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LATEST STRATEGY: We submitted letters of support for GGRF budget requests
Vision
Vision
We believe that every student deserves to learn about the natural world around them through hands-on outdoor learning experiences to support youth to become environmentally literate.
Mission
Mission
We advocate for every California public school to have the resources, including long-term funding, to provide on-school site garden-based instruction as an equitable and cost-effective way to instill environmental literacy across all grade levels.
Main Goal
Main Goal
Secure Sustainable Funding
Secure Sustainable Funding
from the state budget to install, maintain, and lead instruction in experiential school garden programs* statewide at all public schools for every grade band level (TK-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12).
Sub-Goal
Sub-Goal
Establish a system of support
Establish a system of support
for launching and sustaining school garden programs by establishing a statewide infrastructure for leadership.
*We acknowledge and support all types of instructional school garden spaces (e.g. edible, greenhouse, hydroponics, native habitat, pollinator, etc.) as living classrooms and recognize their equitable and varying educational outcomes.
Strategies
Strategies
ADVOCACY
ADVOCACY
Request sustainable funding from the state for all schools to have school gardens and edcational programs (e.g. ballot measure, legislation, commitment of sustained funding from government).
IMPACT
IMPACT
Conduct research, gather evidence, and publish case studies to present the qualitative and quantitative impact that school garden programs provide. Identify best practices for installation, maintenance, and instruction in school gardens across California.
NETWORK
NETWORK
Cultivate a network of organizations across the state that provide direct support for school garden instructional programs, and develop a shared vision.
Background
Background
ISSUE: School gardens do not have sustainable funding
ISSUE: School gardens do not have sustainable funding
California students and educators face many challenges that inequitably impact their physical and mental health, which is exacerbated by climate change and extreme weather events. These challenges include decreased academic achievement, agency and empowerment, engagement, enthusiasm for learning, environmental literacy, social and emotional learning (SEL), and increased childhood health issues, including obesity, high diabetes rates, and general anxiety. Further compounding these issues is the pervasive plugged-in screen culture that disconnects youth from the natural world.
School garden programs provide solutions for all of these challenges, but the lack of funding, school district awareness and buy-in, and qualified instructors means only a select few California public K–12 school students receive the benefits.
SOLUTION: Fund school garden instructor staff
SOLUTION: Fund school garden instructor staff
Sustainable funding to install, maintain, and lead instruction in school garden programs for every grade level at all California public schools.
Garden-based instruction offers a cost-effective and equitable way to engage students with the natural world around them, providing environmental literacy, agency, and empowerment that gives youth the foundational knowledge necessary to prepare them for the climate challenges they will face as adults. School garden programs address equity issues by providing all students access to nature, academic achievement issues by increasing curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, health issues by providing healthy food options, and anxiety and SEL issues through outdoor experiential learning.
Projected Timeline
Projected Timeline
Phase 1 Details
Phase 1 Details
Concept Exploration: Conduct exploratory meetings with partners to consider purpose, core outcomes, key partners, and strategies.
Listening Tour & Surveys: Interview and survey school garden-focused organizations to explore potential partnerships and relevant needs, and determine if the coalition’s missions and vision resonate.
Identify Leaders: Select a coordinating agency and establish a leadership team.
Convene Partners: Bring key partners together to share tour and survey results (August 2023).
Phase 2 Details
Phase 2 Details
Develop Mission & Plan: Establish a shared vision, mission, goals, strategies, structure, timeline, case-making documents, and a one-year plan.
Start Projects: To make our case and shape our legislative strategy.
Launch & Convene Partners: Establish partnerships, launch a website, share newsletters, and convene regular meetings.
Develop a Legislative Strategy: Share the coalition’s mission and overview with legislative staffers, lobbyists, and expert advisors to determine the most viable legislative approach.
Phase 3 Details
Phase 3 Details
Refine Legislative Strategy: Meet with legislators and agencies.
Finalize Projects: That support our case.
Garner Support: Obtain endorsements for the concept proposal.
Propose Legislation: In hopes of a legislator or agency making a bill request for our legislative strategy.
Phase 4 Details
Phase 4 Details
Raise awareness: Meet with legislators, consultants, agencies, and community-based partners. Host broader coalition meetings and an Advocacy Day in Sacramento.
Garner Support: Call for letters or support and outreach to legislators
Research Funding: Determine funding options for phase 2.
Connect: Meet with relevant initiatives for input to uplift the school garden community and surrounding communities.
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