Category : Garden Tips & Resources
Paper Pots
Paper Pots Make paper pots with your kids and learn about reusing newspaper to help your garden grow! Ages 5+, 30 min+ Reuse newspaper to help get your seeds started in a pot you can make at home with your kids. There is no need to go out and buy small pots when [...]
Amazing Reseeding Annuals
Reseeding AnnualsI call them "amazing" because this bunch of plants has the ability to surprise and delight every year that they return to the garden! Self-sowing, or reseeding plants create seeds that re-emerge as plants year after year. Some gardeners refer to these p [...]
Education Outside School Garden Program Resources
Education Outside’s School Garden Program Resources – An Incredible Collection of Resources to Run a School Garden Program [...]
Whole Class Garden Caretaker Activities
As part of a University of California Global Food Initiative project that we collaborated on with UC Davis and UC Berkeley, we created the the following activity guides for undergraduates to lead local school children in garden caretaking. These UCSC students are part o [...]
Make a Weather Station
Incorporating climate science into a classroom or garden is a fun and enriching way to heighten students' awareness of the natural world around them. Weather stations are compact and versatile and are an excellent tool for teaching children about weather patterns and da [...]
Independent Stations – Caretaking and Monitoring the Garden
A garden classroom is wonderful space for children to "take ownership" of a corner of their school. Here are examples and resources for independent stations that contribute to garden caretaking and/or engage students in the scientific practice of observation. Many of th [...]
Whitney Cohen on Garden Based Education – An Urban Farm U Podcast
Whitney Cohen on Garden Based Education Examining school garden support organizations to promote natural world learning. Whitney is a teacher, trainer, and author with tremendous commitment to, and expertise in, inquiry- and place-based education; strategies for en [...]
Webinar: Innovative Ways to Fund Your School Garden
View the archived webinar at EdWeb Growing School Gardens Community www.edweb.net/schoolgardens. Life Lab curates the following resources at the Collective School Garden Network: Finding Funds for School Gardens at www.csgn.org/funding-school-gardens More on [...]
Summer Vacation for Your School Garden
Summer Vacation for Your Garden- Adapted from The Life Lab Garden Times, Spring 2003. Here are some ideas to keep your garden maintained during the summer so that your fall garden will be full of treats to harvest instead of weeds. Garden Guardia [...]
Outdoor Classroom Management Webinar
View Life Lab and EdWeb's Growing School Garden Community webinar on Outdoor Classroom Management View the archived webinar here! View all our webinars. View Life Lab's resources on effective outdoor classroom management Presenters: Whitney Cohen, Education Dir [...]
Steps to a Successful Garden Workday
-by John Fisher Life Lab's Director of Partnerships and Programs This post is part of our Sustaining School Gardens Series Over the years I have led many garden workdays at the Life Lab Garden Classroom and school gardens across California. In addition to the obv [...]
Plastic Bottle Greenhouse
What a great example of repurposing, but do they work? I have researched a bit and asked school gardeners that use these greenhouses if they do work. They can with the right design. The following sites are the b [...]
How Do Schools Compost?
A senior intern at Life Lab, Savannah Rugg, created a composting in schools survey (still open!) to better understand how composting functions in schools and school-districts. The survey asks questions regarding types of composting, compost materials, compost manageme [...]
The Ultimate School Composting Resource Page
This post is part of our Sustaining School Gardens series. Attention school gardeners: A summary of nearly 70 responses to a school compost survey are described on this blog page. Check it out to see how compost functions in schools! The survey is still open and we [...]
Saving Water in the Garden
The newest sign in our Garden Sign collection is designed by National Geographic Scientific Illustrator Jose Miguel Mayo and demonstrates tips and tools for saving water. View all our Garden Sign Designs. Tips for Saving Water in the Garden Plant native and dr [...]
Fall 2013 Newsletter
View our September 2013 Newsletter View newsletter archives Program Updates Meet Faith - Support our Work Summer Accomplishments Announcing the National School Garden Network The Top Ten of Farm- and Garden-Based Education Garden Tips and Educator Resources [...]
Detergent Bottle Watering Can
Watering is an activity that kids can do by themselves, with little or no instruction. Having kids water their garden instills a care taking ethic. Kids love to water and having a watering can for every kid makes it even more fun! By collecting the right types of bot [...]
Spring 2013 Newsletter
View The May 2013 Garden Times - Life Lab's Newsletter Program Updates What We Have Been Up To Since Our Last Newsletter Meet our Senior Program Associate - Amber Turpin and her baby Hazel Update on the California School Garden Training Program California Foo [...]
School Garden Design Webinar
Life Lab's John Fisher led a photo filled webinar on School Garden Design as part of EdWeb's Growing School Gardens Community. Design Ideas for a Fun, Successful Instructional School Garden Webinar shares school garden design elements from school gardens across the n [...]
December 2012 Life Lab Newsletter
You don't want to miss our December 2012 Newsletter. In This Issue Garden Tips and Educator Resources Planting Fruits Trees and Vines in School Gardens Sustaining School Gardens - Funding Garden Coordinators Book Review: Our School Garden! Recipe: H [...]
Sustaining School Gardens – Funding Garden Coordinators
Model Policies and Organizations from Across the Country Written by Whitney Cohen. Life Lab Education Director School gardens are fantastic! (To be convinced, view The Garden, A Master Teacher) But that's not what this article's about, so let me start over. School g [...]
100 Plus Years of Garden-Based Learning
Check out the Chard those kids are holding!! And we thought that our 35 plus years of school garden work at Life Lab was a long time. Browse through these school garden publications from a 100+ years ago! There are some great illustrations and images in many [...]
Summer 2012 Newsletter
You don't want to miss our Summer 2012 Newsletter. In This Issue Garden Tips and Educator Resources Seed Saving Resources and Video Growing Questions - Inquiry in the Garden Teaching at a Farmer's Market Recipes: Zucchini Baba Ganoush and More Disc [...]
Seed Saving Resources
Educator Resources for Teaching About Seeds A Handful of Seeds: Seed-Saving and Seed Study for Educators - free download with practical information on seed saving in the school garden and seed history and lore. Fedco Seeds has multiple seed fundraising oppo [...]
Growing Questions – Inquiry in the Garden
When kids explore Life Lab's Garden Classroom, questions naturally bubble to the surface. Giant drops of water on kohlrabi leaves, gophers peering out of their holes, and hummingbirds drinking from flower vases seem to ignite their curiosity. We find students' [...]
Spring 2012 Newsletter
View Newsletter View Archives Garden Tips and Recipe Make a Human Sundial Edible Crop Planning Recipe - Kale Salad Program Updates The Book of Garden Projects for Kids Update on the California School Garden Training Progra [...]
Make A Human Sundial
The human sundial in our garden never fails to fascinate children and adults alike. To use it a person stands on the appropriate month marked on the ground and their shadow is cast on a numbered marker that tells the time. A human sundial or analemmatic sundial dif [...]
2012 Winter Newsletter
You don't want to miss our Winter 2012 Newsletter. In This Issue Garden Tips and Lessons Lesson - Six Seed Trail Mix Making Garden Signs - Tips and Photos Lesson Packet - Feeling Fine With Fresh Foods Recipe - Winter Squash Teacakes Program Updates 2011 Pr [...]
Planning Annual Vegetable Crops
What are Annual Plants? Annuals plants go from a planted seed to producing a seed within a year. They complete their whole lifecycle in one year or season. Annual plants make up most of our vegetable crops, and many of them can be harvested within 2 to 3 months after s [...]
Making Garden Signs
In the Life Lab Garden Classroom, we consider a good sign to be one that you don't have to repair year after year ... unless, of course, you want sign making to be a project for your students year after year. If making signs year after year, or having the flexibili [...]
“Help! I’m the New Garden Parent” – Online Lessons and Resources for Garden Educators
Recently, my friend who has become the "garden parent" for her son's school lamented to me, "I know how to garden, but what am I going to do with 10 kindergarteners in the garden?" There is a world of difference between gardening in your yard and [...]
Worm Composting Resources and Video
We like our red worms that compost for us at the Garden Classroom. Here are some resources for you to learn and teach about red worms. Life Lab's Ultimate School Composting Website The Worm Guide: Vermicomposting Guide for Teachers From California Waste [...]
400 Interns and Counting – Working with Interns at The Garden Classroom
Tips for running an internship program Life Lab Internships Engaging University Students in Local School Gardens: A Toolkit for School Districts, School Garden Support Organizations and Universities 400 Interns and Counting – Working with Interns at The Gar [...]
Spanish Language Garden Resources
See English language version of this list Redes y Herramientas Para Buscar Recursos Sobre Huertos Escolares y Educación en Nutrición Red Internacional de Huertos Escolares una herramienta para el intercambio de experiencias, recursos e inspiración. Big [...]
Farm and Garden Educator Resource Round-up
Farm and Garden Educator Resources that were shared during the "On the farm and in the garden educators" bus tour. 2011 Eco-Farm Bus Tour visited Cesar Chavez Middle School in Watsonville, De LaVeaga School in Santa Cruz, The Life Lab Garden Classro [...]
Reuse and Repurpose in the Garden
Save money, save your landfill, and teach conservation by reusing materials in your garden. Next time you're off to buy something at the garden center first look around to see what else you have that might do the trick. Check out these resources for creat [...]
Chicken Coop Design
Many folks have asked us for our chicken coop design. Here it is as a four page PDF(1.4mb). This coop is: easy to clean with its side access door crafty with its viewing windows and hinged roof option secure with a nest box and entrance that can be easily [...]
Building an Outdoor Classroom
View more of our school garden design resources. View the photos below to see the progression of our site and ideas for creating a Zoo Bed. You can also track the progress on our social media pages. We mainly use Instagram but also have FaceBook and Twitter! We start [...]
Our Garden Classroom
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 Cente [...]
Edible Crop Planning
If you haven't already it is time to start planting for your school harvest.. Planting for a school time harvest takes a bit more planning so that you time your harvests while school is still in session. Generally there are a few harvest windows during the school y [...]
