January is National Baking Month!
Engaging University Students in Local School Gardens
Engaging University Students in Local School Gardens: A Toolkit for School Districts, School Garden Support Organizations and Universities Created by UC Davis Student Farm, Life Lab, and UC Berkeley This guidebook summarizes three different models of U [...]
Life Lab grows gardeners through ‘the power of garden-based learning’ – Santa Cruz Sentinel
Posted on at Santa Cruz Sentinel June 14, 2018 By Calvin Men View as PDF When you ask John Fisher how he knows school gardens have an impact, he's quick to pluck a memory from years ago. Third graders were out in a garden and among them was a recent immigrant f [...]
Watsonville School Garden Crew – Spring 2017
June 7th - Hall District School Flower Planting and Irrigation Installation Today we planted flowers with first graders and continued irrigaiton installation May 31 - Hall District School Irrigation Installation / Popcorn and Dry Bean Planting Today we [...]
Watsonville School Garden Crew – Winter 2017
See what we are up to with our Winter 2017 Watsonville School Garden Crew March 8 - Radcliffe School Garden Clean Up and Redesign Today we repaired some garden beds, moved and filled garden beds to sunnier spots of the garden, and set up an outdoor seating area. [...]
Plant It, Grow It, Eat It! Workshop Teaches Garden-Based Nutrition
View this article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel By Devika Garg-Bansal SANTA CRUZ >> Kids and vegetables are not exactly best friends. Parents know this all too well, as do restaurants that put out mac and cheese on kids' menus. Getting kids to have a healthy balanced di [...]
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 [...]
Intern with Life Lab
Come work with kids in a garden setting. We have placements year round at our Garden Classroom Site on the UCSC Farm or in Watsonville at our Blooming Classroom Site. Additionally our School Garden Corps program places interns to work at school gardens and provides trai [...]
Making Waves
It was a pleasant surprise to see Life Lab as the featured non-profit in the Aug/Sept 2015 issue of Santa Cruz Waves. They did a great job summarizing what we do. Thanks Linda Koffman and Santa Cruz Waves. [...]
See Our New Blooming Classroom Site
Learn more about our work in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District at www.lifelab.org/pajaro. [...]
2014 Summer Camp Highlights!
View Photos from the 2014 Camp Season Aahhh, summer.... there's no shortage of things to do while the days are long and temperatures are soaring. Whilst most families love spending the summer break on vacation and traveling the world in the utmost luxury, such as [...]
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 [...]
We’re Changing the Nature of Education
View Life Lab's Education Director Whitney Cohen's inspiring description of how Life Lab is changing the nature of education to the audience of our 2014 Benefit Brunch. Please consider supporting Life Lab's work. Make a donation today. For th [...]
1,700+ Educators Trained in California School Garden Training Program
The California School Garden Training Program (CSGT) trained 1,729 educators from 2012- June, 2014. It includes workshops on Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden (CSYSG) and Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education (GENE). CSGT also conducts Train-the-Trainer Works [...]
The Danes Are Here
We have been having a great time showing visitors from Denmark some of the best farm to school and school garden programs in the region. The Danish study tour group, organized by Life Lab, is composed of eighteen government ministers, university faculty and graduate stu [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Small Hands, Big Garden
Have you seen this insert in your local press? Small Hands, Big Garden highlights Life Lab's Book of Gardening Projects for Kids. A story created by national syndicator Content That Works for their Homestyle Magazine. [...]
Educating the Educators
Educating the educators: Life Lab looks to introduce teachers to the merits of gardening, Santa Cruz Sentinel - April 13, 2013 [...]
Day Camp Registration Open
Spring Break Camp for 4-6 year olds Wildlands & Watering Cans Summer Day Camp for 7-10 year olds Garden Sprouts Camp Summer Day Camp for 4-6 year olds Farm & Wilderness Summer Day Camp for 11-14 year olds More info. at www.lifelab.org/camp [...]
Turning Teachers into Gardeners in Washington D.C.
Life Lab has been delighted to work with a very forward-thinking organization in the nation's capital, DC Greens, to train garden coordinators through their Growing Garden Teachers program. DC Greens' innovative approach to regional school garden support was recentl [...]
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 [...]
California FoodCorps
FoodCorps California, managed by Co-Host Sites Life Lab and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, has selected ten organizations to place twelve service corps members across the state in 2013-2014. Visit the California FoodCorps Page. www.facebook.com/Food [...]
“Food, What?!” Youth Maya Salsedo is named as Brower Youth Awardee
We are pleased to share that Maya Salsedo, one of our first FoodWhat youth participants from 2007, was chosen from hundreds to receive the 2012 Brower Youth Awardees. Maya was selected for her work empowering youth with tools to advocate for a just food system. S [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Spotlight on Life Lab’s Education Director
The GoodTimes recognized the work of Life Lab's Education Director Whitney Cohen. The Community Spotlight: "Like so many adults, I assumed for many years that kids didn't like vegetables," recalls Whitney Cohen. "As it turns out, this myth is just dead wrong." As th [...]
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 [...]
Introducing the California School Garden Training Program
Life Lab, along with organizational partners from the UC Davis Childrens' Garden Program and the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego, will train 1,500 educators, volunteers, parents and school garden support professionals throughout the state of Californ [...]
Feeling Fine with Fresh Foods Lesson Packet
Feeling Fine With Fresh Foods Lesson packet from our Feeling Fine with Fresh Foods Field Trip. Our winter field trip helps students make the important connection between their health and the foods they choose. Classes explore our Garden Classroom and the UCSC Farm [...]
Things Haven’t Changed Much
In 1996 Life Lab was a 17 year old organization. Now at the ripe old age of 33 it is fun to look back at what we were sharing during our wild teen years.Perhaps one of the biggest changes that our organization has seen over the past few years is the launch of our websit [...]
2011 Program Highlights
It has been another successful season of growth, learning and wonder for Life Lab and the thousands of kids, youth, families, teachers and schools we serve. Hear what our program participants had to say about our work in in our 2011 Highlights flier. 2011 by th [...]
Good Times ~ “Food, What?!” Selected for Good Times Community Fund
Our "Food, What?!" Youth Program was selected as one of four programs in the Good Times Community Fund. We have the goal to raise $12,500 through the Good Times Community Fund. Right now, every dollar donated will be matched. Please Consider a Year-End Donation t [...]
Shared Adventures
Life Lab partnered with Shared Adventures, a local nonprofit which organizes recreation activities for people with special needs, to host an inclusive Farm-to-Fork Field Trip for 14 adults and 2 children from the special needs community. View the photos. Despite mobilit [...]
Life Lab’s Online Auction
Going Once, Going Twice.... Sold to Support Life Lab Programs! Life Lab's Online Auction Closed on November 20th. Thanks to those who supported us. www.lifelab.org/auction 60+ unique experiences and products to browse! Get a jump on your holiday [...]
My 3,436 Mile Journey to Life Lab – Reflections from Intern Callia Wolfe
It is not often that we have graduate level interns, who have classroom experience, and are proficient with a video camera and editing. We lucked out! Callia Wolfe shares a bit about her path to finding us and her experience at the Garden Classroom. Callia writes.... [...]
“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 [...]
Meet Our Chickens
The hardest working staff at the Garden Classroom are our hens. Us humans go home at the end of the day and these girls, and one boy, watch over the garden 24/7, 365 days a year. Here is the most recent bio page that we have on display at their coop and the photo alb [...]
Worm Composting Resources and Video
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180"] Worm Sign Design from Life Lab[/caption] 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. Vermicomposting Q and A from Ca [...]
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 [...]
