​Gardens change youth. Youth change the world. 

Health

By the age of 20, one in three elementary students will be overweight, and four in ten will have type II diabetes. We are changing that by growing food which makes nutrition fun and personal. 

Academics

Outdoor, living laboratories and project-based learning bridge textbooks and the real world. Gardens can help youth who struggle with learning science to increase their test scores by up to 17%.

Wellbeing

In a time when more students than ever feel disconnected from their school and community, gardens bring people together to make a difference and give space for exploration and play. 

Partner with One Cool Earth

1. Choose what program tier is right for your school

Premium Program: 
A Garden Educator spends 2 days per week dedicated to your school. They provide:

• Minimum of 6 classes taught weekly
• Garden maintenance, planning, and project implementation
• Monthly Garden newsletters for the school community
• Partnership with PTA/PTO to ensure that school needs are met
• Lesson extension activities to bridge garden education to in-classroom learning
• Facilitation of two community-focused Garden Workdays per year
• Included Add-Ons: Virtual Family Cooking Night, Green Team Coordination, School-Wide Waste Audit, Field Trip to Partner Organization

Standard Program:
A Garden Educator spends 1 day per week dedicated to your school. They provide:

• Minimum of 3 classes taught weekly
• Garden maintenance, planning, and project implementation
• Monthly Garden newsletters for the school community
• Partnership with PTA/PTO to ensure that school needs are met
• Lesson extension activities to bridge garden education to in-classroom learning
• Facilitation of two community-focused Garden Workdays per year
• Included Add-Ons: Virtual Family Cooking Night, Student Green Team Coordination, Field Trip to Partner Organization

2. Pick your add-ons

• Weekly Garden Lunch Club ($750/year): Your Garden Educator will supervise up to 15 students each week to enjoy the garden during their lunch recess (1x per week)
• Virtual Family Cooking Night ($450): Virtually led by your Garden Educator, our Family Cooking Night includes all ingredients, materials, recipes, and instruction. Kids will learn how to cook delicious meals in their own kitchens!
• Additional Garden Workdays ($200 each): Two-hour, One Cool Earth-led workdays. We will advertise the event to the school community, procure materials and recruit outside volunteers.
• Seasonal Farm Stand ($85 each): This mini-market provides garden produce to families. With the guidance of your Garden Educator, students will harvest garden goods, wash, and set up an after-school market.
• School-Wide Waste Audit ($500): Your garden educator will lead a full-day waste audit to determine how much waste is accumulated in a given day. Students will sort and weigh waste and learn how to classify and distinguish recycling, compost, and landfill items. Together, we will brainstorm waste reduction strategies to adopt on campus. 

• Garden Gathering ($300): This is a two-hour, after-school event for teachers and school staff. Join our One Cool Earth Team in your school garden and learn how to use our curriculum, receive a lesson kit to share with your class, discuss techniques in engaging the school community in garden efforts, set goals for garden projects, and learn more about how OCE operates on your campus.
• Virtual Field Trips: One Cool Earth will connect teachers to online field trip presentations. Pricing is dependent on the field trip. Reach out to learn more!
• In-person Field Trips: One Cool Earth will connect teachers to local field trip opportunities. Pricing is dependent on the field trip. Reach out to learn more!

3. Consider Funding Options

Our Program is subsidized by grants and foundation funding, but some funding is needed from the School District, the School itself, or PTA/Os. All  partner sites are charged both a School Program Fee and District Support Fee. 

School Program Fees are different for our program tiers:

Premium Program: $17,800/yr ($16,900/yr early bird discount)*

Standard Program: $11,500/yr ($10,925/yr early bird discount)*

*Early bird pricing requires a signed contract by May 1st, 2023
​Discounts available for district-wide and multi-year contracts
Deadline to sign up for 2023-2024 programming is June 15th, 2023

District Support Fees are different for the number of schools participating in the district:

1-3 schools

4-6 schools

7+ schools

4. Submit an Interest Form

Program FAQ

How do I know what tier is right for my school?
If you need clarification on what tier is right for you, please reach out and we will help you make an informed decision.

What kind of curriculum is taught?
Our Earth Genius Curriculum is designed to support NGSS performance expectations and centered around three themes: Zero Waste, Water Wise, and Food Forest. What that means is your Educator will lead hands-on environmental and nutrition lessons and nature connection activities, all while meeting high academic standards.

What qualifications do your Garden Educators have?
All of our Garden Educators are Fingerprinted, trained in social-emotional learning, and complete a Mandated Reporting Training and Food Handlers training. Additionally, we only hire the most qualified Educators with experience working with kids and managing gardens. The have an in depth training at the start of the year, plus monthly follow-up trainings to reinforce expectations and deepen their expertise.

How will my teachers be supported?
Teachers have the opportunity to participate in Teacher Trainings, they are able to reach out to the Garden Educator any time, plus they have access to a huge database of lesson plans, video lessons, resource guides, and more on our website.

How does the program integrate into the school outside of the garden?
We believe that our program creates a culture of environmental literacy and stewardship at our partner schools, especially when there is the addition of a Green Team on campus and teachers are well trained on how to use our resources for their own lessons. The campus and its systems are a tool to address food, water, and waste as a whole community!

Are garden supplies covered in the price of the program?
Some supplies will be provided within the cost of the program to ensure beautiful and bountiful gardens, but we always encourage the PTA/Os to pitch in for extra projects that might be more costly like construction of a rain capture system or expansion of the garden. Depending on the size of the garden, we recommend the PTA/O gives $250 - $1000 for supplemental supplies.

What add-ons can I request at my school?
Glad you asked! We have many items that can be purchased as additional opportunities for your school. These include Family Cooking Nights, Waste Audits, Seasonal Farmers Markets and more. We also have extensive online resources that can be accessed for free.

What if my school or district can't cover certain costs? What other options are there?
Luckily, as a Non Profit Organization, we are able to help schools and districts take advantage of many grants and sponsorship opportunities that are available. We are happy to talk about funding opportunities that may support the sustainability of our partnership if need be.