To All My Schoolyard Garden Friends and Supporters, After 7.5 years at Kansas City Community Gardens I am mixed with sadness and excitement as I announce that I am leaving KCCG. I have accepted a position at the Jackson County Health Department. It was a decision that I did not make lightly, Schoolyard Gardens is […]
Greetings Gardeners, Did you know that KCCG’s Schoolyard Gardens is celebrating its 10th year!? What better way to celebrate this landmark than share some of our history and how Schoolyards has grown. The Schoolyard Gardens program began back in 2008 after schools began seeking information from Kansas City Community Gardens about starting a garden […]
Last week Kansas City Community Gardens’ Beanstalk Children’s Garden opened for the season. In the first two weeks alone over 800 children have toured through the garden. Throughout the summer and early fall, over 4,000 children, teachers and parents will visit the garden, allowing children to become inspired to make healthy food choices as they […]
The Barstow School has worked with Kansas City Community Gardens for over 8 years. They started with a bang by building 24 raised beds right off the bat! Mrs. Sarah Holmes’s science students have helped plant and maintain the vegetable garden over the years. Earlier this year, I sat down with Mrs. Holmes and Barstow’s […]
Summer school programs throughout Kansas City began last week, and many of these students have been tasked with maintaining their vegetable gardens during these hot months. Many of the 200 plus schoolyard gardens that we work with planted vegetables like peppers, tomatoes and sweet potatoes in May, which are perfect for schools that aren’t in […]
It’s been a busy spring for Schoolyard Gardens! In March, over 160 schools planted spring crops. While the first day of planting the garden is exciting and full of hope, the real joys—and sometimes frustrations—happens during the following eight weeks. Students, teachers and even our Schoolyards Gardens staff watch as our tending and hard work […]
Summer is the lushest time of the year for the garden, but it also happens to be when most schools are on break. Even if your school is not in session during the summer months, that doesn’t mean your students have to miss out on garden favorites like tomatoes and peppers! Sweet potatoes are low-maintenance […]
\Each year, schools and students around Kansas City participate in KC Healthy Kids’ annual ‘I Am Here’ Youth Advocacy photo contest. The contest encourages students to examine the health, or lack of health, in their own communities and to document their findings in photos. This contest is a great lesson where students learn the importance […]
The students at Holliday Montessori have been gardening for many years in four raised beds in their playground. Over the years, student and teacher interest grew, but there were not enough raised beds for every class to use. After a long period of planning, the teachers and students decided to expand their vegetable garden to […]
If you’ve looked outside in the last 10 days chances are you’ve only seen grey skies or rain. It was a wet end to March and beginning of April. It’s rained nearly every day of the last two weeks. If you’ve already planted your spring garden you are likely welcoming in the rain. If your […]
