School Learning Garden Initiative
School gardens have a long history of providing children with meaningful, ‘real-world’, experiential learning. Unfortunately, many of these programs lack sufficient funds, volunteers, and accessibility for all students. Our root2RISE Project is dedicated to addressing these barriers by helping West Hartford school garden coordinators to create an inclusive, sustainable program that continues to thrive even after families move on.
Click here for a downloadable PDF.
root2RISE - School Garden Support Organization
Level 1 Support
For school gardens with an already strong school garden program, R2R can help fill in the gaps and coordinate Spring and Fall Farmer’s Markets.
Level 2 Support
School garden program that may simply need a reset. R2R can help provide the following support:
Design and build raised beds
Provide schools with a starter kit of seeds and supplies
Develop strategies and ideas to get families engaged and involved
Level 3 Support
For schools looking for more? R2R can help to create a multicultural, inclusive, and empowering school learning garden program that can deepen students’ connection to themselves and each other.
R2R will:
Promote multi-cultural and cross-cultural understanding through language, food and farming traditions
Build an intentionally diverse team represented by families, faculty and volunteers
Develop a pilot a 6/7-week program, 45 min, 1x per week, per grade level.
Students become scientists, artists, journalists and explorers engaged in hands-on, place-based discovery of the diversity of the habitats in which we all live and the complete history of the land.
What will this look like at your school? For more detailed lesson plans, click here.
