What We Do
Farm to School
The Green Heart Project’s Farm to School programs utilize school gardens & urban farms as vehicles for teaching – connecting students to food, health, culture & the environment. The garden serves as an outdoor learning laboratory, perfect for reiterating classroom curricula with a focus on STEAM standards through applied learning experiences. Additionally, students are connected with fresh, locally-grown fruits & vegetables as they participate in the growing, harvesting, and cooking processes. Through these hands-on, outdoor learning experiences students learn our core value of respect, and practice essential social-emotional learning (SEL) skills while working alongside volunteers, their “Green Heart Buddies” in both the garden & kitchen classroom.
Much of The Green Heart Project’s Farm to School curricula is now available to the public – see lesson plans below and sign up for our GH@Home Newsletter to receive a weekly email lessons & activities straight to your inbox!
Culinary
In this lesson, you will use in-season crops to make a seasonal harvest salad as you learn about the importance of harvesting and eating seasonal foods.
In this lesson, you will learn about the history of the pickling process and practice pickling your own Quick Pickle Mix.
In this lesson, you will follow the process of bringing a sweet potato from the garden to the table. You will watch a video to learn all about sweet potatoes and identify the nutritional benefits of eating the vegetable as you cook a sweet potato dish!
In this lesson, you will learn about the benefits of growing & eating the Three Sisters (corn, beans, squash) together by cooking up a Three Sisters Succotash recipe!
Explore
In this lesson, you will watch a video to learn about different methods of seed dispersal and design your own seed.
In this lesson, you will dig in to compost to look for the FBI’s who are responsible for breaking down compost into healthy soil!
In this lesson, you will learn about different insects’ habitats and build an insect hotel to encourage the “good” bugs to stay in the garden, as the season changes and the weather gets cooler.
In this lesson, you will learn about the garden ecosystem and classify insects as “good” or “bad” bugs based on their role in the garden.
In this lesson, you will be introduced to Green Heart’s three rules of respect, go on a scavenger hunt using your 5 senses to explore the world around you, and identify ways that you can practice this core value.
Plant & Harvest
In this lesson, you will practice optimism and citizenship by planting a crop that will take many months to grow.
In this lesson you will learn about spacing, and complete an indoor activity to grow microgreens from seeds.
In this lesson you will learn about spacing, set up & use a square foot gardening lattice to plant seasonal crops in your garden.
In this lesson, you will be introduced to the history and process of pickling, and plant your very own pickle garden.
In this lesson, you will learn about the qualities that make up good potting soil, follow a recipe to make a soil mixture, and use this mixture to plant a seed.
STEAM
In this lesson, you will identify edible and non-edible in nature with the help of Gregory, the terrible eater!
In this lesson, students will investigate how solutions and mixtures can act as preservation agents by creating a Green Heart Quick Pickles recipe!
In this lesson, you will watch a video and draw a diagram to learn about a green house and the greenhouse effect. You will practice upcycling by building your own mini-green house!
In this lesson, you will identify plants during different stages of their life cycle by virtually exploring a green heart garden and completing a scavenger hunt.
Curious about compost? In this lesson, you will explore the ingredients of a healthy compost recipe by digging into a compost pile, or making your own.
In this lesson you will write a Fall poem and explore the season using your five senses.
In this lesson, you will observe or imagine something growing in nature and illustrate & label a colorful picture of your findings, alongside the artist founders of Sister Moon Studio!
In this lesson, you will learn about different insects’ habitats and build an insect hotel to encourage the “good” bugs to stay in the garden, as the season changes and the weather gets cooler.
In this lesson, you will label the parts of a plant, identify parts of a plant in your environment, and create a face using different plants and vegetables.
In this lesson, you will read a poem & learn about the five basic needs of a plant.
In this lesson, you will learn about the basics of a garden, tour a Green Heart Project school site, and get creative by designing your own dream garden.