Unified School District (RUSD). As the project’s name suggests, growing and harvesting citrus...

Located in Ashland, Missouri, just a few miles from the Missouri River, the Southern Boone Learning Garden (SBLG) serves more than 850 pre-k through 4th graders each year with a range of garden-, environmental-, and nutrition-focused lesson plans. Although the garden...

An Interview with Authors Amy Wagenfeld and Shannon Marder KidsGardening recently chatted with Amy Wagenfeld and Shannon Marder, both occupational therapists with a deep love of nature who incorporate the outdoors into therapeutic practices. Amy and Shannon are...

For the students at Hillcrest Elementary in Oak Harbor, Washington, Garry Oak trees (Quercus garryana) are a big part of their local landscape, community identity, and even their school gardening experience! “The Hillcrest Garden Learning Program began in 2011 in...

For more than a decade, the students at Charles R. Drew Transition Center (known colloquially as Drew) have been working together to provide an incredible amount of fresh produce to the Detroit community and award-winning restaurants using in-ground, hydroponic, and...

In 2011, Tony Hillery was volunteering in the cafeteria at P.S. 175 in Harlem, NY. His successful limousine business had been forced to close following the ‘08 recession, and working with school kids had become a source of joy, purpose, and perspective. “While I was...

With summer in full swing, gardeners all over the northern hemisphere are shifting their techniques to embrace the increased daylight and warmer temperatures. But how does one garden effectively in Earth’s hottest ecosystems? Drachman Montessori K-8 Magnet School in...

Youth gardens are such wonderful spaces for kids to build community, self-confidence, and so much more. The GroMoreGood Grassroots Grant, brought to you by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and KidsGardening, is designed to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens...

For nearly seven years, the garden at Jessie T. Zoller Elementary School in Schenectady, NY, has been a classroom, a laboratory, a pizzeria, a confectionery, a composting center, and much more. "We work with around 500 students each year at the school, ranging in age...

At just seven years old, Kendall Rae Johnson is Georgia’s youngest certified farmer. Born and raised in Atlanta, Kendall Rae fell in love with gardening when she was three years old thanks to her great-grandmother Laura "Kate" Williams, who showed her how to propagate...

In 2015, Abraxas Continuation High School in Poway, CA, began a school garden by transforming a rarely used tennis court into a thriving outdoor classroom. Teacher Bob Lutticken and several colleagues worked with students to build 40 raised beds (covering half of the...

At Mannsdale Upper Elementary School (MUES) in Madison, Mississippi, third- to fifth-grade students work together to grow and sell produce in a multitude of ways. Trays of microgreens thrive under grow lights. More than 20 hydroponic stations produce lettuce, bok...

For the students of Waimea Middle School on Hawai‘i Island, the garden is a place of learning, reflection, nourishment and so much more. Māla‘ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School was founded in 2005 to cultivate relationships between students and the land...

The team at Eco Urban Gardens (EUG) in Los Angeles partners with schools and their surrounding communities to cultivate edible, educational gardens and neighborhood green spaces. The nonprofit is dedicated to teaching people how to grow food organically using...

As the northernmost state, Alaska has a colder and darker winter than the rest of the country, which also means a shorter outdoor growing season. But at Wrangell Public Schools, educators have figured out a myriad of ways to keep garden-based learning active all year...

Sow it, grow it, eat it, know it! This is the motto of Classroom in Bloom, a one-and-a-half acre non-profit educational garden in Washington State’s Methow Valley. The organization is dedicated to deepening the connection between people and the land through school and...

To celebrate the UN’s International Volunteer Day (Tuesday, December 5, 2017),KidsGardening teamed up with ProFlowers for an exciting garden expansion at Sequoia Elementary School in San Diego, California. Giving back to their local community, close to 30 ProFlowers...

California teen Alicia Serratos doesn’t shy away from a challenge. She’s a student athlete, an accomplished Girl Scout, an environmentalist and social activist – all at just fifteen years old. She’s been involved in volunteer projects from a young age, many of which...

When Hurricane Laura passed through Louisiana in 2020, it caused extensive damage to Rosepine Elementary. As they rebuilt, Enrichment Lab teacher Beth Thomas suggested building a STEM lab on campus. The lab had a perfect outdoor space for gardening, but Thomas had no...

At Baldwin Park High School in Baldwin Park, California, the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) created the new Peace and Pride Garden, a safe space on campus for LGBTQ+ students, allies, and others. The goal of the garden space is to provide a quiet reflective area that is...

The Cav Garden, located at Santiago High School in Garden Grove, California, has an overarching goal of connecting students to food and nature so they become lifelong stewards of their health and the environment. The garden, which incorporates ecological practices...

KidsGardening recently chatted with JaNay Brown-Wood, an award-winning children’s author, poet, educator, and scholar on Instagram Live. She did a read aloud of her latest book, Miguel’s Community Garden, and shared her insights on how gardening with kids supports...

Nikhil and Alex's Roots From the very beginning, the story of Nikhil Arora and Alejandro “Alex” Velez, founders of Back to the Roots has been one of synchronicity. “Synchronicity” is a term first used by Psychologist Carl Jung to refer to deeply meaningful...

For the Buzzell family, gardening is healing. Jinah is the mother of Logan and Lyla who are known as “The Buzz Tots.” They spend many hours together in the garden  – their “jungle” – with bare feet in the soil, playing hide-and-seek, and giggling endlessly. Ever since...

Drops of water glistening on leaves; the earthy smell of soil; green, succulent foliage. Pink petals; bees buzzing; a sweet floral aroma wafting in the air. These sensations are what brings Jasmine Jefferson back to her childhood. Jasmine comes from a...

A friend of Colah compares her to a tree – grounded, growing, and thriving, despite an ever-changing environment. Like many gardeners, Colah Tawkin has learned many life lessons from plants, especially what they can teach us about resilience and adaptability. “Plants...

KidsGardening defines Inclusion as: belonging, voice, community, and safety. Having “Inclusive Signage” in the garden means incorporating these aspects in outdoor learning spaces through visual signs. Nicole Dugat, Executive Director of Schoolyard Roots, shares how...

On November 18, 2021 during an Instagram Live “Garden Story,” Lily Nguyen, Education Specialist at KidsGardening, interviewed Grace Lin about her experience gardening and growing up, and how her experiences shaped her work as a children’s book author. The following...

Wambui Ippolito’s favorite garden is her grandmother’s in East Africa. Her grandmother would return from the city after work and tend to her vegetables, where she and Wambui would bond amongst the flourishing beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.  “It made me feel very...

A Relaxing Garden in Puerto Rico Young Perla Sofía riding her tricycle. When asked about her favorite garden memory, Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago recalls wandering around the streets of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, peeking over her neighbors’ fences to see what they were...

Growing School Gardens: A Virtual Tour Picture your school garden — or any garden — in your head. What's your favorite fruit or vegetable to grow or eat? Arugula." says Tristana Pirkl, program manager of the School Garden Support Organization (SGSO) Network....