School Gardens are a subset of Teaching Gardens and can serve many purposes--to teach children where food comes from, the benefits of growing fresh food and its importance to health, and also environmental science. Although many general Community Garden best practices cover how to run a School Garden, the initial process for approvals, planning and building a school garden can be very different, and maintaining a successful school garden over time can have its own challenges. Many of the resources below include information on these specific practices as well as lesson plans and curricula specific to school gardens.
Title: School Garden Resources for Educators
Sponsoring Organization: Life Lab
Description: Extremely comprehensive page of links to resources about school gardens, including how-to's, education, nutrition, curriculum & online lessons, funding sources, etc.
Title: KidsGardening.org Educator Resources
Sponsoring Organization: KidsGardening.org
Description: An extensive collection of resources to help teachers, volunteers, parents, and others plan and sustain successful youth gardens and implement effective youth garden programs. Offers lesson plans, books, curricula, garden activities, and more. A section on "Designing a School Garden" includes articles on designing gardens for those with special needs.
Title: 10 Best Practices for Sustaining School Community Gardens
Sponsoring Organization: Vermont Community Garden Network
Description: Though short, this 1-page PDF lists 10 important best practices that contribute to the lasting success of a school garden.
Title: AGCA Environmental Education in the Community Garden: Lesson Plans
Sponsoring Organization: American Community Garden Association (AGCA)
Description: Page of "Garden Learning" resources includes 10 downloadable lesson plans.
Title: Our Community Growing Academy
Sponsoring Organization: Westchester Local Food
Description: This local resource in Mt. Kisco, NY offers a workshop, "Boot Camp for Garden Educators"