Garden Classrooms

Excelsior Youth Center

Excelsior Youth Center's ultimate goal in terms of the garden is to foster an interest in science horticulture and green industries that will serve our at risk students during and well beyond their stay with us by promoting academic achievement and creating career possibilities for them. Additionally the therapeutic potential of this garden will greatly enhance our students' experience as they both work in the garden with our volunteers and use it as a place of respite.

Everette Lee DeGolyer Elementary School

The school garden will allow parents teachers and students to take classroom learning outside allow the students to see first-hand how real life experiences and classroom learning connect give students and teachers shared experiences that they can build upon allow students to connect to the earth and see where food really comes from. We will use the garden to:build community; build vocabulary; allow kinesthetic learners to move outdoors; expose children to nature.

Eugene Field Elementary School

Our goal is to empower students to become agents of change in their communities. We believe that the experience of working in the garden and the many skills developed including problem-solving future-thinking teamwork hard work etc. are keys to breaking the cycle of poverty that exists in the communities where we work. The Whole Kids Foundation grant will continue to make our presence possible as we cultivate deeper relationships with students and parents and invite them into the garden to work learn and teach.

Estella Foothills High School

Generally we want our students to become more aware of healthy food choices and the importance of eating properly. Individual teachers and departments will use the garden with a more specific focus. Biology classes may use the garden to study small environments and the various relationships within a garden. The Foods class will be able to utilize many of the foods grown.

Erie Elementary School

Our school gardens serves as living classrooms or outdoor laboratories where our fourth and fifth grade children can apply academic subjects such as natural sciences mathematics languages and even fine arts. Our fourth and fifth grade children can practice their social and life skills and learn hands-on how to grow healthy food and eat well. Our teachers have cited an increased engagement through physical learning self-esteem and responsibility.

Emerson Elementary School

The main goal of the school garden is to improve Berwyn's eating habits. We hope the garden will infect the local community by first teaching kids life lessons about healthy eating nutrition and the varied benefits of whole foods over processed foods. They can then bring these lessons to their parents too many of whom now send kids to school with Lunchables and Funyuns. Second the garden will generate interest in home gardening so more Berwyn families will grow their own healthy food.

Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School

The goal of this project is to create viable lesson plans that integrate the garden into all subject areas. All of the workshops will be based on the theme of the classrooms and integrate the Common Core Standards in Language Arts and/or Math. These garden workshops will become an integral part of the classroom curriculums and become part of the culture of the school.

El Montecito School

Our goal is to have a vibrant garden to provide opportunities in gardening nutrition and to integrate curricula for each grade to enhance students' learning experiences. This grant will make it possible for that learning to happen now instead of several years from now. Our pre-schoolers will see seeds grow into food they can enjoy; our 1st graders will get a taste of the farming they read about in books and our 2nd graders will grow and touch plants they read about and study in science.

Egan Junior High School

Our goal is to 'complete'(of course gardens are never really complete!) the educational edible gardens at all 9 schools so that every classroom has garden space for their lessons and to equip each school site with tools they need to maintain their gardens. Each school proposal represents their particular needs based on their garden activities and the garden leaders. We want each school to have the means to grow healthy vegetables and fruits for years to come and for the Living Classroom

Edwin Markham Middle School

Our goals are to:.1. Educate elementary students about the importance of fruits and vegetables.2. Energize and excite them about produce.3. Introduce fresh produce into the diets of students and their families.4. Give schools access to a variety of resources and support to help achieve Goals 1-3.This grant allows us to maintain the upkeep of the gardens (youth volunteer incentives recruitment etc.) and instruct the Teaching Gardens curriculum (teacher stipends curricular costs etc.).

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