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California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom

School Gardens

Ag in the Classroom is proud to support school garden programs. Check out our garden-related resources for garden lesson ideas, a guide to starting your school garden, and more! Be sure to also explore the opportunities on our Grants & Scholarships page.

School Garden Webinar

This two-hour webinar is an excellent opportunity for educators, parents, and volunteers to learn more about school gardens and how to connect them to local agriculture.

During the webinar, you will have the chance to hear from an experienced UC Master Gardener who will share tips and tricks for getting the most out of your school garden. Additionally, you will learn about free educational resources to help you incorporate your school garden into your curriculum, as well as get ideas for bringing the garden into your classroom. The event will culminate with a virtual tour of a school garden, followed by a Q&A session.

Monte Vista Independent Study Academy School Farm
Introduction to Gardening: How to Garden in California Schools
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Prolific Pollinators

Prolific Pollinators

How does your food get pollinated? Pollinators are essential to agriculture and the environment. Students will learn about the various categories of pollinators and their contribution to producing California agriculture commodities. Includes three activities, a math exercise and ideas for Service Learning and Citizen Science. This resource is aligned to California Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.

Gardens for Learning Book

Gardens for Learning

Download the guidebook developed through a collaboration with the Collective School Garden Network.

CROP Circles

CROP

CROP (California Regions of Optimal Planting) Circles

This easy-to-use diagram illustrates proper planting and harvesting times for 18 crops commonly found in California school gardens.

California's Fruit & Vegetable Crop Seasons

Crop Seasons

Check out the chart of California's fruit and vegetable crop seasons, created by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Garden-Related Acrostic Poems

Garden-Related Acrostic Poems

An acrostic is a structured poem in which the first letter of each line forms a word or phrase, vertically. The poem can describe the subject or tell a brief story about it. Use this download for students to create their own garden-related acrostics.

Agricultural Fact and Activity Sheets

Fact Sheets

The fact sheets include one page of information related to an agricultural commodity and one page of lesson plan ideas for using that information. The set includes everything from almonds to table grapes, as well as plant nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potasium.

The Invasive Species Fact Sheet Set introduces six invasive species, the damage they cause to California crops and how to stop their spread.

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans

Our lesson plan collection includes some great resources for garden learning.

What's Growin' On?

What's Growin' On? - Your Link to California Agriculture

Your Link to California Agriculture

This edition of our hands-on student newspaper is focused on gardens. You can also explore the entire collection, as each issue can easily be used to complement a garden-based education.