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

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum Supporting the New K-12 Workforce: What Teachers Need to Stay at School
 Join this free virtual event to discover what teachers say they need to feel supported to stay in classrooms for the long haul.
College & Workforce Readiness K-12 Essentials Forum Career and Technical Education Takes Its Next Big Step
Join this free virtual event to hear creative approaches to modernize CTE programs and navigate the shift away from a near-exclusive focus on "college preparedness."

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 Can AI Help Students Learn Social-Emotional Skills?
Teachers are experimenting with ways to leverage the technology.
5 min read
Empathy02
Chris Cromwell, an instructional technology coordinator for the West Chester Area School District in Pennsylvania, speaks to attendees during his presentation at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on July 1, 2026. Cromwell is one of a small but growing number of educators using AI to teach students social and emotional skills.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A Is SEL a Band-Aid Patching Over Schools' Systemic Problems?
Why schools need to take a hard look at how their decisions heighten student stress.
3 min read
Students embrace Sage, a therapy dog, at Valley View Elementary on April 29, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn.
Students embrace a therapy dog at an elementary school in Columbia Heights, Minn., on April 29, 2026. Efforts to help kids improve their social and emotional well-being need to be combined with schools taking a hard look at how they are contributing to high levels of student stress, experts say.
Ellen Schmidt/MinnPost via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A What Students Lose When Recess Is Squeezed Out of the Schedule
Two professors discuss why recess is not a priority in the education system and equity issues amongst students.
6 min read
20260618 AMX US NEWS HOW 30 MINUTES RECESS COULD 1 LA
First and 2nd graders play during a mid-morning recess at William F. Prisk Elementary School in Long Beach, Calif. on May 20, 2026 . The American Academy of Pediatrics recently updated its recess recommendations this year for the first time in 13 years, recommending a minimum of 20 minutes of recess daily.
Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times
Student Well-Being & Movement 'Anxious Generation' Author Jonathan Haidt and Others Tackle Tech Overuse
An EdWeek forum explored creative solutions to encourage students to move away from screens and devices.
4 min read
A student uses a cell phone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy, Aug. 16, 2024, in San Mateo, Calif.
A student uses a cell phone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024.
Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP