how do i start a school community garden ?

22 years ago

hello !

I just moved to B.C. and my daughters school , wants to start a school garden , are there any links or websites out there ,were i can read up on how to start this project? we need to come up with an proposel for the principal to get it approved , what probs could we run into and how to fix or avoid (bureaucracy)is some one out there from canada that started a project like that from scrach , and could you help with info ?????

you can contact me privatly too

at inahurry@cablelan.net

Thank you very much

Karin

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

esands_axion_net
22 years ago
Karin - I think it's great that you want to start a community garden at your daughter's school. What city do you live in? There are quite a few community gardens already in existence in Vancouver and other cities in BC. You can find out about some of them at www.cityfarmer.org and at www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook. A great community garden to go and have a look at is Strathcona Community Garden on Prior Street at Hawkes in Vancouver. I think it is the largest in the city and very well established. They have communal orchards, beehives and lots of individual plots. I have a plot at the Arbutus Victory Gardens which are on East Boulevard in Vancouver, between 49th and 57th. I'll bet the kids at your daughter's school would love to learn about gardening. I wish you the best of luck with your project. Keep us posted, okay?
digging
22 years ago
Check on the web for the Edible Schoolyard Project.
Related Discussions
Update on School/Community Garden
Q
Comments (8)
One other suggestion, albeit silly-sounding, how about adding a bird feeder or two? I know that the residents at the nursing home here spend the majority of their time where they can watch the birds. Oh, wait, I have one other thing before I hush for the night, I have tons of extra seed left from year to year, mostly heirloom seeds that can be saved. If you would be interested, I would more than happy to see someone get some good use out of them next year if you want the extras. Some of these varieties have been handed down for centuries, and have wonderful stories to go with them. It would be a great project to make some "seed-story" markers that tell the history of some of the varieties. For example, there is a corn variety (i would have to look up the name again) that a man shared with his best friend under the strict condition that he use it only for himself. The best friend sold the seed for a very large sum of money and this action ended their life-long friendship. Although, if you were to do this, you would probably want more of the local varieties that would have a regional history, but my offer still stands. Just let me know, and I will hook you up for next year. Norma
...See More
Seed suggestions for school project/community garden
Q
Comments (12)
Probably the easiest to find milkweed seeds are common (A. syriaca), swamp (A. incarnata), butterflyweed (A. tuberosa), and tropical (A. curassavica). The tropical is not native or hardy up north and grown as an annual, but it is readily available and easy to grow. I'm sure if you posted on the seed exchange that you were looking for a large amount of milkweed seed you would get several offers for postage only or maybe even free since it is for a school project. Gardeners are pretty generous I have found especially if you are teaching kids to get involved with nature. Be sure to educate the kids and any plant recipients about the nature of milkweed and that the "milk" inside is an irritant that can cause eye damage if not handled properly. Some varieties like the common milkweed can exude lots of milk when cut while others like butterfly weed are much less drippy. The common is an excellent food source as it gets tall with quite large leaves and spreads a lot, but it may not be wanted in small gardens due to the aggressive nature. It is better for wilder areas. Swamp milkweed is smaller and less aggressive and likes moister soil obviously. Butterfly weed is even smaller and bushier and tolerates dry soil and has a large taproot to seek out moisture. I have had cats on all these kinds although the butterfly weed is less used when other juicier types are available. The butterfly weed is popular when first planted when the leaves are young and tender. In the pic below you can see I had my very first cats on tiny freshly planted seedlings of butterfly weed that I was shocked they even found. I agree with KC that you could try other butterfly host and nectar plants as well for some variety. Hosts for black swallowtails are readily available too. That butterfly life cycle book is excellent. While it doesn't cover all the butterflies it covers most of the common ones with great pictures that are very kid friendly. Most of the plants are easy to start using the wintersowing method. And easy option would be to sow seeds in extra large plastic drink cups, quart size yogurt tubs, or similar containers. The open tops make them easy to sow in, transport, gift, and plant out from. Below is a link the wintersowing FAQ if you aren't familiar with it. Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersowing FAQ
...See More
starting a community garden but have no idea where to start
Q
Comments (2)
David, I had going a very long post of recommendation when the electricity went blip and I lost it all...damn. Well, here goes again...start with a "business plan" outlining all the important parts of the project and a timeline for completing steps to completion. Some questions for you to consider: Who is doing the work? The site has to be cleared of trash, the soil tested for heavy metals and toxins, and the garden units laid out and generally prepped with available potable water for garden plots and gardeners. Who are your gardeners? Have you polled the neighbors, local religious and ethnic centers? Will you be charging them for their plots? What are their responsibilities to the garden and to each other? How will you get liability insurance (Your property owner probably won't let you run a community garden without insurance unless you can get the city park's department or public works to sponsor the project). An association with a local agency might give you more for the invested buck. What are your security needs for the garden and the gardeners? Fencing is a minimum. Have you got sponsors to help pay for preparation, layout, tools and other expenses? The garden ought to have sets of simple tools and a safe storage place. Try to interest local houses of worship, ethnic clubs, ethnic grocers, local botanical and garden clubs (check with Brooklyn Botanical Garden and New York Botanic Garden -- the first publishes little gardening books including one I think on community gardens. There are already a large number of community gardens in the NY Metropolitan area for you to visit and talk about your vision. Good luck, hope this helps, Marshall
...See More
Tips for starting a community garden
Q
Comments (1)
Hi from NY! Go to your local township and ask their advice. Most are always looking for people or organizations to beautify areas in their towns. Best of Luck!
...See More
leslie_blooming
22 years ago
Also have a look at evergreen.ca
herbs_nbnet_nb_ca
22 years ago
You might check out this one:

www.biodiversityonline.ca/schoolgrounds

There are quite a few photos of schools in Canada.

Good luck!
mountainsong
20 years ago
Hi, The original post about starting a school community garden is quite old, so I thought I'd re-post on the topic, and see about interest in this. I'm relatively new to north Georgia, and am still working out my personal culture shock! Nonetheless, I have always started a garden at every school where I've taught, and am looking at the various possibilities at my new school. Many of our families are low-income, with some in severe poverty. Our school neighborhood is reasonably well-kept, with many families in single or double dwellings, and some in apartments. As many of our families are illegal immigrants, there is a great deal of transiency, a potential problem to a successful garden, as I see it. I'm also wondering how to minimize vandalism problems...or at least reduce access to the garden to those from the school community who are actually working on it, as opposed to a free-for-all where anyone can come get the produce. I'd like to see this build a "sense of place" for newcomers to our country, and to combat hunger and improve nutrition, yet am unsure how to overcome the above issues... Thanks for responding!
Shellygloo
20 years ago
First of all, to learn about how many other school gardens have gotten started, go to kidsgardening.com, which is a part of the National Gardening Association. They have a school garden registry with information on thousands of school gardens in US & Canada.

Regarding vandalism: this is a problem that most community gardens deal with at some time. It may be just a minor problem, or major... I have seen quite a few community gardens across the country and some are fenced with the individual gardeners having keys...other gardens insist on being open to the public at all times. It all depends your particular group, and area.

For more information on community gardens, go to the American Community Gardening Association website: www.communitygarden.org They have a very valuable listserve (email list) that you can join if you are so inclined.

School gardens are diverse--from one teacher having a small plot for their classroom, to whole school projects that are grant funded. Also have seen homeschool gardens.

In my opinion, getting kids gardening at school (or home) is the best way to get them to learn to value soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: National Gardening Association

how do i start a school community garden ?

Comments (6)

esands_axion_net

digging

Related Discussions

leslie_blooming

herbs_nbnet_nb_ca

mountainsong

Shellygloo

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US