Lower Elementary

Addison Elementary School

We have an established Garden Program at Addison Elementary School with a vibrant 17 year history. We are very concerned that a large percentage of our existing garden beds were originally constructed of pressure treated wood which makes us unable to allow the students to eat the fruits & veggies of their labors.- limiting the full impact and benefit of teaching the "farm to table" concept in a school garden setting. We are in the process of rebuilding or repurposing our existing garden beds to make them safe for edibles.

Antioch School

The goal of the Antioch School garden is to enrich the lives and learning of the children. The garden will not only be incorporated into the academic subjects, but will also be incorporated in artistic endeavors and involve children in physical activity to strengthen both muscles and neural pathways, and serve as a quiet space to process learning and connect with nature. The garden has existed since 1994. It has been used to varying degrees, but there have been significant barriers to it being more fully utilized.

Ursuline Academy

The Herb Garden at Ursuline Academy is an effort to provide an outdoor, hands on learning environment where students can experience a wide variety of activities that support lessons in health and nutrition, and science while being enhanced in a cross curricular experience in art, English and other subject areas. Some areas of study will include:
1.) Life cycles using vermiculture (a worm farm with Red Wigglers) and butterflies
2. ) Recycling by producing compost and vermiculutre to naturally fertilize the soil with waste plant and food products

Paul H. Cale Elementary

Our goal is to provide outdoor, engaging, authentic garden experiences that bring academic standards to life for our students. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate responsibility, collaborate on nurturing plants, understand basic principles of organic gardening, experiment, explore, investigate, wonder and appreciate the utility, beauty and resilient nature of plants. For example, one of our big projects will be to plant apples trees. Studying the science and history of apples is a core part of the kindergarten curriculum.

Maplewood-Richmond Heights Early Childhood Center

This grant will help continue to fund our on-going garden expenses. Our garden program is in it's 7th year and we currently serve 350+ children ages 3 to 7 with one hour of contact time per child, per week for 40 weeks per year.
The Seed to Table program goals are to:
Promote principles of sustainability and stewardship
Teach respect for nature and the environment
Teach the basic principles of organic gardening
Engage in hands-on exploration of food and nutrition
Emphasize healthy lifestyle choices

Bridgeport Elementary

Our primary goal is to educate the children and inspire them to eat healthier. We want them to learn where their food comes from and to take part in the process of growing their own food. There are far too many "picky" eaters, and we have seen how adventurous children can become with what they eat when they have worked in the garden to grow their food and experience vegetables they didn't even know about or were afraid to try. As a community, we feel a garden project will get people involved and bring the community together.

Glenmoor Elementary School

Our garden's goal is to teach the children at Glenmoor Elementary to eat more fresh, whole foods through the school garden program. The grant will make it possible for the school to provide the resources and materials to get this program started and able to flourish. We are excited to have the opportunity to teach the children to grow their own foods and eventually taste the fruits of their labor in the school cafeteria salad bar.

Blessed Sacrament Catholic School

The goal is to integrate gardening into all classrooms across the curriculum including teaching about organic & heirloom vegetables. Another goal of the coordinator is to make the garden self-sustaining. During this 2nd year, we would like to see a mulching program begin, use of 3-bin compost system to use cafeteria waste, worm bins added, and most importantly to expand the garden from its current 40'x10' section to almost double in size, 80' x 15'. Eventually, we would like to add a mini greenhouse to the campus.

Open Classroom

The goal of the garden at the Open Classroom is to involve children in an experience of growing and harvesting food, to teach and enrich the students, provide interest to the surrounding community and support the school's mission of whole child enrichment.

Sugarland Elementary School

This garden has many goals; community building, environmental awareness, healthy eating, as well as outdoor activity and education. The garden offers the students of Sugarland Elementary a safe environment where they can be excited about learning in new and different ways about so much more than is contained in a regular curriculum. The garden will also offer students in this Title 1 school, a window into health, that they may not have access to otherwise, the kind of opportunity that will change the course of a students life.

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