1. Urban School Gardens Michigan Family Farms Conference January 15 th, 2011

2. Urban School Gardens  Overview of urban school gardening  Lessons learned

3. Early Roots:  Post-Industrial Revolution: School Gardening Movement  Relief from urban condition  Instill a love of the natural world  Social outlet to direct proper behavior  Encourage study of natural science  Government supported -City Bountiful: A Century of Community Gardening in America Lawson, L. University of California Press, 2005

4. Garden Impacts: Learning  Shown to impact science achievement of upper elementary students  Valuable augmentation of science curriculum  Environmental attitude changes  Increased interest and knowledge in agriculture  Improved attitude, motivation and enthusiasm about school Klemmer, Waliczek, and Zalicek (2005); Smith and Mostenbocker (2005); Dirks and Orvis (2005); Skelly and Zajicek (1999); Mabie and Baker (1996); Brunotts (1998); Faddegan (2005)

5. Garden Impacts: Nutrition  Nutrition lessons combined with gardening produced significant differences in preferences for and willingness to try vegetables over controls  Increase in consumption of cafeteria servings of fruits and vegetables  Increased motivation and enthusiasm for learning about nutrition Lineberger and Zajicek (2000); Morris, Neustadter, Zindenberg-Cher (2001); McAleese and Rankin (2007); Faddegan (2005)

6. Garden Impacts: Social  Gardens shown to increase parental support, enthusiasm and involvement  Students exhibit gains in working with groups & teamwork skills  Impacts to school culture and student feelings of well-being Alexander, North and Hendren (1995); Robinson and Zajicek (2005); Brunotts (1998); Thorp and Townsend (2001); Faddegan (2005)

7. Integrating Curriculum  Gardens as learning labs to meet Grade Level Content Expectations  Health and Nutrition  Science  Math  Language Arts  www.gardenwizard.org www.gardenwizard.org

8. Urban School Gardens: Special Considerations  Soil contamination  Resource constraints  Summer vacation  Land access/innovating space  Intercurricular or extracurricular  Fundraising  “Safe” outdoor space

9. Lessons Learned  Involve as many people as often as you can  Encourage and share leadership with students  Look outside of school for partners  Plan for summer  Evaluate and document your progress  Start small and close to home  Find ways to connect with curriculum  Be flexible and accept imperfections  Have Fun

10. Opportunities for Farmer Involvement  Inspire new generation of growers and local food supporters!  Horticultural expertise  Farm-to-School  Agriculture Education

11. Resources and Support  National Gardening Association – Kids Gardening http://www.kidsgardening.comhttp://www.kidsgardening.com  California School Garden Network www.csgn.org www.csgn.org  School Garden Wizard www.schoolgardenwizard.org www.schoolgardenwizard.org  CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems Youth Community Food Intiative www.miyouthandfood.msu.edu www.miyouthandfood.msu.edu

12. Thank You! Anne C. Scott Youth Community Food Outreach Specialist CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU (517) 353 0751 scottann@msu.edu