Double your impact by donating to GROW today!

This year has provided opportunities for growth and creativity. Over summer we planned, and installed three new garden sites. Two of those gardens are at schools new to our program. Fall lessons are being delivered virtually allowing for a creative way to bring in guest speakers and still connect children to their school gardens all while learning about diversity and making cultural connections.

New Garden Spaces:
School construction required the La Crescent-Hokah garden to be relocated. We found this obstacle an opportunity to partner with a local Boy Scout working towards earning his Eagle status to build a larger garden adjacent to the school in the yard of the food shelf. This new space will allow for a better teaching space and a sustainable source of food for people in need. The project turned into a wonderful way to make a larger impact on the community.

Both Emerson Elementary School and Northwoods International Schools were welcomed to GROW. Students will have beautiful new garden spaces to explore when they return to school. This growth allows us to reach an additional 600 + students through school garden lessons starting this fall.

Fall Lessons:
The delivery of garden lessons during a pandemic has provided another opportunity for change through challenging our creativity to meet the needs of our community. Most of the schools we work with have started the school year in a virtual teaching model. In order to reach students, teach them about their food, diversity and to inspire them to spend time in nature, in a safe way, we have developed virtual lessons. Each week we provide teachers with a new video lesson. Our theme this fall is “Cultural Connections”. We look at diversity in our gardens, our food and our community and how rich our lives are when we embrace this diversity. We have gotten some fantastic feedback.

Katherine Erickson, 2nd grade teacher at Hamilton Elementary shared, “I have been sharing the GROW videos with my class. The interest has been high! The Hmong cooking class was a particular hit. I had a student send me so many heart reactions, it was so fun! She was so proud. She brought her family over to see it. Another student said he wanted his mom to see it so maybe they could make the dinner too. The effort and the time that you put into these videos is appreciated and has helped make connections with my students and with our school. Thank you so much!”

Dollar for Dollar Match:
As you can see it has been a busy time of change and expansion for us. We look forward to the positive growth and new opportunities that come from these developments. Fall lessons will reach nearly 1,600 students including the addition 600 students, after parent group support this equates to a need of approximately $5000. Kujak Orthodontics is generously matching up to $2500 in donations made to GROW by October 30th. Will you help us reach our goal? Double your impact and donate today!