Dolores Gonzales Elementary School

The goal of our Dolores Gonzales Elementary Jardin de la Familia (Our Family Garden) is to increase students', families, and the community's awareness and appreciation of the importance of gardening and agriculture in our New Mexican communities. We also are striving to meaningfully integrate the garden into the school curriculum by continuing weekly lessons in various K-2 grade classes. The garden has been used to integrate many subjects into the garden lessons such as math, science, health, and literacy. Our garden also seeks to increase the connection between students, families, community, and the school itself. Our school is categorized as a completely free lunch school and we are in a low-income area, thus our school can always benefit from extra resources. Our garden has served to not only beautify our school, but has become a gathering space that the school and community partners are proud of.