bringing science to life

By using gardens as living laboratories for exploration and experimentation.

improving health outcomes

By fostering a positive relationship between children and fresh fruits and vegetables.

getting students out and active

Spending active time outdoors improves student health and well being.

Our History

School Garden Project has served Lane County with direct education and garden support services since 2001. Educational services include both in-school and after-school, standards-based science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. Our support services include garden design and building assistance; access to tools and educational materials; access to seeds and starts distributions; teacher professional development opportunities; community workshops; and comprehensive, standards-based curriculum that brings science to life right on school grounds.

2000-2001

School Garden Project of Lane County (SGP) was founded in 2001 by Emily Dietzman and Colby Eiermann. In the fall of 2000, Colby and Ann Bettman led a school garden focus team at the University of Oregon’s Urban Farm which formed connections with 8 Eugene area schools interested in starting gardens. From January to March of 2001, Colby and Emily co-taught a School Garden Seminar for UO’s Department of Landscape Architecture. As part of the School Garden Seminars and the Urban Farm focus teams, UO students designed, and in some cases, constructed gardens in local schools. SGP evolved as an organization to support the school gardens that had been started or planned during these classes. In the beginning, the boundaries between work completed as part of a UO class and that of SGP were not clear, and a lot of the work was credited to both SGP and the UO Department of Landscape Architecture. In 2001, SGP worked with Meadow View School, Goshen Community Schools, and the Churchill Community Garden (Churchill HS and Kennedy MS). Before SGP achieved its own nonprofit status, it functioned under the umbrella of the Lane County Food Coalition (LCFC).

2002-2003

On Feb 7, 2002, School Garden Project (SGP) filed Articles of Incorporation as a nonprofit corporation in the state of Oregon. Emily Dietzman, Megan Kemple, Stephan Meyer, and Jen Anonia were the incorporators. In the spring of 2002, SGP sent an email survey to all Lane County teachers asking about their school gardens and received replies from 70; Clear Lake Elementary, River Road Elementary, Madison Middle School, Village School, and Head Start of Lane County gardens were started with SGP’s support in the spring of 2002. In April 2002, SGP published our first newsletter. In May 2002, the first Benefit Celebration was held at the UO Urban Farm. SGP later held a Harvest Festival at River Road Elementary School in October.

2003-2004

On March 27, 2003, School Garden Project (SGP) was granted 501(c) (3) nonprofit status by the IRS. By March, SGP was working with South Eugene High School, Gilham Elementary School, Oakhill Elementary School, Walterville Elementary School, Outdoor High School, the North Eugene HS Greenhouse, and the Eugene Waldorf School, in addition to those listed in 2001-2002. In May 2003, the second Benefit Celebration was held at the UO Urban Farm.

2004-2005

In 2004 School Garden Project (SGP) began working with Fox Hollow Elementary School. In May 2004, the third Benefit Celebration was held at the UO Urban Farm. In September, 2004, SGP held a School Garden Tour and Harvest Celebration at 5 school gardens and also shared a booth with LCFC at the Eugene Celebration. SGP held its first donor campaign that November.

2005-2006

In February, School Garden Project (SGP) produced a new School Brochure which clearly listed our services and introduced the concept of Member Schools (now known as Support Service Schools). In March, we had a display and gave a workshop at the Oregon Green School Summit. In April, we offered Member Schools (Support Service Schools) a chance to apply for donated garden store gift certificates and recruited 6 Schools. In April, 2005, SGP had a booth at the Eugene Earth Day Celebration and put out our fifth newsletter. We held our first McMenamins Friends & Family Night benefit at the East 19th Café and received our first large donation from a major donor. In May, 2005, the fourth Benefit Celebration was held at the UO Urban Farm. In September, SGP held a joint event with Slow Food Eugene at the Eastside School garden and the UO Urban Farm.

2006-2007

In January, School Garden Project (SGP) shared a booth with LCFC at the Good Earth Home show and put out our seventh newsletter. We started maintaining a separate email list for volunteers and sending out regular notices of volunteer opportunities, which resulted in regular volunteer support. We began our annual business fundraising campaign. In February, SGP built its own greenhouse at the FOOD For Lane County Youth Farm and started growing starts for school gardens. We held our second McMenamins Friends & Family Night benefit and awarded donated gift certificates to two Member Schools. In May, 2006, the fifth Benefit Celebration was held at the UO Urban Farm. During this year, SGP succeeded in getting school gardens included in the Eugene 4J District Wellness Policy. In June, we had a booth at the KLCC Garden Tour at the Eastside School Garden. In 2006 we served 13 Member Schools (Support Services), largely as a result of the thousands of plants grown in our greenhouse. We improved our Partner School gardens over the year by coordinating the construction of storage sheds, new raised beds, weed control fabric, irrigation systems, and compost bins.

2007-2008

In 2007 School Garden Project (SGP) added two new partner schools, Lorane Elementary and Applegate Elementary in the Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District. We also forged a new partnership with the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition and OSU Extension – Nutrition Education Services to pilot a gardening/nutrition/farm program for the 5th and 6th graders at each school. In addition to those two new partner schools we continued serving Brattain, Clear Lake, Family/Chavez, Goshen, Ridgeline, River Road and Walterville Elementary schools. We also supported 17 Member Schools.

2008-2009

In 2008, School Garden Project (SGP) supported construction of new gardens at Applegate Elementary, Network Charter School, Harris/Eastside, Camp Creek Elementary, and Fairfield Elementary. With two new AmeriCorps staff members, we were able to coordinate weekly (rather than bi-weekly) school visits. Program structure and lesson plans were codified, incorporating standards-based curriculum designed by board member and retired teacher Karen Wildish in 2007-2008. In the 2008-2009 school year, approximately 550 students from 30 classes participated in our educational programs.

2009-2010

During 2009, School Garden Project (SGP) worked with 12 schools helping to provide education programs including Family School, Edison, Arts and Technology Academy, César E. Chávez, Ridgeline Montessori, River Road, Parker, Lorane, Applegate, Goshen and Brattain elementary schools. We also supported an additional 31 schools through our Support Services Program by providing seeds and starts as well as garden consultation.

2010-2011

During 2010, School Garden Project (SGP) partnered with Oregon Green Schools, Partners for Sustainable Schools, and the City of Eugene as a part of a Composting Grant Program. 10 schools received grants as well as direct support from SGP staff in building and setting up on-site cafeteria composting. Our first written curriculum also appeared in our archives during 2010. We served 16 schools including Adams, Applegate, Arts and Technology Academy, Brattain, Camas Ridge, César E. Chávez, Clear Lake, Creslane, Danebo, Edison, Fairfield, Goshen, Lorane, Parker, River Road, and Wlaterville elementary schools.

2011-2012

With the support of Food Corps, School Garden Project (SGP) programs expanded into 4 schools with after-school garden clubs, while maintaining 8 in-school educational programs in 4 school districts including Adams, Applegate, Arts and Technology Academy, César E. Chávez, Clear Lake, Family School, Fairfield, and Walterville elementary schools.

2012-2013

2012 brought exciting changes to our organization as we brought on new Executive Director John Moriarty, along with new paid teaching staff. Through a partnership with Eugene School District 4J’s BEST Plus after-school program, we began offering STEM in the Garden education at 4 schools including César E. Chávez Elementary, Howard Elementary, River Road Elementary, and Kelly Middle School. We also maintained 4 after-school garden clubs in Eugene 4J schools as well as 9 in-school education programs throughout Lane County. During this time we provided teacher workshops in STEM education through funding provided by the City of Eugene. 22 additional schools received Support Services including seeds, starts, garden consultations, and grant connections.

2013-2014

During the 2013-2014 school year, 1,087 students received direct education through our programs. School Garden Project (SGP) delivered 479 educational sessions with 1,683 student hours spent actively gardening. During 2013 SGP also provided our first “Growing Success with School Gardens” workshop series as well as led four “Beyond Gardening” mini workshops to 61 local teachers which focused on using school gardens for math, literature, art, and science. Our programs expanded to additional Springfield schools as we maintained 8 after-school programs including Garden Club and STEM in the Garden. During this year we continued to serve 11 schools through our in-school educational programs. 43 schools and educational institutions received Support Services with a total of 1,402 seed packets and 4,313 plant starts being distributed locally.

2014-2015

During the 2014 school year our programs served 1,237 students in 13 schools through in-school education. School Garden Project (SGP) provided 567 educational sessions with 1,702 hours spent actively gardening. This year, 32 organizations received Support Services with a total of 465 packets of seeds, 6,419 plant starts, and more than 45 hours of garden consultation delivered through the program. To help build community capacity for garden education, SGP provided workshops, tours, and professional development to more than 125 parents, teachers, garden educators, and other members of the community, both locally and at the state level. Programs included methods for all teachers to use the school garden with their students, STEM curriculum development, composting, and summer garden care.

2015-2016

In the 2015-2016 school year, 1,288 students in 14 schools were served through our in-school education programs. This included 577 educational sessions, with a total of 10,304 kid hours spent active in the outdoor garden classroom. Our Support Services program reached 43 organizations. These organizations received 6,656 plant starts, 802 packets of seeds, 180 pounds of seed potatoes, and 15 pounds of cover crop seed. With support from the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation, we focused our attention towards adapting curriculum and teaching approaches to better encompass equity, diversity, and inclusion. In addition, we partnered with a professor in the University of Oregon, College of Education and 12 teachers from five local school districts to form a Collaborative Professional Learning Community, in order to share our knowledge of outdoor learning, while learning from others with years of formal teaching experience.

2016-2017

School Garden Project (SGP) programs continued to grow during the 2015-2016 school year! We directly served 1,396 students at 17 schools with our in-school education programs. 571 educational sessions were provided, with a total of 13,750 active kid hours in the outdoor classroom. Through the Support Services program, over 7,500 plant starts and 950 seed packets were distributed to 33 member organizations, as well as support through resources and curriculum development. This year we expanded programming to pilot our middle school in-school program. In addition, we continued our focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion within our programming and shared our experiences with others through workshops and professional development opportunities.