FLORIDA HORTICULTURE FOR HEALTH NETWORK
  • Home
  • About
    • About FLHHN
    • Mission and vision
    • Advisory Committee
  • News & Events
    • CULTIVATE (EPUB)
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Recorded Webinars
    • Networking Forum
  • Subscribe
  • Resource Hub
  • Home
  • About
    • About FLHHN
    • Mission and vision
    • Advisory Committee
  • News & Events
    • CULTIVATE (EPUB)
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Recorded Webinars
    • Networking Forum
  • Subscribe
  • Resource Hub

School Gardens

School gardens, numbering 5,000 in the U.S. in 2021, continue to grow in number due to the diverse benefits they offer (USDA, 2021). While many are food gardens, school gardens have different designs with a variety of purposes. School gardens can be used to provide access to nature, as enabling accessible green space on school grounds, and as therapeutic, recreational, and community gardens used by students, staff, parents, community members, & volunteers. Newer initiatives tied to school gardens include garden to cafeteria programs, food procurement programs from local growers, programs combining physical activity with nutrition literacy, as well as integration of academic curriculum, services related to social & emotional well-being, food security, equity and inclusion, and environmental stewardship.
 
Related resources may be found in category Populations: Children and Youth Populations & Programs
> Key Organizations
Children & Nature Network
Collective School Garden Network  
Florida Extension, Florida School Gardens, Florida Agriculture in the Classroom 
Green Schoolyards America  
Kids Gardening    
Life Lab   
National Garden Support Organization Network   
The Edible Schoolyard Project  
Whole Kids Foundation 
> Books, journals & E-publications on school gardens
Christopher, K.R. (2019). The School garden curriculum: An integrated k-8 guide for discovering science, ecology, and whole-systems thinking. New Society Publishers.

Earl, L. & Thomson, P. (2021). Why garden in schools? Routledge.

Gamson Danks, S. (2021). Asphalt to ecosystems design ideas for schoolyard transformation.

Hunter, D., Gee, E. & Olsen Lauridsen, N. (2020). Growing for the future: A new book on school gardens. Routledge.

Hunter, D., Monville-Oro, E., Burgos, B., Rogel, C.N., Calub, B., Gonsalves, J. & Lauridsen, N. (Eds.). (2020). Agrobiodiversity, school gardens and healthy diets. Routledge.

James, C. (2015). The garden classroom: Hands-on activities in math, science, literacy, and art. Roost Books.

Junior Master Gardener curricula 

Larson, N. (2015). Teaching in Nature’s Classroom: Principles of Garden-Based Education 

Sands, R. & Summer, W. (2017). Growing sustainable children: A garden teacher’s guide. Lindisfame Books.

Slow Foods USA. (2015). Clean School Garden Curriculum for Grades K+up. 

> RESEARCH & ARTICLES ON school gardens
Recently published selected research & articles:
 
Alexander, G.K. & Grannum, D.R. (2022). School garden benefits: Health promotion and environmental conservation. NASN Sch Nurse., 37(2), 79-82. doi: 10.1177/1942602X211058783

Austin, S. (2022). The school garden in the primary school: Meeting the challenges and reaping the benefits. Education, 50(6), 707-721.

Berezowitz, C.K., Bontrager Yoder, A.B. & Schoeller, D.A. (2015). School gardens enhance academic performance and dietary outcomes in children. J Sch Health 85(8):508-18. doi: 10.1111/josh.12278

Bikomeye, J.C., Balza, J. & Beyer, K.M. (2021). The impact of schoolyard greening on physical activity and socioemotional health: A systematic review of experimental studies. Int J Environ Res Public Health 18(2):535. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020535

Burt, K.G., Luesse, H.B., Rakoff, J., Ventura, A. & Burgermaster, M. (2018). School gardens in the United States: Current barriers to integration and sustainability. Am J Public Health 108(11):1543-1549. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304674

Burt, K.G., Koch, P. & Contento, I. (2017). Development of the GREEN (Garden Resources, Education, and Environment Nexus) tool: An evidence-based model for school garden integration. J Acad Nutr Diet. 117(10):1517-1527.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2017.02.008

Carlsson, L., Williams, P.L., Hayes-Conroy, J.S., Lordly, D. & Edith Callaghan, E. (2016). School gardens: Cultivating food security in Nova Scotia public schools? Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 77(3), 119-124. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2015-051

Chan, C.L., Tan, P.Y., Gong, Y.Y. (2022). Evaluating the impacts of school garden-based programmes on diet and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes and practices among the school children:    A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1251. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13587
​
Davis, J.N., Spaniol, M.R., (2015). Sustenance and sustainability: Maximizing the impact of school gardens on health outcomes. Public Health Nutr. 18(13):2358-67. doi: 10.1017/S1368980015000221
​
Davis, J.N., Pérez, A., Asigbee, F.M., Landry, M.J., Vandyousefi, S., Ghaddar, R., Hoover, A., Jeans, M., Nikah, K., Fischer, B., Pont, S.J., Richards, D., Hoelscher, D.M. & Van Den Berg, A.E. (2021). School-based gardening, cooking and nutrition intervention increased vegetable intake but did not reduce BMI: Texas sprouts - a cluster randomized controlled trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 18(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12966-021-01087-x

Davis, J.N., Nikah, K., Landry, M.J., Vandyousefi, S., Ghaddar, R., Jeans, M., Cooper, M.H., Martin, B., Waugh, L., Sharma, S.V., van den Berg, A.E. (2022). Effects of a school-based garden program on academic performance: A cluster randomized controlled trial. J Acad Nutr Diet., S2212-2672(22), 00931-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2022.08.125

Day, K., Tsupros, M.M. & Schober, D.J. (2022). To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow: A case study of a Chicago community-based organization focused on health education through school gardens. J Prev Interv Community, 50(1), 72-88. doi: 10.1080/10852352.2021.1915938

DeCosta, P., Møller, P., Frøst, M.B. & Olsen, A. (2017). Changing children's eating behaviour - A review of experimental research. Appetite 113:327-357. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.03.004.

Evans A, Ranjit N, Hoelscher D, Jovanovic C, Lopez M, McIntosh A, Ory M, Whittlesey L, McKyer L, Kirk, A., Smith, C., Walton, C., Heredia, N.I. & Warren, J. (2016). Impact of school-based vegetable garden and physical activity coordinated health interventions on weight status and weight-related behaviors of ethnically diverse, low-income students: Study design and baseline data of the Texas, Grow! Eat! Go! (TGEG) cluster-randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health 16(1):973. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3453-7

Figueroa-Piña, D.G., Chávez-Servín, J.L., de la Torre-Carbot, K., Del Carmen Caamaño-Pérez, M., Lucas-Deecke, G., Roitman-Genoud, P. & Ojeda-Navarro, L.R. (2021). Evaluation of the effect of a school garden as an educational didactic tool in vegetable and fruit consumption in teenagers. Nutr Res Pract. 15(2):235-247. doi: 10.4162/nrp.2021.15.2.235
​
Fischer, L.K.,  Brinkmeyer, D., Karle, S.J.,  Cremer, K., Huttner, E., Seebauer, M., Nowikow, B., Schutze, B., Voight, P., Volker, S. & Kowarik, I. (2019). Biodiverse edible schools: Linking healthy food, school gardens and local urban biodiversity. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 40, 35-43.

Gonsalves, J., Hunter, D. & Lauridsen,m N. (2020). School gardens multiple functions and multiple outcomes. In Agrobiodiversity, School Gardens and Healthy Diets. Routledge.

Hoover, A, Vandyousefi, S., Martin, B., Nikah, K., Hockett Cooper, M., Muller, A., Marty, E., Duswalt- Epstein, M., Burgermaster, M., Waugh, L., Linkenhoker, B. & Davis, J.N. (2021). Barriers, strategies, and resources to thriving school gardens. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 53(7), 591-601.

Huys, N., De Cocker, K., De Craemer, M., Roesbeke, M., Cardon, G. & De Lepeleere, S. (2017). School gardens: A qualitative study on implementation practices. Int J Environ Res Public Health 14(12):1454. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14121454

Ingram, E. & Keshwani, J. (2021). Nebraska school gardens and the potential for science, technology, engineering, and math learning. Journal of Extension 58(6).

Kato, U. & Boules, C. (2022). Pandemic gardening: Variant adaptations to COVID-19 disruptions by community gardens, school gardens, and urban farms. Journal of Urban Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2022.2110887

Lam, V., Romses, K. & Renwick, K. (2019). Exploring the relationship between school gardens, food literacy and mental well-being in youth using photovoice. Nutrients, 11(6), 1354. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11061354

Lanza, K., Durand, C.P., Alcazar, M., Ehlers, S., Zhang, K. & Kohl, H.W. (2021). School parks as a community health resource: Use of joint-use parks by children before and during COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health 18(17):9237. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179237

Leuven, J.R.F.W., Rutenfrans, A.H.M., Dolfing, A.G. & Leuven, R.S.E.W. (2018). School gardening increases knowledge of primary school children on edible plants and preference for vegetables. Food Sci. Nutr., 6, 1960–1967. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.758

Lindemann-Matthies, P. & Kohler, K. (2019). Naturalized versus traditional school grounds: Which element do students prefer and why? Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 46, 126475.

Loftus, L., Spaulding, A.D., Steffen, R., Kopsel,l D. & Nnakwe, N. (2017). Determining barriers to use of edible school gardens in Illinois. J Am Coll Nutr. 36(7):507-513. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2017.1326323

Lohr, A.M., Drause, K.C., McClelland, K.J., Van Gorden, N., Gerald, L.B., Del Casino Jr., V., Wilkinson-Lee, A., Carvajal, S.C. (2021). The impact of school gardens on youth social and emotional learning: A scoping review. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 21(4), 371-384.

Lohr, A.M., Bell, M.L., Coulter, K., Marston, S., Thompson, M., Carvajal, S.C., Wilkinson-Lee, A.M., Gerald, L.B. & Korchmaros, J. (2022) The association between duration of school garden exposure and self-reported learning and school connectedness. Health Education & Behavior, 9, 109019812210842.

Malberg Dyg, P. & Wistoft, K. (2018). Wellbeing in school gardens-the case of the Gardens for Bellies food and environmental education program. Environmental Education Research, 24(8), 1177-1191. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2018.1434869

Ohly, H., Gentry, S., Wigglesworth, R., Bethel, A., Lovell, R. & Garside, R. (2016). A systematic review of the health and well-being impacts of school gardening: Synthesis of quantitative and qualitative evidence. BMC Public Health 25, 16:286. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2941-0
​
Pollin, S. & Retzlaff-Fürst, C. (2021). The school garden: A social and emotional place. Front Psychol. 12:567720. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.567720

Proctor, R., Guell, C., Wyatt, K. & Williams, A.J. (2020). What is the evidence base for integrating health and environmental approaches in the school context to nurture healthier and more environmentally aware young people? A systematic scoping review of global evidence. Health & Place 64, 102356.

Reyes, N., Ganderats-Fuentes, M., Acciai, F., Eliason, J. & Ohri-Vachaspati, P. (2022). School garden prevalence before and after the implementation of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. J Sch Health, 92(9), 907-915. doi: 10.1111/josh.13197

Schreinemachers, P., Baliki, G., Shrestha, R.M., Bhattarai, D.R., Gautam, I.P. Ghimire, P.L., Subedi, B.P. & Brück, T. (2020). Nudging children toward healthier food choices: An experiment combining school and home gardens. Glob Food Sec. 26:100454. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100454

Schultz, C. & Rosen, A.E. (2022). School gardens’ impact on students’ health outcomes in low-income midwest schools. The Journal of School Nursing, 38(5), 486-493. doi:10.1177/10598405221080970

Taylor, N., Wright, J. & O’Flynn, G. (2021) Cultivating ‘health’ in the school garden. Sport, Education and Society, 26(4), 403-416.

Turner, L., Leider, J., Piekarz, E., Schermbeck, R.M., Merlo, C., Brener, N. & Chriqui, J.F. (2017). Facilitating fresh: State laws supporting school gardens are associated with use of garden-grown produce in school nutrition services programs. J Nutr Educ Behav. 49(6):481-489.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2017.03.008

Turner, L., Eliason, M., Sandoval, A. & Chaloupka, F.J. (2016). Increasing prevalence of US elementary school gardens, but disparities reduce opportunities for disadvantaged students. J Sch Health 86(12):906-912. doi: 10.1111/josh.12460

Van den Berg, A.E., Wesselius, J.E., Maas, J. & Tanja-Dijkstra, K. (2017). Green walls for a restorative classroom environment: A controlled evaluation study. Environmental Behavior 49(7):791-813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916516667976
​

Van den Berg, A., Warren, J.L., McIntosh, A., Hoelscher, D., Ory, M.G., Jovanovic, C., Lopez, M., Whittlesey, L., Kirk, A., Walton, C., McKyer, L. & Ranjit, N. (2020). Impact of a gardening and physical activity intervention in title 1 schools: The TGEG Study. Child Obes. 16(S1):S44-S54. doi: 10.1089/chi.2019.0238

Wells, N.M., Meyers, B.M., Todd, L.E., Henderson, C.R. Jr, Barale, K., Gaolach, B., Ferenz, G., Aitken, M., Tse, C.C., Pattison, K.O., Hendrix, L., Carson, J.B., Taylor, C. & Franz, N.K. (2018). The carry-over effects of school gardens on fruit and vegetable availability at home: A randomized controlled trial with low-income elementary schools. Prev Med. 112:152-159. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.03.022

Zeng. M/ & Gallarza, M. (2022). P107 Effects of school gardens on children and adolescents: Systematic review. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 54(7) Supplement, S69.

> Examples of SCHOOLS GARDENS
Atlantic Highlands Elementary School outdoor garden
BicycleSPACE DC School Garden Tour introduces several school gardens, promoting community connectiveness, & different models of school gardens
Kids Making Student Gardens in Santa Monica
Million Orchid Project at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (FL) has partnered with 100 schools to conserve and grow orchids in classrooms, schoolyards, parks. A massive science project focused on native orchids educates, informs, promotes citizen science.
Rosa Parks Elementary School’s green schoolyard video demonstrates turning asphalt into green space – turning nature into classrooms, integrating education into gardens, outdoor time & recess.               
St Martin de Porres school garden in Moseley, Birmingham, UK
The Ecology School (with videos focused on nature, compost & more)
Van Buren Middle School garden integrates math, literature, food production, nutrition
> Videos, webinars & websites on school gardens
Asphalt Jungle – Living Schoolyards Podship Earth: Episode 13
Big Green resource database
Building school culture in school gardens solution session examines a different facet of what school gardens can provide
Changing the Nature of Education- School Gardens
Creating a Learning Garden – how to begin a garden, engaging students year-round, greenhouses,
accessible programs & gardens for kids of all abilities.
Curriculum book from Kids Gardening with extensive resources; lesson plans, designing a garden, activities
Equity & Inclusion in Garden Settings has a list of topics & resources with this theme
Florida School Garden Guide  
Food Safety for School + Community Gardens A Handbook for Beginning + Veteran Garden Organizers: How to Reduce Food Safety Risk pdf developed by North Carolina universities, NC Cooperative Extension & other organizations.
Gardening for Grades School Garden Planning Guide 
Garden Layout – creating an accessible, interesting and effective outdoor learning space with a focus on the design elements; accessibility, shade options & sourcing materials. On-line resource links to School Garden Guide, Greenhouse Manual, Convert-a-Bench, Green Schoolyards Covid Outdoor Learning Initiative.
Grow to Learn Florida School Garden Guide 
Growing Minds Farm to School Program: Middle & High School resources like curricula FoodSpan from Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, interdisciplinary curriculum from Kentucky Farm 2 School, books The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart…., The  Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, French Fires and the Food System: A Year-Round Curriculum Connecting Youth with Farming and Food.
Life Lab Organization offers resources for school gardens with a mission of cultivating children’s love of learning, healthy food and nature through garden-based education
School Food Service and School Gardens Case Studies re program funding, staffing, & policies
Schoolyard Habitats Planning Guide features instructions, hands-on activities, green STEAQM connections.
Teach, Learn, Grow: The Value of Green Infrastructure in Schoolyards webcast from Green Schoolyards American, Wichita State University Environmental Finance Center and The Children & Nature Network. Available on EPA website. Stormwater –related schoolyard design ideas.
The Environmental Media Association (EMA) School Garden Program
Voices from the International School Grounds Movement with participants commenting on connecting with nature via school grounds.

> Related organizations
Big Green 
Slow Food USA – School Garden Network   
University of Florida IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program 
Wisconsin School Garden Network 

Written & compiled by Lesley Fleming, Jessica Sullivan, Nov 2021; revised by Lesley Fleming, Bree Stark in Nov 2022
QUICK LINKS
About FLHHN
Our policies
​Contact us
© Copyright 2023 Florida Horticulture for Health Network
Website designed by Bree Stark and Siang Yu Tham
Proudly powered by Weebly