School Gardens
City Green’s School Grounds mission is to provide outdoor garden classrooms, teacher training, and on-going support for partner schools in New Jersey to enhance academic achievement across disciplines, as well as ensure student interaction with the natural world, access to hands-on experimental learning, and an understanding of where food comes.
Collaborating teachers gain the curriculum, resources, knowledge, and enthusiasm to use this outdoor classroom as an educational asset and as a tool to cultivate a farm-to-school culture that values and celebrates garden education as an integral part of developing the whole child.
Grow a School garden with city green
About: City Green provides garden design, build and installation services, project funding, teacher training opportunities, and ongoing technical support to a limited number of schools looking to start an independent school garden project each year. The School Garden program is designed to support and empower schools in starting their own school garden program rooted in their nature-based learning goals.
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How to apply: School Garden Inquiries for Spring/Summer 2025 are closed. To begin the application process, interested schools will submit the project inquiry form in during the open application period, approximately between August and October 2025. Selected schools will be contacted by City Green to schedule a site visit in Fall 2025 at the proposed garden site and continue the program application process. Schools selected for the City Green School Garden program can receive a discounted/low-cost garden design, installation and teacher training package provided by City Green staff.
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Eligibility:
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Program Service Area includes: any municipality iin Passaic County, and the following towns: Elmwood Park, Garfield, Lodi, Bloomfield, Nutley, Belleville, Montclair.
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Pre-k - Middle Schools only. High School garden clubs or green teams can apply for garden support within our Dig In! Community Garden Grant program
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Schools with 50 - 100% free and reduced lunch will be given preference.
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Evaluation of Inquiries:
Schools’ inquiries will be reviewed with special attention to the following criteria:
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Project Sustainability:
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School has a dynamic garden committee with multiple school and community stakeholders and provides detailed plans for an ongoing and long term garden maintenance plan
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Garden Site Functionality:
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Site is level, has 8 or more hours of sunlight, accessible to a water hook-up, and is safe/accessible for children of ranging abilities.
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Clear Program Vision:
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School provides a dynamic vision for how students and teachers will regularly utilize gardens to meet curricular objectives and provide opportunities for outdoor, nature-based learning.​
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School Grounds Network
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Starting in Fall 2024, all schools in City Green’s existing School Grounds Network will be required to register annually as a “School Grounds Network Member” to continue receiving ongoing school garden services from City Green. These services include City Green’s monthly newsletters, ongoing technical support, garden clean-ups and repairs, seed and seedling kits, soil bags, free teacher workshops and more.
The membership program will allow City Green to have updated information on active school gardens, while allowing us to expand and improve our services for school garden members in our local area. We look forward to better supporting you!
Fall 2024-Spring 2025 membership registration is open NOW through October 20th, 2024. Sign up now to ensure you can receive early fall garden services (seed and seedling kits, clean-ups etc) . After October 20th, membership will be closed for the school year, and City Green will pause communication and service offerings to your school.
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Questions? Contact Miranda at mmadrazo@city-green.org or call 973-869-4086.
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