School gardens to visit

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Robbyn Leventhal

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Oct 14, 2025, 5:53:37 PMOct 14
to School Garden Support Organization Network
Hi--  I am an elementary school science teacher.  We are in the process of designing and building a new garden.  We are being told to dream big.  What must-haves would you recommend for the garden?  Also, we are hoping to visit some successful school gardens.  Do you have one we could visit within 30 minutes of Portland? 

Thanks for your help!
Robbyn

Erin Maidlow

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Oct 14, 2025, 6:13:56 PMOct 14
to Robbyn Leventhal, School Garden Support Organization Network
Hi Robbyn,

Here are a couple of things we've made for schools and school gardens that are really beneficial:

School Garden Manual
Planting Guide

Most of our school gardens are raised beds. We have tried everything between them for walkways, and are finding that either grass with walkways wide enough to mow, or a thick layer of weed cloth with a thick layer of gravel ( 1/4- or crushed granite) work well to keep weeds away. We love our weather stations, which is a design from Life Lab. If you are able to go all out, make raised beds out of something more sustainable than wood. Corrugated metal with wood around the top, concrete blocks with filler (I can't think of the actual name for the life of me right now....), etc. 

Worm bins-  we've also tried them all and what works best for us are smaller raised beds where we can compost food directly into and mix in the browns and greens, then cover and lower the hinged lid back down for an in-situ worm bin. None of the plastic things that need way too much maintenance. 

Shade! Build some sort of covered seating area and make it round! You can stand in the middle while kids sit all around the circle. Those circus tent type things work well and you can get really heavy duty ones that anchor into the ground to make them more permanent structures. 

Hope this is a good start!


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Michelle Beeson Greissinger

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Oct 14, 2025, 6:15:32 PMOct 14
to Robbyn Leventhal, School Garden Support Organization Network
OOOO please send this list out publicly!  
I would love to have the list too.

One place to look is the Learning Gardens Lab, a new non profit that used to be run by PSU, where they run field trips and partner with the school across the street.  They are a huge property but you can see a lot. They have a website with hours etc, and they are out in the Brentwood Darlington neighborhood.  Another would be Jean’s Farm...
Michelle

Elaine Makarevich

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Oct 20, 2025, 9:55:51 AMOct 20
to Michelle Beeson Greissinger, Robbyn Leventhal, School Garden Support Organization Network
Good morning!
So exciting that you are planning a school garden AND that you are being told to dream big! We built an outdoor garden space at my NJ Elementary School some years ago and I'm happy to share all the things that I feel would be great to have!
  • Raised bed garden area for vegetables (fenced in)
  • Shade garden with native plants
  • Pollinator garden - certified as a monarch waystation (depending on your location!)
  • Greenhouse - for growing plants during different seasons - this is especially important in the northeast!
  • Gazebo - this serves as the outdoor classroom - oval shape, with benches all along the interior, enough space for a class of 20 students
  • Benches throughout - that can turn into tables
  • Pea gravel pathways - between raised beds and throughout the garden spaces
  • Fencing around the entire space - not to keep anything out, but rather to make it feel like a designated space
  • Water to the garden/greenhouse
  • Compost bin
  • Mulch for the planted areas
  • Child-sized tools
  • Budget for sustaining the garden in future years with seeds, plants, tools, mulch, gravel, etc.
  • Funding for an  annual stipend for the School Garden Coordinator
This space took several years for us to complete, building it out one phase at a time. Through grants, donations, and fundraising, we raised over $50,000 to develop our Schoolyard Garden & Greenhouse and Outdoor Classroom, and didn't use any school funds or tax dollars from the community. 

If you have any questions or would like to know anything in more detail, please reach out!
Warmly,
Elaine



Daniel Barrera Ortega

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Oct 20, 2025, 10:39:48 AMOct 20
to Elaine Makarevich, Michelle Beeson Greissinger, Robbyn Leventhal, School Garden Support Organization Network
Good morning!

This is such a needed discussion for folks building new school gardens, so thank you for asking. I'm sharing one of our past SGSO Network Newsletters focusing on design and how these choices can enhance participation. You can check it out here.

You might also browse around KidsGardening's website, they also have great content on establishing a new school garden and ideas to drive engagement.

Looking forward to other folks' thoughts on this!

Daniel

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/school-garden-network/CADiUq3se5XJGppOAW80q_BcmJ3TPiki%3DvgD9%2BK%3DJWkuNdMf1cA%40mail.gmail.com.

Noel Cibulka

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Oct 20, 2025, 6:59:13 PMOct 20
to Daniel Barrera Ortega, Elaine Makarevich, Michelle Beeson Greissinger, Robbyn Leventhal, School Garden Support Organization Network
Hi Robbyn,

Very excited for your new journey and happy to share some things that KidsGardening offers that might be useful for you:
Please reach out if you'd like more information on any of this and thank you for being a champion for the youth garden movement!

Warm Regards,
Noel Nicholas
Educational Content Manager
She, Her, Hers

We create opportunities for kids to learn through gardening, engaging their natural curiosity and wonder by providing inspiration, community know-how, and resources. Join the Kids Garden Community.




To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/school-garden-network/CAA3LXuXXPAj4_kB7WeUVm%2BSG0_HZ1vg50byQBEBKwXDOxdbyGw%40mail.gmail.com.

Tristana Pirkl

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Oct 20, 2025, 7:08:12 PMOct 20
to Noel Cibulka, Daniel Barrera Ortega, Elaine Makarevich, Michelle Beeson Greissinger, Robbyn Leventhal, School Garden Support Organization Network
Glad so many resources have been shared! Thanks, everyone!  

Robbyn, you mentioned wanting to connect with school gardens in Portland. Be sure to check out Grow Portland and Growing Gardens, both school garden support organizations based in Portland that service a number of school gardens. If you need contacts at either of those organizations, let me or Daniel know! 

Best, 
Tristana

 
Tristana Pirkl
Executive Director
School Garden Support Organization (SGSO) Network
(She/Her)
www.sgsonetwork.org



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/school-garden-network/CAJNTanzw45m9s-rXz8-NCYSPCW0%2Bena8kiLh9QSeTrbMT%2BmOLA%40mail.gmail.com.

Illene Pevec

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Oct 20, 2025, 8:07:17 PMOct 20
to Tristana Pirkl, Noel Cibulka, Daniel Barrera Ortega, Elaine Makarevich, Michelle Beeson Greissinger, Robbyn Leventhal, School Garden Support Organization Network
I suggest you call the main resource for Portland school gardens


Illène Pevec, PhD


Growing a Life: Teen Gardeners Harvest Food, Health and Joy,  published by New Village Press, 2016


"Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it. Begin it now! "
Goethe


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