Grow Healthy, Lansing! Nutrition Education in the Edible Schoolyard

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: no-till, pollination, pollinator habitat
• Education and Training: demonstration, mentoring, networking, youth education
• Production Systems: holistic management, permaculture
• Soil Management: composting, earthworms, organic matter, soil microbiology, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: community development, community services, leadership development, local and regional food systems, quality of life, social capital, social networks, urban agriculture

We plan and maintain gardens at four elementary schools in Lansing, MI. We use those gardens as settings for our year-round garden-based nutrition education programs. The children we work with are participatory in every stage of our garden season, from beginning to end and become intimately familiar with the practices necessary to grow food. The nutrition component of our work has given us a natural context to highlight the work of local farmers - we’re able to introduce our students to the people whose garlic we buy for fall planting and whose hoophouse greens are used in our winter lessons.

Objective 1: We will grow, harvest and distribute 200 pounds of food to the students and families who participate
in our program.
Objective 2: We will support the development and implementation of a student-led garden project at Sheridan
Road STEM school that uses sustainable agriculture practices.
Objective 3: We will grow our students' knowledge and understanding of many components of local food systems
through introductions to 2 farmers and 1 chef.
Objective 4: We will continue our outreach efforts and welcome 80 visitors to the gardens during our summer
open garden hours events.