School gardens give students a chance to get their hands dirty and have daily contact with the process of growing.
We've been honored to work with many awesome teachers, volunteers, and other garden leaders who have put in many hours of their time to create these vibrant, blooming spaces for students to learn in!
With support from several grants, we were able to create a Garden Coordinator position at each school! The Garden Coordinator makes sure the garden is maintained by coordinating the efforts of parent volunteers, collaborating teachers, and others to plant, care for, and harvest the garden space. Garden Coordinators receive a stipend to help formalize and compensate them for their work.
Are you a student or parent of one of these schools and want to get involved with your school garden? Reach out to us at [email protected] and we'll connect you with a school garden leader!
Explore USD116 school gardens below!
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Garden Coordinator: In process
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is proud to be the Monarchs! They have a butterfly garden and several pollinator plantings to draw their mascot to visit their campus. These gorgeous gardens have been created or gifted to the school by supporters and staff in the past. Two vegetable gardening beds were added two years ago, which students help the garden team at Dr. King to maintain. |
Dr. Preston Williams
Garden Coordinator: Bryan Lake
Contact: [email protected] The garden team at Dr. Preston Williams Elementary formed three years ago to create a school garden that would allow students to learn about senses, growing plants, healthy eating and cooking, and composting, as well as providing a connection space for students and families and growing food. The garden is thriving, and is used by multiple classes for outdoor learning and nutrition lessons! |
GERBER SCHOOL
Garden Coordinator: Kathy Stein
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: [email protected]
Gerber School has a robust and well-established garden space that students participate in. They recently raised over $10,000 to install a greenhouse!
LEAL
THOMAS PAINE
Thomas Paine is currently in the process of a large renovation, and we are excited to get veggie gardens back up and running on the property soon! Pictured is the previous location of the Thomas Paine garden.
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Urbana Early childhood school (UECS)
UECS is in the process of developing a new garden space!
URBANA HIGH SCHOOL (UHS)
Garden Coordinator: Cheyenne Warman-Neal
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: [email protected]
Urbana middle school (UMS)
Garden Coordinator: In process
Urbana Middle School is in the process of planning and establishing school gardens! Current activities include identifying a suitable site and developing connections with interested teachers and staff.
FLossie WIley
A fantastic team of Wiley Elementary staff, parents, and supporters have already worked over the past several years to set up a beautiful outdoor classroom and pollinator garden for students and teachers to use. Two years ago, we supported them in adding a pizza-shaped vegetable bed to their garden!
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Yankee Ridge
Yankee Ridge has two new raised beds in their courtyard area that 2nd grade classes are using to study seed starting and plant growth. Over the summer, parents and other helpers take care of the garden and take home the bounty. Students get to explore the harvest again in the fall.