Tools to build a sustainable garden education program at your school
Information: Starting a school garden is a big undertaking. We recommend that a garden committee is formed and clear goals and objectives for the garden are set before a garden is built. Consider starting small and building upon small successes. We are excited to offer our 35 hour School Garden Coordinator Certificate Training program to share best practices for building, using and maintaining school and youth food gardening programs. By the end of this training, you will have knowledge, skills and resources to implement and maintain an edible school garden project built on a foundation of broad community involvement and support. As a trained certified Garden Coordinator, you will be equipped to support long-lasting edible school/youth garden projects within the region and expand the capacity of the community to provide food garden-based education to children. This training has a focus on elementary school/youth programs, but can be adapted by those who work with middle or high school aged students. This training is geared for both those who have experience with school/youth gardens and those who are new to the field.
Sessions cover:
- Historic Context of School Gardens / Farm to School
- Community Organizing and Organizing School Garden Committees
- Fundraising and Resource Development
- Volunteer Management
- Teaching Youth Effectively/ Class Management in an Outdoor Setting
- Garden-Based Activities and Curriculum Connections
- Garden to Cafeteria
- Garden Infrastructure
- Basic Gardening Skills and Planting Plans
- Program Evaluation
- Portland Public Schools (PPS) policy on school garden installation & garden to cafeteria guidelines (optional training module)
Dates: June 26-30, 9-4:30pm, 2017
Location: 1137 SE 20th Ave, Portland, OR 97214 (Hinson Church)
Agenda: Download the training agenda for the full list of activities!
Registration:
REGISTRATION IS FULL FOR 2017. To be notified of future training opportunities, please add your name to this list.
The cost to attend is $450. If you would like the optional graduate credits from Portland State University, there is an additional $180 fee due to PSU. Instructions for PSU credit registration will be emailed to interested registered participants.
Certificate requirements: Participants must attend 80% of the training (or 28 hours) to receive certificate.
If you have questions, contact Youth Grow Program Director, Anna Garwood (anna@growing-gardens.org).