Our History:
Our organization began in 2007 as the Growing West County School Gardens (GWCSG). We formed to address the concerns and needs that educators had in establishing and maintaining school garden programs in West Contra Costa County.
Our Current Status:
We are a network of over 6,000 members, comprised of teachers, community members, students, and school administrators who are working together to make school garden programs more successful and sustainable.
During the 2016/2017 school year, we expanded our partnership with the WCCUSD. The district supported our professional development series, helped us with maintenance in select gardens, and included our organization's accomplishments in the annual Superintendent's State of the Schools Address. We also worked with a couple of key foundations, and built our individual donor base so that we could fund two new pilot programs, continue the Growing Green Program as well as our Growing Strong Starts Greenhouse Program. We continued to build our Mentorship and Coaching Programs. To date, we support 21 school gardens in the West Contra Costa Unified School District.
How Do We Work?
We raised over $145,000 from individual donations and foundation grants such as, The Madera Elementary School Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, The Miranda Lux Foundation, Clif Bar Family Foundation, The Dean Witter Foundation, The Chamberlin Family Foundation, Contra Costa County District Supervisors, West Contra Costa Unified School District and the El Cerrito Rotary Club.
We have conducted 4 of 8 Professional Development Workshops, and supplied classrooms with vetted garden-based curriculum.
We support 21 school gardens with a combination of coaching, mentoring, supplies, plants and soil.
Our Greenhouse Program will give away over 5000 plants to 21 different school gardens by the close of the school year.
Our Mentorship Program serves 5 schools.
The Growing Green Entrepreneurship Program engaged 75 students in producing and marketing a product of their design made from
organic and garden-grown materials.- that are sold in a series of 3 Farmer's Markets throughout the spring.
Mira Vista Elementary's pilot 'Model School Garden and Nutrition Program' serves 9 teachers and 90 students in grades 1-4, and maintains 2 large gardens and 5 raised beds outside of classroom windows.
We collaborated with Common Vision, Sustainable Contra Costa, and FORG, as well as PTA’s, service clubs, businesses, community leaders and individual donors to maximize resources for school gardens.
We routinely update members on the latest in grants, workshops, and networking opportunities through electronic newsletters.
Our organization began in 2007 as the Growing West County School Gardens (GWCSG). We formed to address the concerns and needs that educators had in establishing and maintaining school garden programs in West Contra Costa County.
Our Current Status:
We are a network of over 6,000 members, comprised of teachers, community members, students, and school administrators who are working together to make school garden programs more successful and sustainable.
During the 2016/2017 school year, we expanded our partnership with the WCCUSD. The district supported our professional development series, helped us with maintenance in select gardens, and included our organization's accomplishments in the annual Superintendent's State of the Schools Address. We also worked with a couple of key foundations, and built our individual donor base so that we could fund two new pilot programs, continue the Growing Green Program as well as our Growing Strong Starts Greenhouse Program. We continued to build our Mentorship and Coaching Programs. To date, we support 21 school gardens in the West Contra Costa Unified School District.
How Do We Work?
We raised over $145,000 from individual donations and foundation grants such as, The Madera Elementary School Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, The Miranda Lux Foundation, Clif Bar Family Foundation, The Dean Witter Foundation, The Chamberlin Family Foundation, Contra Costa County District Supervisors, West Contra Costa Unified School District and the El Cerrito Rotary Club.
We have conducted 4 of 8 Professional Development Workshops, and supplied classrooms with vetted garden-based curriculum.
We support 21 school gardens with a combination of coaching, mentoring, supplies, plants and soil.
Our Greenhouse Program will give away over 5000 plants to 21 different school gardens by the close of the school year.
Our Mentorship Program serves 5 schools.
The Growing Green Entrepreneurship Program engaged 75 students in producing and marketing a product of their design made from
organic and garden-grown materials.- that are sold in a series of 3 Farmer's Markets throughout the spring.
Mira Vista Elementary's pilot 'Model School Garden and Nutrition Program' serves 9 teachers and 90 students in grades 1-4, and maintains 2 large gardens and 5 raised beds outside of classroom windows.
We collaborated with Common Vision, Sustainable Contra Costa, and FORG, as well as PTA’s, service clubs, businesses, community leaders and individual donors to maximize resources for school gardens.
We routinely update members on the latest in grants, workshops, and networking opportunities through electronic newsletters.
