1. Growing healthier schools and communities through garden-based education
San Francisco Green Festival
November 7, 2010
Abby Jaramillo, Executive Director
A Model for Big-Impact School Gardens
3. Who We Are
OUR MISSION
By cultivating school gardens in
San Francisco’s under-served
neighborhoods, Urban Sprouts
partners with youth and their
families to build eco-literacy, equity,
wellness, and community.
4. Our Programs
SUPPORTS LOW-INCOME SCHOOLS:
• Over 700 students/year in 6 San Francisco middle and high schools
• 60% low-income students; 95% students of color.
SUPPORTS WIDER COMMUNITY:
• ‘Farmers-in-Residence’ program allows parents to grow vegetables and swap
cooking knowledge
• ‘Summer Program’ provides youth employment and leadership training
PROVIDES RESEARCH & TOOLS:
• Share our research results and program model through trainings and our website.
5. Our Community
• 61% eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch
• 22% English Language
Learners (ELL)
• 90% failed to reach fitness
standards in all 6
categories (2006)
Of the students at our Partner School Sites…
6. Our Community
• 61% eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch
• 22% English Language
Learners (ELL)
• 90% failed to reach fitness
standards in all 6
categories (2006)
Aptos MS
(Ingleside)
MLK MS
(Portola)
June Jordan HS
(Excelsior)
Log Cabin Ranch
(La Honda, CA)
International
Studies Acad.
(Potrero Hill)
Ida B Wells
Continuation HS
(Alamo Sq)
Of the students at our Partner School Sites…
Summer Sprouts
(Garden for the Environment)
8. 1970s
1891
1991
?
1946 - 1st School LunchWWI & WWII
• First Wave: 1891 - 1944. Issue: National Security
• Second Wave: 1970s. Issue: Environmentalism
History of School Gardens
9. WW I Recruiting Posters: the US School Garden Army
Poster photos from Victory Grower - http://groups.ucanr.org/victorygrower
10. 1970s
1891
1991
?
1946 - 1st School LunchWWI & WWII
Third Wave: 1991, 2009 +
Issue: . . . ???
History of School Gardens
11. Issues today
• Economic Recession
• Food Insecurity
• Failing public schools
• Environmental degradation
• Global climate change
• Oil dependence
• Hunger
• Obesity
• Lack of access to healthy
food
• Urban violence
• Consumerism and
Marketing
18. Why do we need a Program Model?
1. A recipe for success
2. Consistent but tailored across schools
3. Don’t need to reinvent the wheel
4. Evidence of outcomes
5. A planning tool
Not just ANY school garden will realize these ambitious goals.
We need . . .
20. Curricular Learning Environment
• Soil Tests
• Science Experiments
• Scavenger Hunts
• Taste Tests
• Reading Nutrition Facts Food
Labels
• Skits and Poster-making
• 24-hour Food Diaries
A skit on
reading
food
labels.
Preparing a
meal for
tasting,
made with
garden-
grown
produce.
21. Physical Learning Environment
• Diverse food crops and perennials
• Appealing and interactive natural
environment
• Exploring the garden
• Planting and tending
• Harvesting, preparing and eating
food crops
• Participating in cycles - making
compost, seed saving, chicken care
School gardens at Aptos,
June Jordan, and MLK
(clockwise from top right)
22. Social Learning Environment
• Cooperation with peers
• Responsibility for the garden
• Sharing your cultural identity
• Relationship-building with peers
and adults
• Safe space
• Peer teaching
• Meaningful work and learning
• Making school a better place
• Role models for healthy eating A parent mentors a student at a family Garden Work
Day, Burbank MS, San Francisco
23. Personal Factors
• Academic Knowledge &
Life Skills
• Social & moral
development
– Responsibility, patience,
focus, respect
– Problem solving, teamwork,
cooperation
– Self-efficacy, self-awareness,
mastery
– Sense of purpose, ownership,
happiness, sense of
accomplishment, work ethic
24. Attitudes & Preferences
Ecoliteracy
• Empathy
• Systems thinking
• Ecological knowledge
• Environmental
responsibility & ethics
Health & Nutrition
• Preferences towards fruits
and vegetables
• Attitudes towards healthy
foods
Attitudes towards school,
science, and learning
25. Behavioral Outcomes
• Fruit & Vegetable
Consumption
• Healthy School Meals
• Physical Activity
• Eco-Actions
• Academic Success Students harvest, cook, and eat collards, kale and other
greens from the garden at MLK MS, San Francisco.
27. Evaluation Results: Summer Program, 2007-2009
NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE: Student post-test survey, 3 years combined:
• 72% reported an increase in knowledge of nutrition
• 60% reported their knowledge of nutrition as high or somewhat high (reached 92% in 2009)
Nutrition knowledge
before summer program
Nutrition knowledge
after summer program
28. Evaluation Results: Summer & School Programs, 2007-2009
ATTITUDES TOWARDS HEALTHY FOOD:
• 97% reported trying new foods during the program
• 57% said they ended up liking foods they thought
they wouldn’t like
Students’ preferences &
willingness to try new foods
29. Evaluation Results: Summer & School Programs, 2007-2009
HEALTHY EATING BEHAVIORS:
• 74% of students said that their eating
habits improved during the program
(2008, 2009)
One youth’s response to the question,
“Have your eating habits changed?
“Yes, yes, yes! I don't eat so much candy, chips
and soda. I try to eat more fruits. I told my mom
about a lot of things I learned here and now she
goes to the grocery store and buys more fruits
and veggies.”
30. Contact Information
Urban Sprouts
451 Hayes St. 2nd Fl
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 287-0722
www.urbansprouts.org
Abby Jaramillo, Executive Director
abby@urbansprouts.org