Pre-Kindergarten

Urban Community School

Almost 50 years ago, the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland founded Urban Community School (UCS), a quiet gem in the heart of Cleveland’s near west side where a diverse, multilingual population of low-income students, (74 percent qualify for the Federal Food Assistance Program, with more than 2/3 of our student body qualifying for free lunch), concurrently learn academics and social justice.  Our commitment to differentiated instruction, multi-age learning, health and wellness, field trips and peace typifies our unique approach to student learning and success.

The Orchard School - Outdoor Education

A hallmark of an Orchard education, Outdoor Education is education in, about, and for the out of doors. In an increasingly urban world, nature plays a central part in the education of the whole child. Direct experiences help students gain a deeper understanding of life around them, foster respect and an understanding of the interrelationships within the natural environment, and develop an appreciation of people's interdependence with the natural world.

Hoover Elementary School

Hoover Elementary School is one of the public schools in Oakland, CA. Working with a student population that is primarily people of color and often economically disadvantaged and oppressed, our school strives to foster strong relationships between people to prepare the whole child – all our children - for future success while promoting health and wellness in and through our garden community. Essential to our core culture, we teach and model kindness, wellness, ownership, perseverance and curiosity.

Ray Bjork Learning Center

The Ray Bjork Learning Center has a very unique population that is comprised of Special Education Pqreschool, HeadStart, and Gifted and Talented students. With funding from this grant, students will be able to design and implement an outdoor learning garden that is accessible to all students. This is a way to bring these diverse populations together.

Farming For The Future Academy, Inc

The goal I have with this grant is to build a 18x24 ft 3 season greenhouse. The "Onions for Autism...Veggies for Vets" program is a collaborative program between our students and the veterans residing at the Montana Veterans' Home. The greenhouse will allow both parties, community members, employees and the local elementary school to start seeds early, regardless of adverse weather conditions, to use in the 1/4 acre community garden. Many of our students and the elderly residents need to be outdoor, but have sensory issues to extreme weather.

Horseshoe Trails Elementary

The goal for the Horseshoe Trails garden is for all students to have an opportunity to experience gardening. For many of our students, this will be their first gardening experience and we hope to ignite a passion for future gardeners. We'd also like to encourage teachers to utilize the garden as a tool for scientific and multi-disciplinary learning. John Muir said, "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he find it attached to the rest of the world." We believe the garden can be used to teach virtually any subject in a hands-on, meaningful way.

Mount Rose PK-8 Academy of Languages

It is the mission of the Mount Rose School Garden to provide an outdoor garden space for teachers to incorporate into their science, writing and math curriculum as well as provide our diverse student population with an experience that they may not otherwise have access to. Creating a sustainable school garden will engage and educate students, teachers, parents and the community in the importance of fresh local food and ultimately teach them to take pride in themselves, their school and what they are eating.

Eliot K-8

Goals of the Eliot garden program are to promote health and wellness and decrease obesity, decrease the academic achievement gap, and build connections between the Eliot school families and neighborhood community. We aim to decrease obesity among Eliot students and staff by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, increasing awareness of the relationship of fresh, local produce and health, and increasing awareness of sustainable agriculture and local production of food. We aim to decrease the academic achievement gap by incorporating equitable experiential learning into core subjects.

Kolter Elementary School

Kolter's garden is part of our outdoor learning center. The primary goal of the garden is to get students excited about growing their own food. We believe that people who are better informed as to how their food is grown are better prepared to make healthy choices as to what fuels their body. Our hope is that getting these students involved and invested at an early age will create a lifelong habit of healthy living. Additionally, we have learned that kids who have participated in the gardening process are more likely to try new foods.

Roxbury Central School Garden

The RCS garden club, harvested its first crops in 2003 and garden activities have been integrated into core curriculum, into the after school program, the summer youth program, and the community at large, who often donate tools, perennials and seeds. Students are involved in every aspect of the garden; designing a planting schedule, selection and maintenance of the crops, monitoring soil and compost health, and harvesting the boutny for the cafeteria. The goals of the garden are to enhance student ecological and agricultural literacy and environmental awareness.

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