Life Lab cultivates children's love of learning, nourishing food, and nature through garden-based education.
What We Do
Life Lab is a national leader in garden-based learning. Through innovative training and award-winning curriculum, Life Lab has equipped tens of thousands of educators nationwide to engage students in vibrant, outdoor garden classrooms. At the Garden Classroom educational center in Santa Cruz, Life Lab fosters experiential learning through field trips, summer camps, internships, and professional development events.
Life Lab History
It all started in 1979 with a team of inspired teachers, some open land outside a classroom, and a vision. Since the first Life Lab school garden was created at Green Acres Elementary School in Santa Cruz, CA, Life Lab has continuously engaged young people in gardens and taught others to do the same. View a timeline of our history documented on our blog.
Our Commitment to Equity and Inclusion
Life Lab is committed to advancing equity and inclusion as we cultivate children’s love of learning, nourishing food, and nature through garden-based education. Fulfilling this mission requires that we learn about and confront the barriers of oppression encountered by the communities with whom we work. We understand that racism is at the core of many intersecting inequities, operating on personal, interpersonal, institutional, and structural levels. Therefore, Life Lab values and builds partnerships with communities where systemic racism creates barriers to nature, wellness and experiential education. Life Lab knows that a staff with diverse lived experiences, reflective of the communities we serve, is essential to the work we do. We also recognize that equity and inclusion are both goals and daily practices. We strive to grow and support an organizational culture that centers ongoing learning, justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and solidarity. We believe that liberatory garden-based educational opportunities and organizational practices support a more just future.
MOTION To adopt the following organizational Equity Commitment for Life Lab as the first part of our Equity Rationale to inform our vision, planning and daily work. (Approved by the Board of Directors May 20, 2022)
(This commitment is the first part of a five-part Equity Rationale we are continuing to develop.)
Recognition for Life Lab
Life Lab has won numerous awards and has been acclaimed by the following groups and individuals, among others:
National Science Teachers Association ∙ National Science Foundation ∙ National Science Resources Center/Smithsonian Institute ∙ California School Board Association ∙ U.S. Department of Education ∙ National Academy of Sciences ∙ U.S. Congressional Record ∙California Senator Bruce McPherson ∙ United Way Family Friendly Workplace ∙ Santa Cruz Education Foundation ∙Santa Cruz City Council ∙ National Parenting Publications Awards, Honors Winner ∙ Independent Publisher Book Awards ∙ Parents’ Choice Book Awards, Gold Medal ∙ Tillywig Toy Award: Books, Brain Child Award