Our MissionBy cultivating school gardens in San Francisco’s under-served neighbor-hoods, Urban Sprouts partners with youth and their families to build eco-lit-eracy, equity, wellness, and community.

Growing healthy schools and communities through garden-based education

Lessons from our work: 2004-2009

School PartnersUrban Sprouts provides garden-based science and nutrition classes to over 700 students at these San Francisco middle and high schools:

Aptos Middle SchoolIda B. Wells Continuation

International Studies AcademyJune Jordan Continuation High School

Log Cabin RanchMLK Middle School

SF Community School

Introduction | Growing support for school gardensWith everyone from health professionals, educators, chefs, and our First Lady praising school gardens as a means to improve childhood education and alleviate the obesity epidemic, gardens are finally being recognized as a necessary addition to our schoolyards. Gardens can benefit youth by promoting academic enrichment, health and wellness, and ecological literacy. Given the right conditions gardens can have an even broader influence, fostering school cohesion, generating parental and community involvement, and improving local food access.

Despite this momentum, many schools continue to face obstacles when starting their own gardens. Communities attempting to launch a school garden may suffer from uncertain funding, a lack of specialized training, overburdened staff members, or cumbersome and prohibitive policies. Such challenges may be especially acute in schools that serve low- and moderate-income populations, the same communities where access to nutritious foods and safe open spaces is often limited. When youth have few opportunities in their neighborhood environments to model and practice healthy behaviors, school gardens play an especially important role.

Our roots | The history of Urban Sprouts Urban Sprouts was created in response to this need. In 2004, researchers Michelle Ratcliffe, PhD and Abby Jaramillo planted a garden at San Francisco’s Luther Burbank Middle School as part of a yearlong study on the multiple impacts of garden-based education on urban youth. The school’s staff, students, and parents were so excited with the results that they requested that the pair continue the garden program after the evaluation period; Urban Sprouts was born.

School ProgramsToday, Urban Sprouts has expanded its reach to provide garden-based education to over 700 students annually in seven San Francisco middle and high schools. Students plant, harvest, cook, and eat healthy food from the garden, thus mastering science and nutrition concepts in a fun and hands-on way. Of the students we serve,

60% are low-income students and over 95% are students of color,• 61% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch,• 22% are English Language Learners (ELL) students,•

and 90% failed to reach physical fitness standards in 2006.• Community ProgramsIn addition to school programs, Urban Sprouts deepens its impact in the community by collaborating with youth and families outside of the classroom. Our Summer Program, a

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Community Programs (continued)collaboration with our partner organization Garden for the Environment, has provided extensive youth employment and leadership opportunities to over 50 youth from 2007-2009. Farmers-in-Residence, our newest program, brings parents together to exchange cooking knowledge and to grow vegetables at our school gardens.

Research & TrainingProgram evaluation and research have remained a critical part of what we do. Urban Sprouts works closely with schools to adapt the garden program to state science and nutrition educational standards. We continually evaluate this curriculum through focused reflections, staff assessments, and annual program reviews, and share these research results at conferences and workshops nationwide.

“The garden helps you do better in school because

it keeps you healthy.”

6th grade student, 2007

The garden and nutrition educators at Urban Sprouts collaborate with teachers to create interactive activities tailored to their students. The Urban Sprouts Garden-Based Education model acknowledges that a student’s development is influenced by her environment, behavior, and personal factors, and a successful garden program will address each of these components. Our understanding of these connections helps us to design programs that empower students to make healthier choices, feel more confident in their schoolwork, and improve their community.1

The garden provides an ideal setting where these positive actions can take root. By providing a place where youth can nurture living things, enjoy healthy foods, and work towards a common goal, school gardens are a powerful tool for building community. While the model may seem abstract in the day-to-day business of running our gardens, it helps us see our work in a broader context. It can also be a useful guide for educators starting a new garden program or for those evaluating an existing program. Starting in 2010, we plan to unveil a training and workshop program to share our expertise with more schools.

___________________________________________1 Ratcliffe, M. M. (2007) Garden-based education in school settings: The effects on children’s vegetable consumption, vegetable preferences and ecoliteracy. Ph.D. Dissertation, Tufts University.

Our Program Model | Garden-Based Education (GBE) for youth development and health

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Reaping Results Findings from our program evaluation

We have already begun to see how gardening has transformed the schools where we work. Each year, we conduct an in-depth evalu-ation of our programs, using our Garden-Based Education model to assess our results. Our evaluation tools include pre/post surveys and focus group interviews with students, and individual interviews with school staff. Here are some of our findings:

Food AwarenessAfter completing our programs students can identify a greater number of fruits

and vegetables, and report an increased willingness to eat them.

Healthy EatingBeyond cultivating an awareness of healthy foods, the garden programs actually mo-tivate students to seek out and prepare more nutritious meals.

Teachable MomentsMany teachers and school staff applaud the garden as an invaluable tool for reinforcing concepts from the classroom. In addition, teach-ers note that the garden is an environment where students and adults create trusting relationships. Here are some quotes from our interviews:

“... Science needs to be hands on and it needs to be outside of the classroom sometimes. And for me, my first year being here, it was hard for me to find ways to do that. So the garden was just extremely useful, for allowing me to take my kids through a program to go do stuff hands on outside of the classroom. -- 7th grade teacher

“…We make the students more aware of eating healthy foods. And then growing them in the garden, making them aware of the vitamins and all that benefits of eating healthy food... it makes students aware that it doesn’t take that much to grow vegetables. And also they can learn to grow them in their own backyard too, and then help prepare them too. “ -- 6th grade teacher

“Sometimes if they’re being a little wild, somebody will say, “Hey, calm down, we’ve got the garden today. We’ve got to go the garden.” You know, they worry that they won’t get to go to the garden.” -- 7th grade teacher

nutrition knowledge before summer program

nutrition knowledge after summer program

I tried no new foods & didn’t change my opinion of any foodsI tried some new foods but didn’t change my opinion of any foodsI tried foods that I didn’t like before and now I like them

2009 Summer

2008 Summer

2007 Summer

ISA Middle School

ISA High School

average

somewhathigh

high

somewhat low

average

somewhathigh

highsomewhat low

low

food preferences & willingness to try new foods:

“Students who work in the garden improve their self-esteem and work better with others... The garden increases our sense of school com-munity, identity and culture.”

School counselor, 2007

www.urbansprouts.org | 451 hayes st. 2nd floor | san francisco, ca 94102

Lessons | learning from our experiencesAfter thoughtful reflection on our work, here are what we have identified as our greatest strengths and areas for growth:

Taken as a sum, here are some of the most valuable lessons we have learned:

Collaboration has been key to our success. • This has been crucial in building relationships with school & community partners.

Growth has provided us with opportunities and challenges. • Our fast expansion has forced us to constantly evaluate our programs, making us a streamlined organization and helping us realize our strengths and areas for improvement.

Youth and family leadership• is an indicator of program success, and is essential for achieving program sustainability and change at the community level.

Other programs can learn from our experiences.• We have gained invaluable skills and insights from our work in San Francisco, and we believe other school garden programs can benefit from this.

Program reach & expansion

Positive youth outcomes

School & community-level outcomes

Over 700 middle and high schoolers in • bi-weekly garden classes.Additional after-school, summer, and • family programs.

Students report healthier behaviors and • attitudes.Gardens provide leadership and youth • employment opportunities.

Garden curriculum is tailored to schools, • reinforcing the learning environment.Partnerships with community members • & institutions.

Demanding school environments

Program sustainability

Wider food and social environment

Schools are facing high turnover and • inadequate funding. Chaotic school culture, stressed teachers • and difficult classroom management.

Schools must take on increasing • responsibility if gardens are to become a standard part of public education.The role of garden educator must • become professionalized through training & support.

Limited neighborhood food access, poor-• quality school lunches & skewed food policies limit students’ nutritional choices

Challenges

government64%

foundations18%

service fees10%

individuals8%

program: salaries55%

program:materials21%

administration22%

fundraising4%

Our financial healthFY 2008-09 Budget: $225,996

Expenses and revenues are shown from our

2008-2009 fiscal year budget. Urban Sprouts

is fiscally sponsored by Neighborhood Parks

Council, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization

based in San Francisco, CA.Revenues

Expenses

Strengths

www.urbansprouts.org | 451 hayes st. 2nd floor | san francisco, ca 94102

Acknowledgments

Urban Sprouts would like to thank the hard-working and creative teachers, students and staff at our partner schools and organizations:

Aptos Middle School Excelsior Middle School International Studies AcademyJune Jordan School for Equity MLK Jr. Middle ScoolSF Community SchoolLog Cabin RanchIda B. Wells Continuation HSGarden for the Environment

Our programs are made possible by generous support from individuals and these funding organizations:

Mitchell Kapor FoundationNetwork for a Healthy California

SF Dept. of Children,Youth & FamiliesSF Dept. of the Environment

San Francisco FoundationSF Unified School District

Joseph R. McMicking FoundationMorris Stulsaft Foundation

Hut Foundation

for more information:

Abby Jaramillo, Executive Director

abby@urbansprouts.orgwww.urbansprouts.org

Conclusion | Strategies moving forward

Urban Sprouts has grown and learned during the past five years. We have developed our staff roles, streamlined our curriculum and evaluation process, strengthened relationships with schools and families, and formed partnerships with other community members and organizations.

The organization is now at a critical moment. In our next phase, we hope to share our work and collaborate with partners beyond San Francisco. Fortunately, there are a growing number of organizations doing this work and evermore people are aware of the need for school gardens. Unfortunately, we are also at a moment when many organizations are shrinking or shutting their doors. Given the difficult economic climate, how will we sustain our success, attract new funding, and continue to expand our services? Here are our immediate next steps:

Strengthen our• parent program to cultivate local advocates for improving food access.Increase our visibility• to take advantage of public’s growing awareness of food issues.Continue our board-directed • strategic planning process & identify new funding sources.Develop our • training program to share our expertise with other schools and educators.

www.urbansprouts.org | 451 hayes st. 2nd floor | san francisco, ca 94102