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Gardens change youth.
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Learning, growing, and eating in the garden unlocks the inherent genius in everyone. Genius isn't just about book smarts, it's about reconnecting with our health, our family, our community, and the Earth. Utilizing our comprehensive curriculum, the program to measurably improves student health, academics and well-being at our partner schools.
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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.
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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 test scores by up to 17%.
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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.
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Host the Earth Genius Program at your school!
1. Choose what program tier is right for your school
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Earth Genius Standard:
A GEM spends 10 hours per week dedicated to your school. They provide:
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Earth Genius Lite:
A GEM spends 10 hours every other week dedicated to your school. They provide:
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2. Pick your add-ons
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Garden Build
If your school needs the garden infrastructure to host our program, we can customize a garden build that fits your space. Price is dependant on the size and extent of the garden build. Family Cooking Night ($600 for up to 15 families) OCE led family cooking night including all ingredients, materials, recipes and instruction. Additional Garden Workdays ($200 per workday) 2 hr OCE led workday with outside volunteer recruitment and organization. Grow, Cook, Eat After School Program ($450) Up to 15 students can participate in this 1 hour, 3 week long after school garden program. Seasonal Farm Stand ($85 per market) This mini-market provides garden produce to families. Includes PTA coordination and marketing materials. |
Green Team Trainings and Coordination ($600)
2 staff and student trainings per year plus 40 hrs of coordination/GEM support. School-Specific Teacher Training ($400) 1.5 hours of virtual, self directed information plus 1.5 hours of in-person, site specific session. and Q+A. Garden Lunch Club ($750/year) Up to 15 students weekly enjoy the garden during their lunch recess while the educator facilitates activities. School Site Waste Audit ($250) GEM leads a full-day waste audit, engaging each class for sorting plus an assembly/announcement to share data! |
3. Reach out to us and start thinking about funding
Fill out the interest form below get in touch with our Program Director.
Our Program is subsidized by grants and foundation funding, but some funding is needed from the School District, the School itself, or PTA/Os.
School Program Fees are as follows for the different program tiers:
EG Lite: $3,600 per year
EG Standard: $6,800 per year
District Support Fees are as follows for the different numbers of schools participating in the district:
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$3,000 per school for 1-3 schools
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2,500 per school for 4-6 schools
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2,250 per school for 7+ schools
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Earth Genius FAQ
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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 Education Managers have? All of our Garden Education Managers 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 Education Manager 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. |