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The Long-Lasting School Garden
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“Sustainable” is a word often heard in school garden vocabulary, and for good reason. It is a concept that shows up in garden design and a lifestyle that the garden helps teach our kids. It is also something we strive for as educators invested in bringing garden-based learning to our students: how do we create learning gardens that thrive not just this year, but every year? How do we sustain the finances, the enthusiasm, the staff leadership, and the community involvement that make school gardens possible, even if the budget gets cut or a key garden leader leaves the site?
The Wisconsin School Garden Network (and its predecessor, WSGI), has been lucky enough to connect with many successful – and sustainable – school garden programs across the state over the past three years. While each garden looks different, all the schools shared a few key elements that have been essential to sustaining their programs from year to year. Here is our synopsis of the top five:
- Choose the right size garden for your school: If you’ve never grown a bean before, don’t start with an acre. Always start small, and grow as you are able. Stick with a size that feels attainable.
- Get multiple leaders invested in the garden: Create a garden team or committee, even if one “garden champion” kicks things off. Having multiple leaders ensures that the garden won’t fade into the background even if key players leave. If possible, include facilities staff, teachers, community members, food service staff, administrators, and students.
- Integrate the garden into many different aspects of your school: In our success story this month, Washburn principal Al Krause describes how all the schools who were chosen to help plant the White House garden this spring had one thing in common: gardens that were integrated throughout their curriculum, school, and community. Plan for the garden to be a part of classroom learning and curriculum, after school programs, summer school, Green and Healthy Schools programs, school board planning and policies, and community events.
- Involve the community: Don’t be afraid to ask for help – many people will be excited to give it! Involve community members as volunteers or donors – especially of in-kind materials. Include as many people as possible. Celebrate together with harvest festivals, family fun nights, or volunteer awards. Share what you are doing through stories and quotes in your school newsletter or local paper, and with thank-you letters to volunteers.
- Have a plan for summer: Successful school gardens have a plan for that quintessential school garden question – what do you do during the summer? Answers include weekly volunteers, “adopt-a-garden-plot” programs, summer school or camps, nearby community centers or day cares who don’t have a garden of their own, or planning for quick-growing spring and fall crops such as radishes and lettuce. Read our Summer Maintenance Newsletter - a blast from the WSGI past with lots of great ideas on this topic!
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Funding Your School Garden Program
Having adequate resources for a successful school garden program can be daunting, but it doesn’t need to be. A mix of grants, donations, and sales of value-added products may be the perfect equation for a long-lasting school garden program. This brief will offer suggestions to fund a school garden program now, and for years to come!
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Striving for Farm to School Sustainability This report is one chapter in a collection called Advancing Farm to School: Lessons from the Field, which features "lessons learned” from fourteen organizations that received Community Transformation Grants in 2011. This chapter features three Wisconsin school districts, and stood out as particularly applicable to gardens as a part of a larger Farm to School program. You can also view and read all six chapters here.
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Supporting School Gardens with Master Gardener Volunteers
Volunteers can play an important role in school garden success. Wisconsin is lucky to have a robust Master Gardener Volunteer program run by UW Extension. This publication provides Extension educators and school garden coordinators with tips for creating mutually beneficial relationships between MGVs and school gardens, so that both come away asking for more! Tips are applicable to many other types of volunteers as well!
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What's the Buzz About Bees?
In recognition of National Pollinator Week (June 20-26), we wanted to share this article about native pollinators from the Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine. Integrating your vegetable or flower garden with native pollinator studies can be a great way to promote sustainability not just for the environment, but for your garden-classroom connection as well. Get tips on how to attract and study native pollinators in this short article.
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Gardens and Wellness Policies Brief Incorporating school garden language into a school wellness policy increases the sustainability of the school garden. Such language ensures students far into the future will benefit from the garden. This document serves as a guide for effectively integrating school garden language into a school wellness policy. To learn more about the importance of school wellness policies and the garden related activities they support, refer to: Improving Health with School Wellness Policies brief.
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Green and Healthy Schools Guide
Gardening integrates perfectly with other Green and Healthy initiatives for schools. This free guide has tips on how to form a green team, start sustainability projects at your school, and navigate the GHS online application. Learn from the successes other schools are having in the nine GHS focus areas and find resources to advance your Green and Healthy Schools efforts.
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