CDFA and School Gardens

A strong supporter of school gardens CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura visits a school in Santa Monica, California, where the students and their instructors use their school garden as both a teaching and a learning tool. The CDFA has its own video page and kids page.

Compost on California Heartland TV

This California Heartland TV program segment talks composting. The best part of this video is the last two minutes where various types of bins are being demonstrated for the home/school scale system. I concur with the Fair Oaks Hort Center staff that the simpler bins are better.
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Gardening How To

Fine Gardening has over 40 videos on basic gardening techniques, crafts, design tips and more. While primarily focused for the perennial growing home gardener many of the video topics are relevant to the school gardener. http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/Videos/

Compost Sifting Lesson

Garden instructor Jane Forbes of Westlake K-5 in Santa Cruz, CA teaches 2nd graders about compost. This 13 minute video is created from a 45 minute lesson of children learning about decomposition by sifting composting and exploring the garden.

School Garden Learning Stations

3rd Grade Mar Vista Elementary School Teacher Colleen Riggen and parent volunteers lead students in garden activities.

"Salad Bowl" Fundraiser Lesson

Garden Teacher Caprice Potter leads 4th graders in potting up "cut and come salad bowls" for Gateway's School Garden Plant Sale. Visit the Gateway school garden blog to learn more about year round teaching at the Gateway garden

Lettuce Spring Roll Lesson

Garden Nutrition Educator Jessica Curcio leads a small group of first grade students in the Gault School Garden Kitchen.

Creating School Garden Rules

Hear from three Life Lab Garden Instructors and one 3rd Grade Teacher on how they generate and share their school garden rules. Download the Effective Outdoor Management in School Gardens handout.

40 Years of School Garden Instruction

The following videos are interviews with Garden Teacher Jane Forbes of Westlake K-5, 3rd Grade Teacher Colleen Riggen of Mar Vista K-5, and Garden Teacher Caprice Potter of Gateway K-8. Collectively these three garden educators have close to 40 years of teaching children in a garden setting. Download the Effective Outdoor Management in School Gardens handout.

Jane Forbes Garden Teacher since 2002 talks about discipline in the garden, encouraging exploration, group management techniques and more.


3rd Grade Teacher Colleen Riggen of Mar Vista Elementary talks about enlisting the help of parent volunteers, managing a whole class in the garden at once, her school's gardening tradition and more.


Since 1987 Caprice Potter has been the Garden Teacher at Gateway K-8. This interview distills her 20 plus years of experience in to a 14 minute video. Well that might be a stretch but she does have some great tips to share on getting kids involved in the garden, year round crop planning, maintaining the garden and much more.

Spring Scavenger Hunt

Garden Instructor Susan Dahlgren leads first graders in a garden scavenger hunt. This 7 minute video highlights a 20 minute lesson at Gault K-5 School Garden in Santa Cruz, CA.

Flower Anatomy Lesson

Caprice Potter has been a garden teacher since 1987 at Gateway K-8 in Santa Cruz, CA. This 13 minute video highlights a 40 minute flower anatomy lesson taught in the spring of 2008. Visit the Gateway Life Lab Garden blog to learn more what's being taught in the garden.

A Life Lab Garden Is...

School Garden History

The VictoryGrower website supports the notion that gardening is an excellent way to increase food security (the amount and quality of food) in America. Gardening enables youth, families and entire communities to improve their access to Good Food.

This section of VictoryGrower provides information about successful historical gardening efforts that have made a real difference in American life, including Liberty and Victory Garden programs, the US School Gardening Army, etc.
http://groups.ucanr.org/victorygrower/Historical_Models/


On the following page you can find examples of current public policies that are successfully promoting school, home, or community garden efforts across the United States. It includes The California School Garden Story PowerPoint Presentation, a historical look at GBL in California as well as a summary of CA Assembly Bill 1535 http://groups.ucanr.org/victorygrower/Whats_New_Public_Policies_that_Work_/The_California_School_Garden_Story.htm

Edna Maguire School Garden Video Page

Edna Maguire School Garden (Mill Valley, CA) has a garden video page of the following:

A 2008 Lady Bug Release Celebration.

Giving Tree Planting Day at the Children's Garden, on January 19, 2008.

This is a great 6 minute overview of their garden program featured on the TV show "Everyday Angels"

Everyday Angels - Childrens Garden from Edna Maguire on Vimeo.

Common Vision Fruit Tree Planting

Fruit Tree Tour episode of the show Natural Heroes won an emmy. The award-winning show was based on the DVD Planting the Vision. The special episode aired on PBS across the nation. This award is a huge tribute to programs like Natural Heroes and the featured groups that are working for positive change. Common Vision hopes many more people will see the show and be inspired to plant a tree in their community!

View more multimedia at the Common Vision Blog

Watch a 6-minute trailer for the DVD "Planting the Vision" below.

Carthay Center School Garden of Possibliities

See the transformation of the Carthay Center Elementary School Garden (Los Angeles)from an asphalt slab to a thriving garden.

Growing Chefs

Discover some Vancouver chefs have decided to share their love of food - and growing it from scratch with some eager young apprentices at local elementary schools. Take a look at Living Vancouver