UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
Master Gardeners of San Mateo/San Francisco Counties
School Gardens Program
Many children believe that vegetables are produced “magically” in grocery stores. Our Master Gardener School Garden Program is comprised of UC-trained volunteers that work with schools on their garden-based needs and with that help, children learn about how vegetables, fruit and flowers are grown. We want these children to have the joy of a hands-on gardening experience in their own school gardens. And that’s only the beginning.
• One of the highest priority items of the School Gardens Program is to tackle childhood obesity. This recognized health problem has become a major issue in our community and it is growing fast. We encourage the development and maintenance of sustainable gardens in San Mateo County schools and stress the importance of growing and eating nutritious food. Learning with plants is highly important in preventing obesity in children by encouraging the children to eat the foods they grow themselves. We are determined to increase nutrition education as part of our school garden training program
* The 2008 Community Assessment: Health and Quality of life in San Mateo County recommends reducing child obesity rates by increased nutritional education and adding school gardens to all schools.
* Our School Garden Program also promotes an understanding of our environment, including beneficial pollinators, water conservation and climate changes which are fast becoming critical issues. It is important for children to learn that the environment must be tended so that they grow healthy and stay healthy.
* We offer development workshops to train teachers, parents and staff on how to create and maintain a sustainable garden. Our workshops include instructional strategies for using the garden as a teaching tool, basic garden management skills to insure sustainability, a complete and detailed plan for the development of a school garden, and advanced training based on the UCCE “Farm to Fork” nutrition curriculum.
* Another important aspect of our program is sharing resources with our community through outreach and collaboration with other organizations with similar goals such as the San Mateo County Public Health Department, UCCE Nutrition Department, and UC Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
We are enthusiastic about this important program and its growth and we hope you will join us in this endeavor. Please join us in our work with school gardens.
Please contact Glenda xxxxxxx, at xxxxxx, for more information.