June 22-27, 2025 - Santa Cruz, CA

The application window is now closed. Acceptance notifications will be sent out by travel information and pre-survey form data due April 15th.

What?

Every year, the School Garden Support Organization Leadership Institute provides an opportunity for school garden professionals from across the country to collaborate, learn from one another, and develop resources to share with a national audience. In this way, we all become able to better support school gardens in our regions, and also advance the national school garden movement.

School Garden Leaders at the 2020 Leadership Institute!

Tentative Agenda

Sunday 6/22 - Afternoon Arrival • Meet & Greet • Check-in Campus Apartments • Dinner • Optional Evening Activities
Monday 6/23 - Getting to Know Program Models • SGSO Network Resources • Applying a Lens of Equity to our Work  • Peer to Peer Solution Sessions • Evening Social Event
Tuesday 6/24 - Field trip to Live Oak School District School Gardens, District Kitchen, Future Farm Site •. Edible Crop Planning. •. Safe Produce Harvest & Handling for Meals & Tastings • Program Model Share Outs • Optional: Explore Santa Cruz / Eat Out
Wednesday 6/25 - Effective Professional Development Strategies • Redwood Walk & Talk
Thursday 6/26 - Team Planning & Share Outs • Fundraising & Grant Makers Panel • Field Trip to Pacific Elementary Food Lab • Cooking with Kids • Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education •. Final Dinner
Friday 6/27 - AM Departure • Optional Santa Cruz AM Adventures: Redwoods, Tide Pools, Surfing, West Cliff / Wharf Bike Ride

Attendee Timeline and Travel Details

  • Invitee Teams Confirm Attendance - March 20, 2025

  • Attendee Teams Submit Travel Details and Pre-Institute Survey - April 15th

  • Summit Dates - Sunday, June 22 — June 27

  • Summit Check-in takes place at the UC Santa Cruz Hay Barn on the UC Santa Cruz Campus. Check-in from 3:00-3:45pm

    Travel Planning Teams are responsible for arranging their own air travel to either San Jose (SJC - 45 minute drive to Conference Center) or San Francisco (SFO - 1.25 hour drive to Conference Center) airport. We will provide transportation from and to SFO or SJC for those arriving on the 22nd and leaving on the morning of the 27th.

    Please book your flight to arrive into San Francisco Airport (SFO) no later than 1:30pm or San Jose Airport (SJC) no later than 2:00pm on Sunday, December 22nd, 2025. Try to book departing flights leaving San Francisco no earlier than 1pm or San Jose no earlier than noon on Friday, June 27. Earlier departures on the 27th could be arranged if flights are limited, but traffic to airports will be more of a concern. For folks who will be driving, simply plan to arrive at UCSC Hay Barn no later than 3:30pm on June 22nd.

    For those of you that have time to explore Santa Cruz on Friday AM we encourage you to do so and schedule a later return flight. We will be sharing suggested explorations like biking on West Cliff Dr, surfing, tide pooling and exploring the redwoods. We will not be arranging lodging for Friday Night nor can guarantee airport transportation if you choose to extend your visit.

Who Attends SGSO Leadership Institutes

The 2025 cohort will be comprised of up to 20 teams of two. Teams may be individuals from the same organization or individuals from different organizations collaborating on school garden work in a region or district.

For 2025, we are particularly seeking teams of two interested in:

  • Developing or are working to enhance, school or school district farm/garden to cafeteria programs.

  • Enhancing trainings for garden-based educators planned for 2025-2026.

  • Approaching garden education with a lens of equity and inclusion.

2025 SGSO Leadership Institute Invitees

 

2025 SGSO Leadership Institute Invitees

Where?

The 2025 Leadership Institute is planned to take place at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

40 minute drive from San Jose Airport (SJC)
and 1 hour 15 minute drive from San Francisco Airport (SFO). 

UCSC Conference Services provides lodging in campus apartments and three meals are provided in dining halls. Cell service is limited in some areas of the campus.

 
 

Sliding Scale Cost to Attend:

Fees include lodging, all meals (minus one dinner on your own), and transportation from SJC or SFO airport to conference center and back to SJC or SFO.

$0 - Fee for individuals from organizations with annual budgets of $0-$250K
$200 - Fee for individuals from organizations with annual budgets of $251K-$500K
$350 - Fee for individuals from organizations with annual budgets of $501K-$750K
$500 - Fee for individuals from organizations with annual budgets of $751K-$1M
$650 - Fee for individuals from organizations with annual budgets over $1M

 
 

Working Together to Build a Diverse Cohort, and an Equitable and Inclusive Event:

Having a group that brings a diversity of perspectives will make the Institute, and also the broader school garden movement, stronger. 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 barriers of oppression. We understand that racism is at the core of many intersecting inequities. For these reasons, we are particularly seeking applicants from communities where systemic racism creates barriers to nature, wellness and experiential education (such as a lack of access to nature areas, to fresh fruits and vegetables, or to experiential education programs). We will also take into consideration other identities and life experiences that are often underrepresented and/or marginalized in the field of garden education. Here is a study where you can learn more about the need for antiracism in the field of environmental education: http://beetlesproject.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Examining-Equitable-and-Inclusive-Work-Environments-in-Environmental-Education.pdf

 

Why?

School gardens have tremendous lifelong benefits for children. Research has shown that when children participate in a school garden program, they show marked improvement in nutrtion; social emotional skills; environmental attitudes; scientific achievement; and attitudes toward learning (www.lifelab.org/resources/school-garden-impacts).

But school garden programs need support in order to unlock their full potential. Without well-trained educators, strong curriculum, and supportive networks, garden programs often become underutilized or even forgotten. With support, however, they thrive, become institutionalized into school cultures, and inspire children for decades.

Regional School Garden Support Organizations have emerged as a key determinant in the success and sustainability of school garden programs across the country. This Institute is designed to provide SGSO leaders with the inspiration and information they need to effectively support school garden programs in their regions, and to share best practices with other SGSOs nationally.

Questions? Contact Kelsey Cerdas kelsey@lifelab.org

 

Join the School Garden Support Organization Network E-list to to receive future institute announcements and updates on upcoming events or join the SGSO Network Google Group to be part of a national dialogue of school garden support organizations.

 
 
 

Hosted by Life Lab and Whole Kids, a project of Whole Foods Market Foundation, in partnership with the SGSO Network.