School & Youth Gardens

Updated Garden Education Resources Updated Garden Education Resources

The UCCE Orange County Master Gardeners are active with schools, churches and Boys & Girls Clubs in our community. We have established a group of volunteers who have been trained to assist local educators in their efforts to implement a school garden.

We are passionate about “propagating” the next generation of home gardeners and opening the eyes of children to the experience of agriculture, the taste of foods that provide a healthier lifestyle and their responsibility for environmental stewardship.

Field Trips

We offer visits to our Youth Garden Demonstration Center located at the University of California ANR South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.  We can plan activities for both children and adults for an outdoor classroom experience or to gain ideas on starting a garden for young people.

More information in this flyer:  YouthGardenFlyerOct2019

School Garden Grants

Follow the link below for complete details of Garden Grants currently open for applications.  

CA Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom

This site has links to grants available to schools throughout California.

 http://www.learnaboutag.org/

LifeLab and CSGN

The California School Garden Network Grants and Fundraising Page lists some of the best garden-based learning grant resources plus much more to help your program raise funds.

Online Resources

When to Plant Guide - A handy chart depicting, by month, the optimal times to plant many vegetables in our Southern California climate.

•   when to plant

The Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden Training Materials are now online!

These resources are available for free to anyone working to support others in creating and sustaining school gardens. At the CSYSG Trainer Page you will find the following:

• A download of CSYSG Workshop Handouts, Trainer Outlines (TO), and Supplementary Trainer Materials - currently only one at a time.
• PDF file of CSYSG Workshop Handouts - currently only one at a time
• Workshop PowerPoints
• Gardens for Learning Guide Book
• Selected CSYSG Materials in Spanish
• Freebies, fliers, and handouts to promote school gardens

Kids Cook Farm-Fresh Food – the California Department of Education’s webpage that offers several links focusing on sustainable, environment conscious gardening for Grades 2-7.

• http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/kidscook.asp

Nutrition to Grow On  - 9 lesson plans for teachers that focus on how growing a garden can encourage a student’s academic capabilities in all subjects in the classroom. These lesson plans are geared more for elementary school students.

• http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/nrttogrow.asp

Garden Education Resources - download this document which contains links to websites listed above plus to the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, high school level composting curriculum, sources for free seeds and much more.

• Updated Garden Education Resources

Collective School Garden Network

California Farm to School Network

California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom

Coloring Books

Coloring books that can be printed out: 

Coloring Book - Parts of the Plants that we eat

Coloring Book - Good Bugs in the Garden

Coloring Book - Seeds

Coloring Book - Bees & Butterflies

Questions and Requests for information or help - Youth Gardens

We provide free on-site consultations for sites in Orange County.  The following "survey" can be used to request a consultation at your youth or school garden by a Master Gardener.  Please give the name of site and the city location in the comments section to help facilitate finding a volunteer.