Student Well-Being & Movement Interactive

Tips for Turning a School Garden Into a Rich Learning Opportunity

By Gina Tomko — April 03, 2025 1 min read
Photograph of middle school students and their female teacher planting in their school's garden.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Curriculum-based gardening programs are flourishing across the United States. Their growing popularity stems from hands-on learning, which allows students to remain highly engaged while exploring nature.

While school gardens enhance academic learning in traditional subject areas, they also teach essential life skills such as social-emotional learning, financial responsibility, and community engagement.

The infographic below illustrates how school gardening can deepen student learning.

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE (PDF)

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Teaching Webinar
Maximize Your MTSS to Drive Literacy Success
Learn how districts are strengthening MTSS to accelerate literacy growth and help every student reach grade-level reading success.
Content provided by Ignite Reading
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar How High Schools Can Prepare Students for College and Career
Explore how schools are reimagining high school with hands-on learning that prepares students for both college and career success.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
GoGuardian and Google: Proactive AI Safety in Schools
Learn how to safely adopt innovative AI tools while maintaining support for student well-being. 
Content provided by GoGuardian

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being & Movement How Schools Can Prepare for New Restrictions on Artificial Dyes
A district in the first state where such a ban has already taken effect has lessons to share.
4 min read
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on Oct. 22, 2024.
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on Oct. 22, 2024. Statewide bans on synthetic dyes in school meals are gaining momentum, with one such ban already in effect.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Student Well-Being & Movement What a School District Discovered When Its State Banned Synthetic Dyes
More states are banning the petroleum-based additives from school meals.
4 min read
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on October 22, 2024.
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on October 22, 2024. More states are banning artificial dyes from school meals.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Student Well-Being & Movement Social-Emotional Learning Linked to Higher Math and Reading Test Scores
A Yale study finds that explicitly teaching students SEL skills can have big academic payoffs.
5 min read
Illustration of people climbing stacks of books. There are 3 stacks of books at different heights with people helping people climb up.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Kids’ Social Media Use Linked to Lower Reading and Memory Scores, Study Suggests
While the differences in scores are subtle, researchers say it could add up in the long term.
7 min read
Image of analysis of a brain and a cellphone.
Olemedia/iStock/Getty