In 1998, Life Lab Science Program began dreaming about creating an outdoor learning center where people could experience garden-based education.  After much planning, research and design, construction began in April of 2001. Life Lab along with the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems co-manage the two-acre Garden Classroom. The Garden Classroom which is located on the UCSC CASFS Farm overlooking the Monterey Bay. Come visit!

Download Garden Classroom Map and Guide

Download Garden Classroom Educational Elements which lists resources and ideas to replicate in your educational garden. View as a text document with live links.

Garden Classroom Tri-fold Brochure

Programs in the Garden Classroom

• Day Camps
• School Field Trips
• Community Events
• “Food, What?!” Youth Program
• Environmental Education Internships
• Educator Workshops

 What You’ll Find in The Garden Classroom

• The Rot Zone: A compost demonstration area featuring over ten different composting and vermicomposting structures
• A chicken coop with laying hens view our chicken cam  view our coop design
• Birds, Bats, Bees, Butterflies and Beyond: A wildlife habitat featuring bird blind, plant tunnel, native plants, nectary, solar powered bird bath, many feeders, bat house bird viewing station, hawk perch, bird houses and herb bed
• Pollination garden which features annual and perennial plants
• Observational Bee Hive
• Tropical/Dry Comparison Beds which feature plants with different adaptations for their environment
• A mini bog environment which hosts a hoard of carnivorous plants
• Central Spiral with plant petting zoo that features touchable plants of many textures and scents
• Tea beds full of harvestable teas and herbs
• Cut flower bed
• Native plant meadow
• Freshwater Pond featuring aquatic plants & waterfall
• Tool shed and storage area
• Sculpture, mosaic and other art projects in the garden
• Weather station
• Fruiting trees, shrubs, and vines
• Root view box
• Pizza bed
• Track Trail: wildlife footprints tell stories in the concrete pathways
• Recycled and salvaged materials used throughout demonstrate creative reuse
• A Human Sundial
• An Outdoor Garden Kitchen with Cob and Solar Ovens
• Agricultural History Timeline
• Vegetable row crop field for growing food crops
• Benches for picnicking
• A musical tree