It’s March, which means the growing season is upon us! School gardens are a core element of farm to school and a great way to provide opportunities for hands-on learning, inquiry, observation and experimentation across the curriculum, motivate kids to eat and love fruits and vegetables, promote physical activity and quality outdoor experiences, and supply fresh produce to students.

Each school garden is unique and may range from a collection of container gardens, a group of raised beds, an indoor hydroponic system or a half-acre of plowed land. Gardening at your school can be a year-round experience for students, but let’s take a look at some tips and resources that can help your gardening program flourish this spring.

Resources and Tips for Getting Started:

• Plan Ahead. USDA’s People’s Garden Initiative School Garden Checklist and School Garden Fact Sheet provide great overviews of what to consider when implementing a garden at your school
• Reach out to your community for assistance. Busy Bees Natural Learning Center, located in Centre County, received donations of raised garden beds, soil, mulch, and garden plants. Two of their beds are made from old tires donated by a local mechanic!
• Find funding to support your school garden program. Take a look at this Overview of Youth Garden Grants available to support youth gardens.

Activities in the Garden:

• Pollinator gardens are a great way to introduce students to the natural world. Learn how Tamara O’Brien of Plant It Further in Pittsburgh, PA, helps raise native pollinator awareness through education and helps facilitate native pollinator-specific garden growing.
• Invite a local farmer to your school or attend a farm field trip. If managing a garden is outside of your school’s capacity, consider inviting a farmer to your school or taking your students on a field trip to a local farm. This is a great way for students to connect with their local food system and explore a possible career in agriculture. Check out how Welsh Elementary School in Philadelphia partnered with HayDay farms to bring the farm to the classroom in this success story.
• Get inspired by Erie City School District’s farm to school program – a great example of year-round school garden programming. Students plant seeds in the spring, harvest in the fall and have culinary lessons and indoor gardening throughout the winter. Check out their PA Farm to School Success Story and other PA Farm to School programs for more inspiration!
• KidsGardening.org has excellent garden resources, lesson plans and opportunities for educators and caregivers including a year-long webinar series that blends the marvels of nature, the magic of cross-curricular connections and the joy of culinary exploration!

Additional Resources:

• National Farm to School Network has a variety of school garden resources.
• Annie’s Create Your Own Garden Guide is a more detailed guide that includes directions for windowsill gardens and container gardens.
• The Collective School Garden Network’s Steps to a School Garden is a comprehensive online resource for school gardens.

The growing season is also a great time to connect your students with local agriculture, whether that is through farm field trips, hosting a local farmer or grower in your classroom to discuss agriculture or working to provide your students with local food in the cafeteria. The PA Farm to School Network (PFSN) is hosting a virtual open house on March 21, 2024, at 3 PM ET for educators, farmers/growers, school food service directors, parents and community partners to learn about resources and discuss strategies related to connecting students to local farmers.