Plant it! Garden Grantees
Congratulations to the 2026 Plant It! Grantees
KidsGardening and Niagara Cares are partnering to create the Plant it! Garden Grant, a program dedicated to creating and expanding youth garden spaces in communities across the country.
With a special focus on increasing access to fresh, healthy food, the Plant it! Garden Grant supports garden projects that help address food insecurity while creating meaningful learning and community building opportunities for youth.
Grantees will receive a customized garden design tailored to their site, educational resources, a $10,000 grant award to use toward garden materials, and hands-on support from Niagara employee volunteers.
Caramel Connections (Ontario, CA)
Their mission is to advance health equity by increasing access to fresh, nutritious food, hands-on education, and safe green spaces for underserved families in the Inland Empire. The Seeds of Joy Community Garden provides a culturally inclusive environment where youth and families learn to grow their own food and build lifelong healthy habits.
Their educational goals are to improve health literacy, promote nutrition awareness, and teach sustainable gardening practices. Youth develop skills in planting, harvesting, composting, and environmental stewardship while also strengthening leadership, teamwork, and community connection. Through garden-based learning, they aim to empower participants to make informed food choices and contribute to healthier, more resilient communities.
Heartwood Montessori (Mesa, AZ)
The mission of Heartwood Montessori’s school garden program is to cultivate healthy, curious, and environmentally responsible learners through hands-on experiences that connect children to nature, nutrition, and sustainable food systems. As a Montessori school, they believe children learn best through meaningful, real-world activities that engage the whole child.
Their educational goals are to teach students where food comes from, encourage healthy eating habits, and foster environmental stewardship. The garden will provide opportunities to develop responsibility, observation skills, problem-solving abilities, and collaboration while reinforcing Montessori principles of independence and respect for the natural world. By integrating garden-based learning across grade levels, they aim to increase students’ knowledge of healthy foods, strengthen their connection to nature, and inspire lifelong wellness habits.
Hughbanks Elementary (Rialto, CA)
The Hughbanks Elementary Community Garden exists to inspire curiosity, promote healthy living, and cultivate environmental stewardship through hands-on learning. Their mission is to provide students and families with meaningful outdoor experiences that connect classroom learning to the natural world while strengthening their school community.
Their goals are to increase student engagement through garden-based education, teach sustainable gardening practices and nutrition, encourage physical activity and outdoor exploration, and foster teamwork, responsibility, and leadership. The garden will serve as a living classroom where students develop problem-solving skills, gain a deeper appreciation for nature, and build lifelong healthy habits. They also aim to create opportunities for family and community involvement, ensuring the garden becomes a welcoming space where learning, collaboration, and service flourish for generations of Hughbanks students.
Royal Manor Elementary (Gahanna, OH)
Royal Manor Elementary’s first goal is to build on a 2025-26 year-long USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grant that helped their students discover new flavors, build healthy habits, and explore fresh fruits and vegetables. They plan to grow some of those same vegetables themselves- building excitement and hands-on opportunities that promote science education while enhancing the school’s sense of community.
Their third goal is to use the program as a way to elevate their school’s current Buddy Program where older students partner with younger students to grow leadership and social skills. The buddy pairs will work on activities related to the garden. Finally, they plan to establish a new garden club that will support students in exploring gardening, conservation, and environmental stewardship in more depth.
Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA (Los Angeles, CA)
The mission of the Weingart East LA YMCA’s (WELA Y) youth garden initiative is to cultivate lifelong connections to healthy food, nature, and community through hands-on gardening experiences. The garden will serve as an outdoor classroom where youth plant and harvest fruits, vegetables, herbs, and pollinator-friendly plants.
Their educational goals are to build nutrition literacy, encourage environmental stewardship, develop gardening skills, and strengthen social-emotional skills through experiential learning. Above all, the garden will give youth the opportunity to experience the pride and joy of growing, harvesting, and sharing healthy food with their families and community.
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Our Grantees
Meet our amazing grantees, listed by award.