1. Maple Grove School Garden

2. School Garden Meeting Agenda
Introduction (Liz Renneker – School Garden Co-chair)
Mission & Vision
What has been done to date?
Benefits
Jeffco School Gardens (Emily O’Winter – District Healthy Schools Coordinator)
Why School Gardens?
History of Gardens in Jeffco
Typical progression of a garden
Question and Answers about school gardens
Jeffco Garden Curriculum
Financial Support Requirements (Liz Renneker)
Funding Requirements
Construction Plan

3. School Garden Mission
Our mission is to work together as a school community to provide experiential learning that will enrich and support our academic curriculum while promoting healthy living and teaching life long skills.

4. School Garden Vision
Building a successful garden will give Maple Grove:
Multiple raised beds filled with produce, herbs, and flowers
An outdoor extension of the classroom as teachers and students will utilize the space to enrich and provide hands on learning in all subject curriculum.
An opportunity for children to harvest food from the garden to enjoy in recipes and cafeteria salad bar
Teach children where food originates and provide life long health habits to combat our nation’s obesity epidemic
After school garden clubs to expand learning in the garden
Farmers’ Market to teach economics, marketing, sustainability
Potential for increased parent engagement

5. School Garden Vision
∙Students will be involved in the planning
∙Students and teachers will be excited at the opportunity to take learning outside, breathe in fresh air, and observe life in the garden
∙Students will learn to appreciate nature, dig in the dirt, witness science before their own eyes
∙ Evolve into indoor growers inside the classroom- seed starters, small greenhouses

6. Steps taken thus far: March 2014 – April 2014 –
School garden proposal was introduced to the PTA board and Mr. Stone
The PTA Board reviewed it and decided to go forward with the project
Meetings held with representatives from Mitchell and Prospect Valley to learn more about their school gardens. Various school gardens were toured in person
April 2014 –
Meeting with Emily O’Winter, Jeffco Healthy Schools Coordinator to learn about Jeffco’s school garden guidelines and programs
District paperwork was started
Meeting with Patti Fields, Maple Grove Facilities Manager considering logistics
Committee meeting including Mr. Stone, Mrs. Ramaker (teacher representative), and parents to discuss site locations and fundraising/sponsorships
Attended the School Garden Summit to learn more about starting and sustaining gardens in JeffCo. Respresentatives at the conference included Emily O’Winter, Whole Foods Kids Foundation, Slow Food Denver, Denver Urban Gardens

7. May 2014 Met with a local gardener to discuss location, layout, and budget of contracting design and layout. Services are very pricey so it was decided that we will look harder for a community member willing and able to help.
List of businesses to approach for support formed.
June 2014 Multiple grant applications written and submitted.
Application for Whole Foods Bag Donation program submitted and awarded!
Shop Whole Foods Colfax, bring your reusable bags, and donate the bag credit to our garden!

8. Denver Public Schools with gardens
Over 80 schools in DPS have school gardens
DPS food safety protocol for garden to cafeteria is now a national model

9. A look at area school gardens
Mitchell School Garden, Golden, CO

10. Photo credit: Denver Urban Gardens

11. School Gardens Impact on Academic Performance
Boost Science achievement scores - Science educators have long recognized the value of school gardens in motivating students to study science. Recent studies show that school gardening programs also boost students’ scores on science achievement tests (Klemmer, Waliczek, Zajicek, 2005).
Develops critical thinking – A study of 3rd and 4th graders involved in a school garden program supports students inquiry, connection to natural world and engages students in process of formulating meaningful questions (Habib & Doherty, 2007).
Expands experiential learning - Students involved with school gardens generally take pleasure in learning and show positive attitudes towards education (Canaris, 1995; Dirks & Orvis, 2005).

12. Benefits of a School Garden
Build a sense of community
Observe small seeds turn into food
Instill appreciation and respect for nature that lasts into adulthood
Improve social skills and behavior
Students who participate in school gardens report eating healthier snacks
Students who garden are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables
Students tend to learn more and better when they are actively involved in the learning process •

13. Jeffco School Gardens Emily O’Winter: District
Healthy Schools Coordinator

14. Jeffco School Gardens Why School Gardens? School Climate and Culture
Parent Involvement
Enhanced Instructional Opportunities
Understanding of food systems
Increased consumption of fruits and veggies
Increased likelihood of lifetime gardening
Decreased sedentary time

15. Jeffco School Gardens History of Gardens in Jeffco
33 School Gardens in Jeffco (3 are green houses)
Partners:
Slow Food Denver
Denver Urban Gardens
Jefferson County Public Health
CSU Extension Office
Garden to Cafeteria
Garden Curriculum

16. Jeffco School Gardens Typical progression of a garden Build out: yr 1
Programing: yrs 1+
Classroom use: yrs 2+

17. Jeffco School Gardens Typical Questions and Answers Funding
Programming
Summer maintenance
Vandalism
Excess Produce?
Classroom Use

18. Gardening can bring any aspect of the curriculum to life
We have such a wonderful opportunity to bring a school garden to Maple Grove!

19. Supporting and Enriching Curriculum
Research shows that project based learning improves understanding and depth of knowledge, is essential for cross-curricular learning and 21st Centaury Skills Jeffco School Garden Curriculum makes it manageable for teachers to utilize All subject matter: science, literature, social studies, history, math, health and nutrition
   

20. School Garden Construction Cost Estimate
(% By Category)
NOTE: Overall % cost of categories marked with a (*) could be reduced if volunteer labor is used vs. a contractor.
Data Source: Jeffco School Gardens

21. How do we make this successful?
FUNDING
Reach out to community connections: Donation of skill, time, material
In-Kind Donations from local businesses: monetary or materials; names to be listed on a garden sign
Grants
PTA Support

22. How do we make this successful?
Community and staff educated and interest verified
Tiered approach: different ideas to be discussed
The non negotiable items mandated by the district and starting ‘small’ with a limited number of beds in the space, smaller storage shed, as examples
Intro students with teachers that are on board with utilizing the garden and enriching their curriculum and experiences
Certain grade levels trial the garden
Before and after school activities: potentially volunteer run, bring in after school providers to run a unit, different classes offered individually or as part of a garden club
Exit plan: If this should not take off after 2-3 years we will have a plan in place to donate or sell salvageable material, bulldoze, and resod area

23. Moving Forward
-Presentation to teachers and staff regarding curriculum and addressing their potential concerns will happen next week with Jeffco Healthy Schools coordinator -PTA proposed amount will be modified and voted on at the October 8th meeting -Garden committee will meet to discuss futher fundraising/ gathering sponsors and donations from local businesses -People can volunteer for a small or larger role in this project -Construction will begin and a tiered approach will be formulated—