School Gardens
City Green’s School Grounds mission is to provide outdoor garden classrooms, teacher training, and on-going support for partner schools in New Jersey to enhance academic achievement across disciplines, as well as ensure student interaction with the natural world, access to hands-on experimental learning, and an understanding of where food comes.
Collaborating teachers gain the curriculum, resources, knowledge, and enthusiasm to use this outdoor classroom as an educational asset and as a tool to cultivate a farm-to-school culture that values and celebrates garden education as an integral part of developing the whole child.
School Grounds Program Package
The School Grounds program is available to all schools K-12th grade looking to start a garden program, or expand and enhance an existing garden program. City Green school partnerships look different for each school we work with dependent on that school’s needs and goals. The School Grounds program package may include:
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Custom Built Garden - Design and installation of a custom vegetable garden for the school. Gardens consist of multiple raised beds appropriate for the designated space.
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Teacher Training - Implementation of an annual teacher training for 6 teachers at the school. The training includes: Gardening 101, review of City Green’s Garden Curriculum, and a logistics workshop for the school to strategize the maintenance and use of the garden.
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Garden Curriculum - Every trained teacher will be provided with a selection of City Green’s Garden Curriculum. These printed curriculum books include a variety of garden-based lesson plans with multiple visits to the garden throughout the seasons.
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Seasonal Support - Spring and Fall seed kits to begin the growing season and use throughout the year. Clean ups before spring and fall gardening season.
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On-going Support and Technical Assistance - City Green serves as a source of support to all school partners. This includes garden consultation, garden repairs, and access to the School Grounds network and newsletter including funding and resource opportunities.
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For more information email Miranda at mmadrazo@city-green.org.