Growing Together: Open Forum

I have recently been trying to establish a garden committee at our school and my principal wants to know the purpose. I guess I don't really know what a school garden committee really does for/with the school. It's really just been me. What does your school garden committee do? Help!!

Rebecca, Can you describe your garden party. Our school garden is turning 25 in fall. I'd like to do a garden birthday party, possibly fundraiser. I do a fall harvest festival during the school day once a year. i was thinking about combining the two.

Thanks Rebecca. Sounds like so much fun. Great ideas!

Hi Danielle,
This comes up a lot, and administrators can treat both the school garden and the cafeteria as just a place that grows food and serves food, respectively.  Administrators care about education, graduation rates and attendance.. so it's our job to tell them that these two areas are an crucial part of the education process!  It's like the saying goes.. if you put local, healthy food in front of the kids, they may or may not eat it.  But, if the kids LEARN where their food comes from they devour the food and make lifelong, healthy choices! 
Studies have also shown that when kids use the school garden, attendance goes up and discipline problems go down. 

The Eden Lab at UT has researched school gardens as a factor for the long term success of school gardens and we coach them through our SproUTing Teachers program.  School gardens are so important to have because it helps avoid the common pitfall of a school garden becoming a one-person project/burden.  One of the first things I say to a committee that I am coaching is that they are not the people doing the work but they are deciding how the work will be done.  Example, the committee should not be out there on the weekend weeding.  But they should be deciding if maintenance needs warrant a weekend community workday or a reminder to teachers to have their classes participate in class adoption of the garden.  The committee should meet regularly and review whether the garden is being used by students and teachers, whether the garden is well-maintained, and whether the garden is integrated into school culture.   If the answer to those is anything but "absolutely yes!" then it can develop into a goal that the committee helps decide how it can be achieved.  

Hi Danielle,

School garden committees help school gardens be sustainable and continue for the long term. Garden committees are also something many funders and grantors look for!

When I taught at an elementary school, we set up a garden committee with various individuals, K-4 teachers, admin, maintenance staff, and community partners. The group first reviewed a student contest where they proposed how the garden would be designed. The committee evaluated each submission and picked the one that ultimately became the garden. 

Then the committee set a few goals for the year, such as how the garden would support education, how parents and families would be involved, and how the garden would connect to the cafeteria. 

After that, we realized we needed funding, so a few committee members researched and applied for grants. Once we secured funding, we decided on things like garden work days, found community partners who could donate materials, and others who would lead classes with the students. 

Overall, a committee helps spread out the responsibility of the garden. Further, as committee members take other jobs or move to other schools, it ensures there are still a few that can care for the garden as new members join and learn about the history of the space. 

Also, as it relates to grant funding, here at KidsGardening, we ask about leadership and garden longevity in our grant applications. A school garden committee is an excellent answer to these questions because it shows that your program has diverse leadership and support from the school administration and can likely survive when staff turnover occurs.