Join our team! Life Lab is hiring!!! Open positions include Development Director, Bilingual Community Liaison, and Garden Instructors. More positions are coming soon!
A New Kind of Leadership and Shared Vision for Life Lab
A New Kind of Leadership and Shared Vision for Life Lab Amid the beauty of summer on the farm and the wonderful energy of our camp kids here, there was a different and very special Moment in July that we're excited to share with you. On July 8th, Judit Camacho jo [...]
New Edition of The Growing Classroom!
A brand new edition of our most popular garden and nutrition activity guide is hot off the presses! The 4th Edition of The Growing Classroom includes new and updated hands-on activities to bring learning to life for elementary school students. There is a new chapter [...]
2011 ~ City of Santa Cruz Declares May 1, 20ll “Garden Classroom Day”
Santa Cruz City Council Member David Terrazas surprised us all at our May Day Benefit Brunch by declaring the day Garden Classroom Day in the City of Santa Cruz. The resolution was officially proclaimed at the May 10 city council meeting. View the Mayor's Proclamation [...]
Life Lab’s Oral History
Four key figures in Life Lab's history have been documented as part of UCSC's Cultivating a Movement: An Oral History Series on Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Farming on California's Central Coast. This oral history project conducted by the Regional Oral Hi [...]
30th Anniversary Year In Review
Our 30th year of brining learning to life in a garden was celebrated with many special events. Thanks to all who celebrated with us. Our School Garden Video Contest had 18 entries, see the winner here. Birthday Essay Series: The Garden: A Master Teacher was wri [...]
2009 ~ Life Lab Turns 30
For 30 years Life Lab Science Program has been helping students and educators "Watch learning come to life in a garden". Life Lab has trained tens of thousands of educators in over 40 states. We have directly served over 35,000 students in garden-based science, n [...]
2007 ~ Food, What?! ~ A Youth Empowerment Program
From the early days of the Garden Classroom there were always visions of offering programming for teens. We focus on teaching young adults and children about where there food comes from and how to eat a balanced and nutritional diet. As we do this, we hope to fo [...]
2007 ~ The Growing Classroom New Edition!
This new edition of The Growing Classroom is pulished by our friends at the National Gardening Association and help to bring a fresh look and needed revisions to one of the be garden-based learning publications in print. [...]
2006 ~ Garden Classroom Selected as CDE Regional Training Center
In collaboration with the UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems the Garden Classroom is selected to serve as the Central Coast Garden-Based Learning Resource Center. The resource center provides free workshops and consulting to school garden programs [...]
Life Lab in the News 2005-2007
View press from the Salinas Californian, Watsonville Register - Pajaronian, and more. Press 2005-2007 Click album to view and zoom articles. [...]
2001 ~ Field to Market to You
New Leaf Community Markets and Life Lab team up to create a new program called Field-To-Market-To-You. For three years this food systems education program visited classrooms and followed up with a field trip to a grocery store. Students learned about local agricultural [...]
2000 ~ The Garden Classroom: Life Lab’s Model Educational Garden
In 2000 construction begins for the latest chapter in Life Lab's history. In collaboration with the UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) The Garden Classroom annually serves thousands of pre-schoolers through adults in garden-based learning a [...]
2000 ~ The Monterey Bay Science Project
The National Science Foundation Grant which funded the Language Acquisition in Science Education at Rural Schools comes to and end but LASERS continues to thrive through the Monterey Bay Science Project (MBSP). Life Lab becomes a MBSP host site and receives funding thro [...]
Life Lab in the News 1995-1999
View press from the San Francisco Chronicle, Monterey Herald. Santa Cruz Sentinel, San Jose Mercury, and more. Press 1995-1999 Click to view and zoom articles. [...]
1997 ~ A Garden in Every School
Delaine Eastin the Superintendent of Public Instruction of California Schools declares there should be a garden in every school. Life Lab attends the Garden in Every School Conference. Life Lab writes Getting Started: A Guide for Creating School Gardens which is publ [...]
1997 ~ Resource Conservation Program – Waste Free Schools
Life Lab teams up with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, the County of Santa Cruz and the City of Santa Cruz, Waste Management and Ecology Action to create the Resource Conservation Project (later known as Waste Free Schools). Life Lab works with students, teac [...]
1995 ~ LASERS
The National Science Foundation funds Life Lab, from 1995-2001 in the Language Acquisition in Science Education at Rural Schools (LASERS) project. Life Lab starts working with 7 school districts to improve science teaching practices for second language learners. UCSC pa [...]
1994 ~ 4th-5th Grade Science Curriculum
Videodiscovery publishes 4th and 5th grade Life Lab Science Curriculum. [...]
Life Lab in the News 1990-1994
View press from the Columbus Dispatch, Santa Cruz Sentinel, and more. Press 1990-1994 Click to view and zoom articles. [...]
1992 ~ Life Lab Science Curriculum
Videodiscovery publishes Kindergarten - Third grade science curriculum. This curriculum is disseminated throughout the country training 10s of thousands of educators. < --Life Lab Science Laser Disc Cover [...]
Life Lab in the News 1985-1989
View press from USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Modesto Bee, and more. Press 1985-1989 Click to view and zoom all 29 articles. [...]
1987 ~ Great Expansion
Going Nationwide and Beyond The United States Department of Education funds Life Lab to disseminate throughout the nation from 1987-1992! The project called the National Diffusion Network sends Life Lab Staff to 38 states Guam and Costa Rica. National Science Founda [...]
1986 ~ Life Lab Video
The following 14 minute video is a great summary of the impact that Life Lab Science Program has on schools. The power of school gardens has not changed much since 1986, but you will notice that hairstyles and clothing do! Are you one of the people in this video? Add a [...]
1986 ~ The Growing Classroom Goes National
Addison-Wesley and Life Lab enter into a publishing agreement. The Growing Classroom is promoted and sold across the country. [...]
1984 ~ Statewide Dissemintation
The California Department of Education funds statewide dissemination of garden-based learning to 10 schools. Friends of the Harvest moves to the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and officially changes names to Life Lab Science Program. [...]
1982 ~ The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science and Nutrition Curriculum
Life Lab self publishes the first version of The Growing Classroom Activity Guide and creates workshops which are conducted for 10 schools in Santa Cruz County. Life Lab garners its first science award, The WSTA Center of Excellence. Staff start attending regional a [...]
1979 ~ Life Lab Becomes a Non-Profit
Originally Life Lab was called Friends of the Harvest, a non-profit formed to support community programming. Around this time Gary Appel, co-founder of Life Lab was hired with Title IV C grant funding. An excerpt from the oral history of Robbie Jaffe: He [Gary] cam [...]
1978 ~ Green Acres School – Life Lab Blossoms
Early days at Green Acres Green Acres in 1978 and 1982 Life Lab project started at Green Acres School in Live Oak, California in 1978. Life Lab teachers transform a vacant lot into a thriving garden. They start developing cur [...]
