THE SCHOOL GARDEN CONNECTION
Let a child plant a seed, water it, watch it grow and that child will pick the vegetable or fruit and eat it! Children and gardens mix well. The garden experience invites the child to touch, taste, experience and expand. Children exposed to the wonderful world of gardening are also exposed to the wonderful tastes that the garden has to offer. Often times this experience translates to a more openness about eating new vegetables and foods, including those served at the school lunch.

NEW: THE SCHOOL COMPOST CLUB IS COMING TO NOVATO!
A School Composting Workshop (SEE Flyer/Registration)
When: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Time: 9:00-2:00 PM with ½ hour lunch
Location: Novato Charter School, 940 C Street, Novato (in the Hamilton Area)
Cost: $35/person, bring a bag lunch or order Lunch for $10 (see flyer)
Who: This workshop is ideal for a school team-of-three: it can include parents, teachers, or staff.
You Build: A compost bin (worms included) for your school. Valued at $50
RSVP to reserve your spot with Veronica Valero, 415-897-2302. Then fill out the Registration form & mail in.

We will build one bin per every two to three participants. Ideally, this will be a team of persons from the same school. Example: a team of two from one school guarantees that school to receive a bin to take back to school.  Otherwise, we will lottery off the bin to participants.

DID YOU KNOW?: Food scraps and other organic material take up about half of all landfill space. They produce methane gas, 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are considered the lead human source of methane emission, according to the US EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program. Both Dr. Sally Brown and the US Composting Council, state the removal of food scraps from the landfills will lead to the highest value methane avoidance credit for the waste management industry. For each ton of wet food waste, there is nearly a one to one value associated with the reduction of methane, or methane avoidance. Help us make a better world for our children: let's compost school food waste on site while "growing" worm casings to nurture our gardens and landscapes!

The Compost Club was born at West Side School Elementary in Healdsburg, California. The composting operation started in 2003. In their first year, they created worm bins and diverted 900 lbs. from their school lunch food waste, then they sold the worm compost at their local farmers market and raised $900. 
For more info: www.compostclub.org.

LOCAL SCHOOL GARDENS:

• Novato Charter School, Novato: www.novatocharterschool.org This charter school also has a chicken coop and rabbits as well as a composting and recycling program. Each classroom is assigned a garden spot where projects are planned and implemented throughout the year. This has included building wooden bench/compost bins, an arbor, an adobe wood burning stove, tile art projects to beautify the school grounds.
• Mary E. Silveira Elementary, San Rafael: www.marysilveira.org/
  This public school not only has a school garden, but also a pond, a chicken farm, and a school lunch recycling program that includes worm bins and composting of leftover lunch.
• Edna Maguire Elementary, Mill Valley, www.ednamaguire.org
  Another local school "gone green"! Visit their website and hear their story via video. Truly inspiring!
  

SCHOOL GARDEN RESOURCES (PDF Doc.)
CALIFORNIA SCHOOL GARDEN NETWORK (CSGN): www.csgn.org
The California School Garden Network sprouted with the goal of facilitating the connection between resource organizations and educators by combining efforts to strengthen contributions and avoid duplications. The Network's mission to create and sustain California school gardens to enhance academic achievement, a healthy lifestyle, environmental stewardship and community and social development. The Network serves as a central organization to distribute school garden resources and support throughout the state.

FREE HOW-TO MANUAL: CSGN has published a free 96 page resource manual: Gardens for Learning: Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden. “This is a comprehensive guidebook that provides a strong foundation to support the growing school garden movement. It was developed by a team of experienced garden educators, nutritionists, state officials, and other garden experts. This guidebook is a must-have resource for anyone looking to enhance learning through the use of gardens in schools and other community settings.” Downloaded this publication at www.csgn.org/publications.php (Sample chapters: Cover & Introduction and Intro to School Gardens)

CSGN Funding info: Their “Grants and Fundraising” web page provides a list of funding resources to help you get started: http://www.csgn.org/page.php?id=30. You can also learn more about the California State Assembly Bill AB 1535 “The Instructional School Garden Program” which has allocated $15 million for the promotion, creation and support of California instructional school gardens: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r9/cisg06result.asp

A GARDEN IN EVERY SCHOOL: California Dept. of Education www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/garden.asp Download a free PDF of
A Child’s Garden of Standards: Linking School Gardens to California Education Standards -- Grades Two Through Six.

CENTER OF ECOLITERACY: www.ecoliteracy.org
The Center for Ecoliteracy is located in Berkeley California and is dedicated to providing educational resources and funding for sustainable living, which includes school kitchens and gardens. Their programs include “Rethinking School Lunch” www.ecoliteracy.org/programs/rsl, the “School Lunch Initiative” www.schoollunchinitiative.org produced in collaboration with Alice Water's Chez Panisse Foundation. The whole system approach includes gardens and the environment. The Center also provides a free school garden manual: A Guide for Creating School Gardens as Outdoor Classrooms that you can request at www.ecoliteracy.org/publications. Connecting the lunchroom to the school garden is vital in helping children to make better nutritional choices both at school and at home.

THE EDIBLE SCHOOL YARD: www.edibleschoolyard.org
Chez Panisse FoundationS' “The Edible Schoolyard”, in collaboration with Martin Luther King Junior Middle School, provides urban public school students with a one-acre organic garden and a kitchen classroom. Using food systems as a unifying concept, students learn how to grow, harvest, and prepare nutritious seasonal produce. Experiences in the kitchen and garden foster a better understanding of how the natural world sustains us, and promote the environmental and social well being of our school community. Check out their "How to Start a School Garden" to find additional resources.

CALIFORNIA FOUNDATION FOR AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM: www.cfaict.org
Their mission is to increasing awareness and understanding of agriculture among California's educators and students. What the future holds for agriculture will determine the quality of life for all…farmers and ranchers…suppliers…food processors…wholesalers… retailers…consumers. The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom works with K–12 teachers, and students to enhance education using agricultural examples. We offer school children the knowledge to make informed choices. Some students will choose agriculture as their life's work. All students, as future voters, will make decisions about agriculture. Go on line and request a free teacher's resource guide.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION COUNCIL OF MARIN: www.eecom.net
EECOM's Marin Food Systems Project (MFSP) provides action guides for schools www.eecom.net/mfsp/guide to serve as a resource to school groups seeking to make food and gardening an integrated component of school education. EECOM also provides a calendar of local events around sustainability and food issues.

MARIN MASTER GARDENERS: cemarin.ucdavis.edu/Master_Gardener Marin Master Gardeners has a new program to help schools start and maintain a school garden: “Marin County Master Gardeners School Garden Consultants”. These consultants volunteer in schools that request help with starting or improving their school gardens. The Master Gardeners provide information, advice, problem solving expertise and resources for school personnel, students and volunteers involved with the school garden.For more information: School Garden Consultants.