Growing Together: Open Forum

 View Only
Expand all | Collapse all

Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

  • 1.  Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-06-2025 11:20:00 AM

    Hello everybody,

    Our names are Benedetta and Giovanna and we are primary school teachers at ICS Moise Loria in Milan, Italy. Our pupils are currently involved in a project about creating and taking care of a school garden, where they learn about nature, sustainability and healthy eating. 

    We would love to start a correspondence or exchange  with pupils from another country who are also working on a similar project. The idea is to share experiences, photos, drawings and updates about our gardens - helping children pratice and improve english language whlie learning about other cultures and the environment.

    Are you interested in collaborating with us?

    Hoping to receive your feedbacks very soon and start this international exchange!

    Best regards,

    Benedetta and Giovanna 



    ------------------------------
    Benedetta Damiano
    Milano
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-07-2025 03:00:00 PM

    Hi Benedetta! What a wonderful idea this is! I am sharing your post with the 3rd grade science and social studies teacher at my school. They might be interested in collaborating with you. They are currently teaching a year long special course to the 3rd grade called Science and Social Impact (SSI). The course covers all sorts of food related topics, including healthy eating, how to read labels and choose healthy foods, how to distinguish highly processed foods, food desserts, and more. They children also spend time in our school garden tending crops that will be donated to a food pantry run by our older students at a nearby underserved elementary school campus. I will write again as soon as I have a chance to talk with the 3rd grade teachers! 



    ------------------------------
    [Lara] [Guerra]
    [Science Teacher]
    [The Hockaday School]
    [Dallas] [Texas]
    [lguerra@hockaday.org]
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-14-2025 03:58:00 AM

    Hello Lara, we are so happy to receive your reply and to know that you like our ideas! I give some more details about our project:
    although the garden project involves all our primary school classes, the correspondence and exchanges will be managed mainly by our 4th and 5th grade pupils, 8-9 years old; for the younger children it would be a bit more difficult to speak in English, but they will still take part in the gardening activities here at school.
    We thought it could be nice to communicate once or twice a month, so that our students can share updates about the garden's progress - through:

    short emails written by the children,

    digital presentations (for example, on Canva or Google Slides), or

    short videos showing their work in the garden.

    To keep in touch, we can use email ( mine is benedetta.damiano@icsmoiseloriadidattica.org) , or if you prefer, we could create a shared Google Classroom group (if you uses it), together with other partner schools that would like to participate.
    Would that work for you?
    We're really looking forward to starting this collaboration and seeing our gardens grow together! 🌸



    ------------------------------
    Benedetta Damiano
    Milano
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-08-2025 01:13:00 PM

    Benedetta, we are interested in this at my school! I sent you a direct message with further details. Thanks!



    ------------------------------
    Adam Wright
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-13-2025 10:35:00 AM

    My name is Maria Murray. I'm from Concord, North Carolina. I am Patriots STEM Elementary School STEM/Garden teacher. I teach all grades K-5 and also run a garden club after school. It would be easiest for our garden club to be the communication between our 2 schools. If you are still interested in a school communication let me know. 



    ------------------------------
    Maria Murray
    Patriots STEM Elementary School
    Concord NC
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-14-2025 04:02:00 AM

    Hello Maria, We are glad that you contact us! I give some more details about our project:
    although the garden project involves all our primary school classes, the correspondence and exchanges will be managed mainly by our 4th and 5th grade pupils, 8-9 years old; for the younger children it would be a bit more difficult to speak in English, but they will still take part in the gardening activities here at school.
    We thought it could be nice to communicate once or twice a month, so that our students can share updates about the garden's progress - through:

     short emails written by the children,

     digital presentations (for example, on Canva or Google Slides), or

     short videos showing their work in the garden.
    To keep in touch, we can use email ( mine is benedetta.damiano@icsmoiseloriadidattica.org) , or I think, since we are different schools interested in the project we could create a shared Google Classroom group, together with other partner schools, that would be easiest for everyone.
    Would that work for you? 🌸



    ------------------------------
    Benedetta Damiano
    Milano
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-14-2025 04:00:00 AM

    Thank you! I write you an email! 

    Benedetta 



    ------------------------------
    Benedetta Damiano
    Milano
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-09-2025 11:53:00 AM

    Hello Bendetta and Giovanna,

    I am a garden educator in Southern California and we would love to be garden penpals! We have a similar climate to you, so we may be growing similar plants at the same time. Our school is TK- 8, what ages are you looking for?

    Thanks,

    Kathryn Turner

    Magnet Coordinator of Mt. Baldy School



    ------------------------------
    Kathryn Turner
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-14-2025 04:06:00 AM

    Hello Kathryn, we are so happy to receive your reply. How old are your students? I ask you because here in Italy we have a different system and so I'm not sure what TK-8 is.
    About us, although the garden project involves all our primary school classes, the correspondence and exchanges will be managed mainly by our 4th and 5th grade pupils, 8-9 years old; for the younger children it would be a bit more difficult to speak in English, but they will still take part in the gardening activities here at school.
    We thought it could be nice to communicate once or twice a month, so that our students can share updates about the garden's progress - through:

     short emails written by the children,

     digital presentations (for example, on Canva or Google Slides)

     short videos showing their work in the garden.

    To keep in touch, we can use email ( mine is benedetta.damiano@icsmoiseloriadidattica.org) , or since we are different schools interested in the project, we could create a shared Google Classroom group, together with other partner schools that would like to participate.
    Would that work for you? Write me an email if you are still interested. Thank you!
    We're really looking forward to starting this collaboration! 🌸



    ------------------------------
    Benedetta Damiano
    Milano
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-12-2025 06:08:00 PM

    Dear Benedetta and Giovanna,

    Greetings from Shreveport, Louisiana! 🌱

    My name is Tangia "Di Plant Lady" Taylor, and I coordinate community and youth garden programs through WISE Butterfly, an educational grassroots initiative that teaches children about gardening, sustainability, and healthy living. We would love to collaborate with your students on this international school garden exchange!

    Our youth participants-many of whom are homeschooled-are already learning how to grow vegetables, herbs, and pollinator-friendly plants. They would be thrilled to share their experiences through photos, garden updates, and cultural exchanges. Your project aligns beautifully with our mission to connect young people around the world through nature, learning, and compassion for the Earth.

    Let's plan a short introductory call or video exchange to discuss how we can begin this collaboration. Perhaps our first shared project could focus on seasonal crops-what's growing in Louisiana and what's blooming in Milan!

    Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

    Warm regards,

    Tangia "Di Plant Lady" Taylor

    WISE Butterfly | Community Educator & Farm Advocate

    📧 wisebutterflyag@gmail.com

    🌿 @diplantlady



    ------------------------------
    Tangia Dí Plant Lady Taylor
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Partnership proposal - school garden exchange project

    Posted 10-14-2025 04:10:00 AM

    Hello! I write you an email. Thank you! 



    ------------------------------
    Benedetta Damiano
    Milano
    ------------------------------