John Hannigan School

In 2014, Hannigan was one of two schools in New Bedford that partnered with Grow Education (Grow), a program of the Marion Institute, to create a school-based garden. Grow offers teachers the opportunity to engage and collaborate through retreats and workshops, focused on enhancing community partnerships and incorporating garden-based learning into curriculum standards.  Through the creation of school-based gardens, Grow aims to increase accessibility to locally grown food and strengthen New Bedford community and public school collaboration.

Hannigan Elementary has a population of about 300 students, 95% of which are living below the poverty line. The families in the school community are a wealth of knowledge when it comes utilizing the whole plant and making traditional Portuguese and Cape Verdean soups.  Parental engagement has increased since the idea of a garden was adopted, and we hope to see the engagement continue to grow throughout the summer.  

To learn more about the Hannigan garden journey or about Grow Education programming, visit http://www.marioninstitute.org/programs/grow-education.