The following projects are currently under way:

Denver, Colorado
Lowry Elementary School
Students will expand their school gardening experience by installing cold frame covers to extend the growing season. They will grow vegetables from seed and donate food they grow to neighborhood families in need. The students will keep journals to document the progress of their seeds in the cold frame as well as seedlings started indoors. As vegetables mature, students will harvest, organize, label, and distribute produce to members of their community. “This project will help students make better use of the school’s Victory Garden and teach them not only about life science, agriculture, and healthy lifestyles, but also about community service,” said Lisa Emerson, parent volunteer and co-chair of PTO Garden Committee.

Peakview Elementary School
Fifth graders will apply their math skills when they design an arrangement of rocks for a dry riverbed and three clusters of boulders. The rocks will serve as natural benches and stepping stones adjacent to their playground, and alleviate damage caused by heavy foot traffic to a group of trees. Other classes and grades will help create nature discovery stations such as butterfly, mason bee, and bat houses, a sundial, and an animal tracks panel. They will do research and design educational signs to describe the animals’ natural habitats and needs, and to explain how a sundial works. “By giving students and teachers more structured opportunities to use the school grounds for teaching and discovery, they will become more comfortable outdoors, and gain respect and wonder for our natural world,” said science teacher Laura Arndt.

Phoenix, Arizona
HandsOn Greater Phoenix
Youth from an evening detention center operated in the Glendale YMCA will design, build, and sustain a community garden made from recycled materials.  The 12 to 18-year-olds will be involved in all phases of project planning and implementation.  They will decide which plants and crops to cultivate in the garden, and study topics such as rainwater collection and solar technology.  This spring, the youth will lead community volunteers in making outside walls for the garden using earthen blocks, building a shed, and laying out major sections of the garden. HandsOn Greater Phoenix will recruit and manage skilled volunteers and community partners, and provide service learning and youth project leader training.  “Each community partner has come together to give these youth an opportunity to invest themselves in a positive learning experience while taking action on an environmental issue,” said Duane Shearer, Director of Community Programs for HandsOn Phoenix.  “The ultimate goal of this garden is much more than the health of the plants within it.”
 

Sacramento, California
Orangevale Open K-8 School
Kindergarten through eighth grade students will be involved in developing a nature trail, seasonal wetland, and native landscape on the ten-acre campus of Orangevale Open K-8 School. “The habitat restoration plan involves utilizing native plants and natural settings to provide habitat for songbirds, bats, and other pollinators, while providing maximum educational benefits to all grade levels and the wider community,” said Judi McGuire, Principal. Last year, Orangevale Open K-8 School was chosen as the national training ground for U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists working to help public schools turn their campuses into ecological habitat and connect their students with nature. Since then, ideas from students have been incorporated by federal biologists into the overall design for this Fair Oaks school’s multi-faceted outdoor learning space. Parents, students, teachers, and community members will implement the project, and students will utilize, monitor, and maintain the space through their curricula, class electives, and physical education units.