NACD Urban Agriculture Grant
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In 2019, the District received a grant from the National Association of Conservation Districts to increase students' knowledge of agriculture and food production. The Bloom to Grow Garden Program was designed to help our local Head Start program develop and implement garden curriculum aligned with their instructional goals. We hired a garden coach, Maria Gulley, to develop a garden guide (see sidebar), build and maintain gardens at two Head Start locations (which serve over 200 students) and test garden lessons with the students. Our resulting garden guide contains 35 lessons reviewed by Head Start’s curriculum staff, 20 classroom-friendly recipes and guides on how to harvest 17 common garden crops and guide sensory experiences with those crops. We developed three videos (see sidebar) to accompany the lessons. We also partnered with the Ohio State University Extension and connected with the students’ families through a short-term program called Farm to Family. For five weeks, 30+ families attended an evening event with education on affordable and healthy cooking, shopping for fresh produce, options for home gardening (even in apartments) and developing strong family meal habits. Families received free produce, food samples and bucket gardens with seeds. |
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Spiders are Garden Helpers
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Nature Scavenger Hunt
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Straw as a Plant Blanket
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