The Wisdom Garden

 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 need was clear both at the school and in the community with the highest childhood obesity and food insecurity rates in the country. The garden is also part of the plan to bring nutrition awareness, plant based learning, hands on science and math, fitness, social skills, social studies, art and cooking classes at all 530 Spann students and interested after school and pre-school classes. Vegetables are given away once a month at a student led farm stand and free produce is given to the children and families who live in the community and attend the school. The garden, is a wonderful teaching tool, but has also become a community healer. Neighbors who were estranged from the Spann School for years, and whose children attend private schools not the Spann School, have become reengaged with the school through the Wisdom Garden. It allows for volunteer opportunities, pride and exercise for people in the community and helps to provide fresh produce for some elderly shut-ins and non-driving seniors. We are very proud of what a 5,000 square foot garden has brought to our students and our community and so are they!