Upper Elementary

 The Wisdom Garden supports elementary, middle and high school, students, as well as after school, pre-school, Saturday and summer camp participants through agriculture based programs. Our 5,000 square foot Wisdom Garden is located at a public school, Spann Elementary School in Jackson, Mississippi.It was implemented as a teaching garden to help promote healthy eating, nutrition and agriculture education at this Title I school where 88% of the students receive free and reduced lunch.

 The garden is small right now but we are growing kale, radish, turnip, and mustards. It is part of the Weinstein JCC's afterschool program called Kid's Place for grades K-5. Gardening is one class in the afterschool program and it's just getting off the ground! For 30 minutes each week, every grade has their gardening class. So far they've devoured kale chips (and raw kale!), used veggies and fruits as stamps, sampled radish sprouts (reactions from 'that tastes like baby food' to 'when can we have more?' were shouted), and worked in the garden doing various chores.

The STAR Academy Garden will benefit our school children by providing a hands-on experience for our students to go along with their science, social studies, math and health/nutrition studies. Our garden has already begun to positively impact our school community by bringing parents, teachers and students together. Parents who have never been involved in our school before are excited that they have found a way to contribute to our school community.

 The Garden of Hope is a sacred place and learning center for San Domenico students and faculty, but has expanded to become a model for the greater community. Our sustainability program has been featured in articles in the Marin Independent Journal, Marin Magazine, Terra Magazine, Red Orbit, More Marin, and other magazines such as Fast Forward. It is known as a place to showcase how other school gardens, community organizations, and individuals can learn how to live more sustainably with the earth.