Children’s growing minds have so much curiosity about the world and exploring what it offers. School Gardens can be seen as an outdoor classroom, helping children learn about nature, how things grow and where their food comes from. School gardens teach children the responsibility of taking care of growing things. When children are involved with gardens, it teaches them about agriculture. If children can taste the fruits and vegetables they helped grow, they are more likely to eat them at home as well. School gardening can peak children’s interest in choosing healthy foods. School Gardens can help children score higher on their science achievement tests. A garden teaches teamwork and gives children responsibility, which in turn can help them to work on sharing, teamwork and taking turns. A sense of community and pride is felt by the children who are involved in gardening.

With all these benefits, who wouldn’t want to start a school garden? Not sure where to start? A good question to ask from the very beginning is where will the garden grow? Let your student's teacher or the school's administration office know of your interest and they can contact our garden liaison in the Food & Nutrition department to help the school get started!

If you are interested in starting a garden at your school or would like to learn more about the program, contact: Cord St.Pierre - stpierrec@pcsb.org or 727-303-7890

School Gardens Resource Links

Getting Started - A Guide for Creating School Gardens (PDF)

FDACS - School Gardens: Grow to Learn (PDF)