Resources for Garden-based Learning
In celebration of back to school, we rounded up our favourite online and print teacher resources for integrating garden-based and food learning into your classroom. We love these resources and the organizations who produce them. If you are looking for ways to connect your school or classroom garden into your day to day teacher, we recommend you start here!
GrowLab
Activities by Kidsgardening.org
GrowLab is a complete printed curriculum that uses fun, illustrated activities to explore life cycles, examine plant diversity, and investigate the interdependence between plants and human in an inside classroom garden. Whether you’re growing plants in a greenhouse, under grow lights or on a windowsill, this comprehensive book provides you with all the information you need to use plants as a teaching tool in your classroom to engage young minds. Grades K-8.
Growing Classroom
By Lifelab
The Growing Classroom is a great printed lesson plan companion with both indoor and outdoor activities. Lesson topics include soil, plants, cycles, ecology, weather, nutrition, and food systems. This content rich guide also includes team-building and sensory exploration activities, organic gardening skills, and information on how to create and sustain a successful school garden program.
Learn, Grow, Eat, Go curriculum
by Junior Master Gardeners
Learn, Grow, Eat, Go! Is a research-based curriculum of the Junior Master Gardener Program. Created by teachers, this multifaceted garden, nutrition, and physical activities curriculum is evidence-based and academically rich. Through a set of hands-on, proven lessons, your students will better understand plants and how plants provide for people’s needs.
KidsGardening.org
Kids Gardening is a great online resource for garden-based educator resources. Kids Gardening has been help lead the school garden movement since 1982 and have a regular Growing Ideas blog with garden-based learning topics regularly.
LifeLab
Lifelab draws on over 35 years of work with young people in gardens. They have a rich resource library on their website that includes lesson plans, activities, gardening how-to’s and more!
Seed Survivor
By Nutrien
A fantastic resource for connecting your garden to the world of agriculture. From videos, activities and lesson plans, Seed Survivor website can help you and your students learn more about the world of agriculture.
Big Green
Big Green is a national American school good culture that promotes youth and wellness. They have several classroom resources available online, including activities and lesson plans for plant-based learning.
Edible SchoolYard Project
Edible Schoolyard is an iconic school garden organization founded by Alice Water’s and her ideas or edible education. Edible Schoolyard has a resource library full of activities, lesson plans on gardening, sustainability, cooking and more!
Soil Science Society
Looking for resources on soil? Dig in to the Soil Science Society of America’s lesson bank of hands-on activities all about soils and topics related to soils.
