Lincoln Green Thumbs @ Lincoln Elementary School Garden

The Lincoln Elementary Green Thumbs Garden is located in the small, rural town of Bedford, Indiana.  Our garden originally began as a project for Mrs. Hooten’s 5th grade class back in 2014. They rented a plot at the Bedford Community Garden and took field trips throughout the spring and summer to plant, weed, & harvest.  In 2016, we were able to begin a new program, Lincoln Green Thumbs.

Today, after four years of hard work, fundraising, and community outreach we now have 2 large garden sites on our school grounds as well as a garden club that involves more than 90 students, grades K-6, on a weekly basis.  The courtyard garden in the center of our school boasts a greenhouse, 11 raised beds, and a small collection of flowers. The larger garden behind our gym has 26 raised beds, a shed, composter, rain barrel, berry bushes, fruit trees, culinary herbs, vegetable plants, pollinator habitat, and bird feeders. In the spring, we will add 4 benches as well as a mulch surface border.

Both areas are dedicated to providing hands-on learning opportunities that bring academic subjects to life for young students.  We particularly concentrate on environment and health-related lessons to help students understand their relationship with the earth and their bodies.