By Susan Joy Sager, Maine School Garden Network Coordinator
What can we do to help students learn about healthy eating and how their food is grown while gaining an understanding of Maine agriculture? Can we use a garden-based curriculum to enhance learning across subject areas? How can we encourage students to spend active time outdoors and cultivate an appreciation for nature? What kinds of projects can educators offer so students can discover important connections between their school and their local community? While the Maine School Garden Network was formed to address questions like these and more back in 2002, we find that these issues are even more important today as we strive to find ways to cultivate the next generation of stewards of the earth.
The Maine School Garden Network helps school garden coordinators and educators answer these questions through events, programs, and online resources. To increase our impact and provide more assistance than we could offer alone, we collaborate with other organizations including Maine Agriculture in the Classroom, ReTreeUS, and the Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute.
To offer continuing education to address training and other needs, we offer in-person events and programs held in different parts of the state as well as online options through our newsletter and Facebook page. Common issues for school garden programs include the need for more technical information, sources of funding, and ways to integrate garden programming into curricula, as well as how to get more support from school administrations and how to sustain school gardens, especially when school is out for the summer.
One way we provide training and support is through our annual Maine School Garden Day. Held in 2024 at Kingfield Elementary School, the theme was “Harvesting Knowledge: Nourishing Minds Through School Gardens” with a keynote address, “School Gardens 101: Top 10 Tips for Launching and Maintaining a Successful Program,” by Franklin County School Garden Coach Laura Hoeft. Breakout groups organized by county were designed to encourage networking with peers and future collaborations and included the first meeting of the network’s new educator advisory group to meet the needs of garden educators by amplifying their voices within the organization. A tour of the school garden and lunch made from locally procured food allowed for more discussion, sharing, and support for educators. The afternoon workshops included “Wild Foods in Education for Ecological Literacy,” “The Procrastinator’s Garden: Late Season Planting Strategies,” “Curriculum Development, Cooking and Nutrition with Students,” and “Garden and Garden Educator Skills Acquisition,” all offered based on needs identified from a recent network survey and evaluations from previous events. Attendees left inspired and ready to get back to the business of teaching in their school gardens. “I walked away loving my job even more and filled with excitement for what’s in store,” said one attendee.
To offer ongoing networking and continuing education, we started the School Garden Summer Tours program a few years ago. Not only are these gatherings a chance to unwind and relax with fellow school garden coordinators, teachers, and volunteers, each location offers a chance to see school gardens in full bloom, learn different growing tips and techniques, and exchange ideas. Most tours conclude with a snack or potluck meal and are free and open to the public. In 2024, we added a second day to Maine School Garden Dayand kicked off the School Garden Summer Tourseason with a visit to see the great work being done at nearby Stratton School (a new Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute participant), followed by an inspirational hike at Reed Brook Falls led by a Maine guide.
The Maine School Garden Network also offers an opportunity to connect school gardens with their local agricultural fair through the School Garden Grown! program, which allows school gardens to show off their bounty by entering their produce in agricultural fairs while also promoting their work. One teacher said, “It was a great experience to harvest with my seventh graders, choose items to showcase, and then be able to bring a nice ribbon back (with a check!) to share. It created excitement for next year’s growing season and pride in our school gardens.”
One area of concern for school gardens is finding funding for their projects and a garden coordinator’s salary. Not only do we have a section called “Financing Your School Garden” on our website, each month we profile a Grant of the Month opportunity in our newsletter. As a result of finding out that only 52% of school garden coordinators receive any kind of pay in our survey, we secured funding for a two-year grant program, School Garden Caretakers, to provide grants to pay school garden coordinators for their work. Once a school gardener receives a public stamp of approval like this, it increases the likelihood that they will be included in future school budgets. One grant recipient said, “My principal has requested a standing stipend for the garden coordinator position, largely initiated by your grant funding. That is a huge nod to the important work garden coordinators do. Thank you for sending a strong message to our school districts with this money.”
To offer ongoing support, we have an extensive website featuring resources related to school gardens, including teaching, managing, financing, and cooking; a monthly newsletter for an in-depth look at specific topics; and a Facebook page to offer timely information and share what our partner organizations are up to. Learn more by visiting msgn.org, watching our five-minute YouTube video, and/or by emailing [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the winter 2024-2025 issue of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener.