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
Related resources may be found in category Populations: Children and Youth Populations & Programs
> Key Organizations
> 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.
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
Sands, R. & Summer, W. (2017). Growing sustainable children: A garden teacher’s guide. Lindisfame
Books.
ecology, and whole-systems thinking. New Society Publishers.
Earl, L. & Thomson, P. (2021). Why garden in schools? Routledge.
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
Sands, R. & Summer, W. (2017). Growing sustainable children: A garden teacher’s guide. Lindisfame
Books.
> RESEARCH & ARTICLES ON school gardens
Recently published selected research & articles:
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.
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.
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. http://doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100454
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.
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.
DeCosta, P., Møller, P., Frøst, M.B. & Olsen, A. (2017). Changing children's eating behaviour - A review of experimental research. Appetite 113:327-357.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. [https://doi:10.1080/07315724.2017.1326323]
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. [https://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. [https://doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.567720]
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. http://doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100454
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. https://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.
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
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.
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.
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. http://doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100454
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.
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.
DeCosta, P., Møller, P., Frøst, M.B. & Olsen, A. (2017). Changing children's eating behaviour - A review of experimental research. Appetite 113:327-357.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. [https://doi:10.1080/07315724.2017.1326323]
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. [https://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. [https://doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.567720]
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. http://doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100454
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. https://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.
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
> 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
St Martin de Porres school garden in Moseley, Birmingham, UK
Van Buren Middle School garden integrates math, literature, food production, nutrition
BicycleSPACE DC School Garden Tour introduces several school gardens, promoting community connectiveness, & different models of school gardens
Kids Making Student Gardens in Santa Monica
St Martin de Porres school garden in Moseley, Birmingham, UK
Van Buren Middle School garden integrates math, literature, food production, nutrition
> Videos, webinars & websites on school gardens
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
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
Gardening for Grades School Garden Planning Guide
Grow to Learn Florida School Garden Guide
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
The Environmental Media Association (EMA) School Garden Program
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
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
Gardening for Grades School Garden Planning Guide
Grow to Learn Florida School Garden Guide
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
The Environmental Media Association (EMA) School Garden Program
Written & compiled by Lesley Fleming, Jessica Sullivan, Nov 2021