2009-2010 End of Year Report

End of Year Report July 2009 - June 2010 Our gardens thrived this year. There were gorgeous flowers and delicious strawberries and beautiful tomatoes. More importantly though, there were 66 school communities strengthened through neighborhood partnerships; 2,300 teachers energized by new opportunities for outdoor learning; and 40,000 children connected to nature through school gardens. There were professional development opportunities to maximize garden use, networking events to build community support and servicelearning projects to support the gardens. There were young minds engaged, young imaginations sparked and young hopes raised. In short, there was REAL gardening happening in urban elementary schools all over North Texas, and we are excited to tell you all about it.

THINGS TO CHEER ABOUT Expanded Reach 66 schools, 40,000 students, 2,300 educators served Growth Spurt 6 brand-new gardens and 12 revitalized outdoor classrooms Media Coverage 11 TV spots and 46 print and web-based media appearances Community Service Service-learning projects in schools and with new community partners New Events First-ever Professional Development and Networking events in Dallas Strong Partnerships Deepened school district involvement in school gardens

GOAL: Help elementary schools create, support and sustain school gardens so children connect with nature in engaging, nurturing and inspirational ways MEASURED MILESTONES Established six brand-new school gardens through a community design and installation process.

Enhanced 10 existing school gardens through “Dig In” installation events.

Added “Essential Features” of learning gardens to revitalize two of our existing school gardens.

Deepened partnerships with local school districts to amplify our impact and gain more direct opportunities to engage teachers and students.

Expanded programming to Dallas Independent School District (ISD), which is the second largest school district in Texas and the 12th largest in the United States, enrolling more than 150,000 students annually.

Supported learning gardens for more than half of Grand Prairie ISD’s elementary schools.

Partnered with volunteers at the Arlington Men’s Gardening Club to promote garden sustainability at five schools in Arlington and Grand Prairie.

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Received a record 30 elementary school applications for partnership with our programs.

Accepted the applications of six new elementary schools from across the region and welcomed them into our program.

STORIES OF SUCCESS Garden Installations Each of our 18 garden installations this year has drawn crowds of volunteer support, which included school staff, students, parents and community partners. At one installation more than 430 students participated in experiential learning opportunities for their school!

Our garden is important, so we can eat healthier and have lots of fruits and vegetables. – Student, I.M. Terrell Elementary School

Students break for smiles at the garden installation for I.M. Terrell E.S..

Before and After Thurgood Marshall E. S.

The Thurgood Marshall Elementary School Garden was installed on February 27, 2010.

During the spring semester, the garden enhanced the students’ learning in the following ways.

They: Enjoyed hands-on experiences while learning about life cycles, the earth and provisions.

Planted, measured growth of plants, measured area and perimeter and used estimations for depth needed to plant.

Examined plants and studied their adaptations, which help them to survive.

Measured and created maps to scale.

Used tools and simple machines safely.

Learned that ecosystems include both living and nonliving things.

Wrote about outdoor experiences.

Cared for living things and experienced empathy.

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School Retreats The two retreats that we organized this year for new school partners and “Dig In” schools drew a combined 151 enthusiastic attendees. The events featured educational sessions that connected gardenbased instruction to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), a critical component of daily instruction for educators at our partner schools.

New Schools Retreat Attendance 58 Participants

"Dig In" Attendance 93 Participants Community 15%

Community 12%

Families 12%

Families 5%

Educators 76%

Educators 80%

This retreat was great and worth every minute. [Your staff members are] so kind, and your love and passion for nature and educating others truly shined through. Thanks so much!

– Retreat Participant Garden Maintenance Throughout the year, we worked closely with our partner schools to increase the learning opportunities, usability, and attractiveness of the gardens. Additionally, in the gardens of two long-standing partner schools in Fort Worth – Alice Contreras and South Hills Elementary Schools – we facilitated the construction of designated “Essential Features.”

GOAL: Encourage the use of school gardens to support children’s learning of skills, processes and content while immersing them in the natural world MEASURED MILESTONES Made 89 school visits, providing TEKS-based, garden integration instruction and model teaching sessions to 775 elementary school educators, and ultimately impacting 9,792 students.

Documented nearly 20,000 students using our school gardens for learning – a 125 percent increase from last year.

Drew 83 and a record 190 participants from throughout North Texas to our January and August professional development events, respectively.

For the second year in a row, received the first-place Sadie Ray Graff award for a civic organization engaged in environmental education.

In partnership with Motorola Foundation, implemented a series of trainings entitled “Question the System: Alternative Energy in the Outdoor Classroom” to help educators incorporate inquiry-based STEM curriculum into their outdoor activities in the garden.

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Our Summer Wind Academy was a tremendous success, due, in large part, to the inspiration and contributions of REAL School Gardens. We appreciate the support they have provided to our school and to the schools in the surrounding communities. The students who participated in our wind turbine activities were challenged, and they were able to walk away with a sense of accomplishment.

– Educator, Daniels Elementary School Our Educators give a lesson in engineering.

STORIES OF SUCCESS Garden Integration Visits This year, our staff educators made 89 full-day garden integration visits to partner schools, providing teachers with best practices for using their garden to enhance instruction in all academic subjects.

Teaching techniques highlighted ranged from nature journals to math lessons involving weeding.

Through these visits, we reached 775 educators, in this way impacting nearly 10,000 students. A visit to Rosemont Sixth Grade School gave new insights to a veteran reading teacher who had never before ventured into the garden. After a 45-minute session with our educator Eric Vanderbeck, she was inspired to begin using the outdoors as a resource in her teaching and has sought additional professional development opportunities.

Hats off to Scott Feille and Ellen Robinson who did a great job when presenting at Florence Hill in Grand Prairie ISD. I am very impressed with the quality of everything REAL School Gardens presents to adults and students. We always look forward to [your staff] coming to our campus, because I can say with confidence that a quality presentation will be made.

– Educator, Florence Hill Elementary School

– Principal, Rosemont 6th Grade School Studying soil was cool.

– fifth-grade student, David E. Smith Elementary School

Eric Vanderbeck engages students in a planting demonstration at Sallye Moore E.S.

Ellen Robinson gets Bonnie Brae students excited about gardening.

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Professional Development Events During both full-day and after-school professional development (PD) events, we offer educators accredited, standards-based training on how to integrate school gardens into their core curriculum. As part of our recent expansion into the Dallas ISD, we hosted the area’s first PD event in January. The event took place at the school district’s Environmental Education Center, with 83 participants engaged in sessions presented by REAL School Gardens staff and community experts. The diverse collection of session topics included the process of grant writing, the work of a naturalist and the value of school gardens in teaching the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). More than 70 percent of participant respondents said they had acquired new knowledge and skills that would help them teach outdoors.

Participants prepare plants to make rope.

Students create with paint made from rocks.

The day was fabulous! I am leaving today with far more useful info than I received after spending two days at [the National Science Teachers Association Conference].

– Participant, Professional Development Day

GOAL: Foster a cooperative spirit among schools, families and the surrounding community through involvement with school gardens MEASURED MILESTONES Completed the community design process with 16 school partners.

Inspired 3,294 individuals to participate in REAL School Gardens events – a 47 percent increase from last year.

Drew support from a diversity of stakeholders – 46 percent students and their families, 32 percent school employees and 22 percent community members – to fully embed the garden in the school’s culture and make it more sustainable.

STORIES OF SUCCESS Community Design Charrettes Our six new school partners participated in community design charrettes, cooperative events that engage everyone – teachers, administrators, students, families and the surrounding community member – in order to ensure the future success and sustainability of the outdoor classrooms. These collaborative efforts sparked a gathering of more than 300 people at one Fort Worth school and led to a 5

partnership with a nearby high school for a Grand Prairie school. Another school had such a diverse event turnout that communication occurred in three languages – English, Spanish and Arabic. The resulting garden designs were colorful testaments to the children’s enthusiasm for the project and everyone’s hope for the future of their school and its community.

Cooperative Spirit Through years of networking and relationship-building, we have galvanized a diverse and robust coalition of supporters for our school gardens. Through activities such as after-school garden clubs and family gardening day, our schools have recruited hundreds more volunteers to work in each of their gardens. Each school site is thriving due to donations of materials and labor from school district building and grounds crews, as well as in-kind donations from vendors. Parents and community members have contributed technical expertise and skills, and local master naturalists and composters have shared their knowledge with our school partners.

We involve the community from the very beginning of the school garden project, so that this school garden becomes their garden. With ownership and participation from students, parents, teachers and neighbors, our gardens continue to grow for years to come.

– Scott Feille, Regional Program Director Students taste strawberries grown in the garden, some for the first time.

Veda Knox E.S. community joins forces during a planting day.

GOAL: Create a vibrant, sharing network of educators and partners who commit to putting school gardens at the heart of urban neighborhoods MEASURED MILESTONES Attracted 1,104 diverse attendees and volunteers to four REAL People Networking Events – a 15 percent increase from last year.

Benefitted from the organizational support of 928 volunteers – a 180 percent increase from last year.

Experienced 10 percent increase in web traffic, with nearly 20,000 website visits between July 2009 and June 2010, which represents more than 12,000 unique visitors.

Attracted significant media attention, including 11 television appearances and 46 print and webbased features.

Honored by Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and the Dallas City Council on April 21, 2010 with a special proclamation, acknowledging REAL School Gardens’ work to provide hands-on learning opportunities based in nature for elementary school educators and students within Dallas ISD. Received a partnership award from Tarrant County Juvenile Services for offering garden volunteer opportunities to the youth in their community service programs.

Honored by partnership awards from Dallas ISD and Harry C. Withers Elementary School.

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STORIES OF SUCCESS REAL People Networking Events During the fall, we organized two highly effective REAL People Networking Events: one at Alice Contreras Elementary School in Fort Worth and one at Barbara Bush Elementary School in Grand Prairie. Then in February, we hosted a REAL People Networking Event in Dallas, bringing out 187 attendees – a great turn-out for the first-ever REAL School Gardens event in this community. In May, educators came together at Meadowbrook Elementary School in Fort Worth to network and celebrate the year’s work. At these creative and engaging networking events, community members come together around their school garden, forming incredible connections and bonds that few other facilities can offer.

With input, participation and support from the surrounding community, school gardens – and students themselves – become the heart of urban neighborhoods.

Last! Night! Was! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

– Educator, Watauga Elementary School

Educators catch the rhythm during a REAL People Networking Event at Barbara Bush E.S.

A student educates a teacher about the life cycles of butterflies at a Meadowbrook E.S. event.

Volunteer and Service-learning Projects As a result of proactive volunteer recruitment, we benefited from 2,146 volunteer hours contributed by 928 volunteers from both the school and the surrounding community. In November, Motorola employees joined us for maintenance at one of our school gardens, and in August, youth from Tarrant County Juvenile Services pitched in to clean up two other school gardens. In a calming outdoor setting, the youth contributed to their community while learning about gardening and native plants. Our outreach efforts led to the development of cooperative service-learning projects with Master Gardeners and Texas Christian University students. We also engaged in a mutually beneficial, semester-long partnership with a senior-level architecture class at University of Texas at Arlington, during which students designed a signature shade structure for our organization. Our service learning efforts attracted national attention from the Association for Career and Technical Education in their Techniques magazine.

Online Communications The more people know about our programs, the more people want to help. Therefore, our communications reach plays a pivotal role in the financial and volunteer support, which allow our school gardens to thrive. Through a focused online communications strategy, we are broadening our reach and sharpening our messaging. In addition to the 19,641 website visits this year, we connect with 2,240 people via electronic mailings. These figures represent 38 and 70 percent increases from last year, respectively, and our unique website visitors also increased by 66 percent. Word is spreading and the school garden movement is growing.

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Media Exposure Staking our spot in the nationwide trend toward healthier lifestyles and real-world learning helps to raise awareness for the mission and the value of our organization. In an ongoing effort to generate public attention for our programs, we worked hard to spread the word about successes and highlights during the year. We distributed a number of press releases, including announcing our receipt of a grant from the Motorola Foundation, as well as our program expansion in Dallas. As a result of these proactive public relations measures, in addition to our notable program growth, media attention for our programs is at an all-time high, including coverage in the following 13 major print and broadcast outlets: Fox 4 News Noticias 23 NBC 5 News ABC 8 News 8 Dallas/Fort Worth Close-up (CW33) KERA (Dallas School Zone) The Dallas Morning News

Techniques magazine by Association for Career and Technical Education Fort Worth, Texas magazine Converge magazine Mother Earth News magazine Jack and Jill magazine Advocate magazine American Society for Engineering named REAL School Gardens the national standout in the school garden movement, as an organization committed to promoting and enhancing efforts to improve K-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math education).

Appeared in Edible Dallas & Fort Worth Magazine, Summer 2010

Appeared in Grand Prairie Reporter, Photo Credit: Bob Fitch

BEYOND FLOWER BEDS As REAL School Gardens enters a new fiscal year, we are energized by what we learned and accomplished during our first year (2009-2010) as a regional team serving 66 schools in five North Texas school districts. We are encouraged by our programs’ building momentum, as well as the growing recognition of our vibrant learning gardens, which boost academic achievement, nurture healthy lifestyles, cultivate life skills and promote environmental stewardship. Looking ahead to 2010-2011 and beyond, we foresee continued growth, not only in Texas but nationally. Our unique, holistic school garden strategy – which includes sustainability-focused garden support, as well as professional development and networking opportunities – has earned us a well-respected place in the school garden movement. With another year of school garden experience under our belts, we are well-positioned for a future of success and many years of connecting children with nature through learning gardens.

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