Contracts/MOUs for Garden Maintenance with Districts

[Sherman Garden]

Hello folks!

I’m curious if any of your organizations have formal contracts or MOUs with school districts for building or maintaining school gardens. In particular, I’d love to know what kind of language you use to clarify that the work is specialized edible gardening (not general groundskeeping), so it doesn’t conflict with district landscaping or custodial union responsibilities.

If anyone is willing to share sample language or lessons learned, I’d be so grateful!

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Christina Abuelo

School Garden Equity Catalyst

Pronouns: she/her/ella

Coordinator - (858) 210-2628

@barrio_botany

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[Andrea Brewer]

Hi Christina!

Thank you for uplifting this question, because I am also curious what different models look like!

For the school district I've worked with, the school campus garden was shared with the city's community service department's youth programming. All garden programming happened in after school and summer programming, but did not include structure for the school day teachers and district to utilize the garden.

This was a missed opportunity for engagement, and ultimately failed in functionality for a number of reasons. 

As a city coalition, there is conversation now about involving a community organization to manage the space. 

In my experiences, it is best practice that whatever MOU is written must specify authentic and ongoing relationship building with the youth, students and families of the school so that the community which who the space is apart of is actually connected and represented by the organization holding the MOU, if that makes sense.

Would love to continue this conversation either here or in another a capacity

In connection 

andrea brewer 

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[KAITLYN SCHEUERMANN]

Hi Everyone, 

Here is the language we used in our district.  We offer a stipend of $500 to teachers who take on the role of being the garden lead for their building.  They have to apply through our HR system to the position and be selected.  This is our first year of offering the stipends, but I am hoping it leads to more sustainability and keeps folks invested.  I know I have heard from a couple of teachers already that because of the stipend they want to make sure they are doing what they need to to be responsible and uphold the terms of the stipend.

I am very lucky to have an incredibly supportive and collaborative curriculum team, who is overseeing the stipends and is actively working to promote Farm to School in our district. They were the ones who pushed for our district to make this investment, just like they do for those who are curriculum leaders in their buildings for regular content areas. :)

If anyone has questions, please reach out!

Thanks!

Kaitlyn Scheuermann, MPP-D, RDN, LD

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Certified ServSafe© Instructor-Proctor

Vince Meyer Learning Center

430 Ashworth Drive, Waukee, IA 50263

Entrance at intersection of 5th and Cherry Street

P 515.987.2719 x12730 | F 515.987.2701

waukeeschools.org 

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[Daniel Barrera Ortega]

Hi Christina!

If you'd like to see some sample language, the SGSO Network Relationship Building for Program Success Promising Practice has a library of MOUs, some of them specifically created for school districts.

Hope this is helpful!

Daniel

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[Erin Maidlow]

This sounds amazing. Our schools are very hands off, even with the areas surrounding the gardens, so we end up with blackberries galore (not the good kind), and weeds everywhere outside of our garden area. I’d love to see an MOU that lays out responsibilities for groundskeeping. 

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