School Gardens in the News

1) Hillsboro, OR
Planting Seeds for the Future

It’s Christmas break at Minter Bridge Elementary School in Hillsboro, but visions of sprouting seeds, blooming bulbs and sturdy shrubs just might be dancing in the heads of students and staff and the Hillsboro Garden Club.

The garden club, now in its 80th year, recently forged a partnership with Minter Bridge when members donated seven garden-themed books to the school library as well as a birdhouse that looks like a miniature beaver den.

2) England, UK
UK School Kids Ditch Junk Food for Vegetables They Grow

I’ve long advocated for gardening with kids, not only to connect children closer with nature but to improve their diet. Food for Life Partnership, “a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture,” agrees. The Telegraph reports:

Emma Noble, director of the Food for Life Partnership, said: “It is possible to transform school food culture and to increase school meal take-up at the same time when young people’s views are listened to and school meal changes are supported by practical food education like learning to cook, growing food and visiting farms to learn where food actually comes from.”

3) Washington, DC
Kids Taste A Sweeter Veggie, White House Style

If you didn’t know that spinach tastes sweeter when it’s grown in cool temperatures, it’s likely you haven’t been digging around in a winter garden. The White House has just planted a slew of cold-weather vegetables, and a group of students from an after-school cooking class in Washington, D.C., were among the first to visit.

4) Richmond,CA
Jesse Kurtz-Nicholl’s Interview with Urban Ag High School Student, Ana Araujo

In October 2009, Jesse Kurtz-Nicholl sat down with Ana Araujo to discuss the Urban Agriculture and Food Systems class she participated in at Richmond High School in 2008/2009.  The class was a pilot program, which gave the students graduation credit and was centered around the creation of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and direct sale of produce from a middle school farm and the school garden at Richmond High.

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