The Schoolyard Gardens Program offers urban children learning that engages the body as well as the mind, the opportunity to grow and eat fresh foods, and access to the natural world.
Somerville is an immigrant community. At two schools, 47 and 73% report English is not their first language. Somerville schools serve students from low-income families: at two schools between 63% and 83% are so. Over 40% of Somerville 1st-3rd graders are overweight or at risk for being so. Somerville is the most densely populated city in New England; about 19,400 residents per mile. Three highways run through, with 300,000 vehicles daily and six diesel rail lines with no local stops.
In-school, after-school and summer garden programming incorporating science, math, technology, engineering and nutrition into environmental science lessons with kindergarten-12 graders. We run after-school lessons and summer camp.
Through the creation of urban gardens, their is more permeable pavement, open space and green space in Somerville, increasing the urban canopy and decreasing carbon footprint. Elementary students understand their impact on the local environment.
This project has provided additional documentation in a XLSX file (projdoc.xlsx).
