Welcome to the New London County School Garden Network

It's been a number of years in the making - the forming of a School Garden Network to connecting school garden coordinators, teachers, volunteers, master gardeners, farmers, and school food service staff in New London County. It's a fast becoming a place to share our school garden ideas, resources, standard-based curriculum, and of course, the successes and challenges of providing an outdoor learning experience. 

Students learn about plant growth

Over the past decade we have witnessed a substantial growth in the number of school gardens, something we are very excited about! In 2014, the ACHIEVE New London County Coalition and the New London County Food Policy Council released reports. While ACHIEVE summarized the health needs of the community, the Food Policy Council assessed the county's food system. Both these reports recommended school garden programs, as part of overall plan to improve nutrition.

Today, are well on our way towards completing an inventory of school gardens, and guess what? School gardens in New London County are fast becoming the new "outdoor classroom", and with good reason. The benefits of school gardening are abundantly clear. 

Students who participate in school garden programs: 

• are more likely to eat vegetables they have grown themselves and to ask for them at home;
• express pride in their school, especially those that grow food for their school cafeteria or local soup kitchens;
• master learning objectives outlined in the Common Core Standards for science, English, math and social studies;
• are more physically active (both in and out of school) than their non-gardening peers; and
• are less likely to develop obesity and other chronic diseases

The Regional Cultural Magnet School Garden

     And the list goes on, and on, and on!

A New School Garden Network for New London County: On November 19th, we held our first School Garden Network meeting, hosted by FRESH New London. The response was overwhelmingly positive -  having a place to come together and talk about "all things school gardens" is a terrific idea! 

Under the auspices of the Farm Fresh New London County Schools initiative, the School Garden Network will meet periodically and use this blog as a way to share events, photos, resources, and best practices. We will also use the Farm Fresh Schools Facebook page to communicate between meetings and share broader Farm to School Program activities, like Harvest for Schools, Tasting Tuesday and Youth Ambassador event.

Please join us by adding your email address and sign up for our blog. Next week, we will write about ordering seeds, designing your garden, and forming your garden team - stay tuned.

Cindy Barry,
Farm Fresh New London County Schools
Ledge Light Health District

This Week's References and Resources:

• CDC Strategies to Increase Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables  
• USDA Preschool and School Garden Resources 
• School Gardens Grow Kids Physical Activity Levels

School Districts with School Gardens: 
The following public school districts have been identified as having a school garden program. Programs range from after-school programs and garden clubs to comprehensive integrated outdoor classrooms. If you have a school garden and are not on the list, please let us know.

A drip irrigation system added at Great Neck School

East Lyme Public Schools
Norwich Public Schools
Ledyard Public Schools
The Friendship School

New London Public Schools
Regional Cultural Magnet School
Waterford Public Schools
North Stonington Public Schools
Groton Public Schools
Stonington Public Schools
Lebanon Regional Ag. School

Survey Says! 

In 2013, the CT School Garden Resource Network conducted a survey of public schools about their garden practices. School that participated in the survey from New London County shared valuable information from which to plan education and professional development activities to ensure sustainable garden programs.
The top five needs of school garden programs include:

1. garden maintenance and design
2. resources and materials
3. building teacher and parent enthusiasm
4. staff training/professional development
5. curriculum and age specific garden activities

These are all aspects of school gardening that we will focus on in the coming months as part of the New London County School Garden Network. Stay tuned!