Supporting School Gardens with Technical Assistance

Our “Garden for Every School” vision requires a multi-faceted approach that provides several types of support for teachers, schools and gardens. The four core pieces of our strategy include: District support, garden expertise (a FoodCorps service member), school grants, and a garden educator network.

We’ll break down each of these strategies in more detail.

Strategy 4: Support School Garden Creation and Operations with Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is important to success: an individual with expertise and time to support and guide garden construction and operations. That’s why we’ve hired a FoodCorps member to provide technical assistance for new and existing school gardens around our region.

FoodCorps connects kids to healthy food in school so that they can lead healthier lives and reach their full potential. Service members deliver programs in high-need schools, focusing on hands-on lessons, healthy school meals, and a schoolwide culture of health. FoodCorps programs are making a real, measurable impact across the country! In fact, students in FoodCorps schools with hands-on learning opportunities are eating triple the amount of fruits and veggies as students who receive less of that learning. Additionally, 6 in 10 students will finish out the year with an improved attitude towards trying new vegetables. We are so excited to see the impact made right here in our own community.

In fall, we will welcome FoodCorps member Claire to Central Oregon! During her time here, she will be focused on garden projects within selected schools. For example, she’ll be working with stakeholders to set up automatic irrigation systems, collaborating with teachers to identify curriculum connections, and more. She will also be delivering garden-based classroom presentations focused around food and nutrition. Her work will vary from school to school, depending on what is needed most.

Stay tuned to learn more about Claire and her role here at The Environmental Center and across Central Oregon.

Here’s a short video featuring Shaili, a current FoodCorps member who’s been working in Sisters, Oregon through COIC the last year!

Read more about our whole strategy here.

Make your donation to our “Garden For Every School” campaign here.