The resources listed below were created by Education Outside, a nonprofit based in San Francisco that operated a successful AmeriCorps program serving schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Education Outside was committed to advancing science education in public schools, outdoors. Education Outside closed its doors in June of 2019, but garden-based programming continues in these schools through other organizations.

These resources represent best practices, and lessons learned over eight years of training and deploying garden educators in public schools.

These materials are for use by schools, School Garden Support Organizations, AmeriCorps programs, or other environmental education programs working in schools. There is a range of topics from building buy-in to building and maintaining infrastructure. Also included is an abridged version of Education Outside’s kindergarten through 5th grade curriculum. These resources will be particularly helpful for organizations supporting multiple school gardens and the specialized educators who teach in them, but will also provide many useful tips and templates for classroom teachers who bring students to the garden.

For parents and teachers looking to start a school garden and aren’t sure where to begin, please refer to Education Outside’s book, How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers which can be purchased online.

Importantly, Education Outside has included materials related to their approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion in their hiring practices, programming, and training.

Please note that these resources are made available to the public for free, but are not for commercial use. Credit should be given to Education Outside if any material is used or adapted.

View a complete introduction to these resources and a brief history of Education Outside

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