August 24, 2020 Early Childhood Garden Education Program Available Interested in integrating garden and cooking activities into its classroom curriculum? Submit your application today for Grow Pittsburgh and the Sampson Foundation’s Early Childhood Garden Education Program. About Grow Pittsburgh and the Sampson Foundation are offering an Early Childhood Garden Education Program for early childhood centers across the Pittsburgh region. Gardens are outdoor classrooms that are adaptable to most play yards and are designed to fit the space and needs of each center. The program will integrate garden and cooking activities into the classroom curriculum to support the development and education of the whole child. The partnership aims to support educators in teaching their students how to grow, cook, and eat fresh food while celebrating the cultures and experiences of their families and city. To learn more about the program, view the full description. Eligibility To be eligible for this program, early childhood centers must: complete and submit the application (parts 1-6, including photos); be located in Allegheny County; be an early childhood facility (includes: family, group, and center) licensed in Pennsylvania; have at least five organized and motivated people in your garden leadership group (can include staff and parents, but must include at least three teachers interested in supporting the program), exceptions made for smaller facilities; have signatures of support from both the director and head custodian; have a sustainable site for gardening on the property that gets at least six hours of sunlight a day with supporting photos for the completion of Part 3 (Grow Pittsburgh can provide support); have enrollment that includes at least 50 percent of children receiving subsidized funds through CCIS, CACFP, Head Start, or Pre-K Counts. If your program doesn’t meet these criteria, please submit as much information as possible and program hosts will work to help you in alternative ways. Submit An Application To apply, complete and submit the application. Applications can be submitted via email at victoria@growpittsburgh.org or postal mail at: Grow Pittsburgh 6587 Hamilton Ave #2W Pittsburgh, PA 15206 More Information For general application questions and assistance, please contact Victoria Thurmond at 678.977.9389 or victoria@growpittsburgh.org.
December 13, 2019 2019-20 Carton 2 Garden Contest Receiving Entries Are you interested in building or enhancing your school garden? Evergreen Packaging and KidsGardening.org are hosting the sixth national Carton 2 Garden Contest! About The Carton 2 Garden Contest is open to public and private schools, with contest winners selected based on their implementation of an innovative garden creation featuring creative, sustainable uses for repurposed milk and juice cartons. Schools can get started by collecting at least 100 empty cartons from homes, the community, or their cafeteria. After gathering the cartons, schools design and construct purposeful garden items and structures using them. For ideas, view last year’s winners. Eligibility & Entry Carton 2 Garden is open to all K-12 public and private schools in the United States. Schools do not need a garden to participate. Pre-k classes located at schools serving additional elementary, middle, and/or high school grade levels may also enter the contest. With this, all entries must document and share their gardening experience through an online entry form and submission of up to 10 photos. To be eligible for the grand prize and specialty prizes, entries must also include a video link (under five minutes) that tells the story of the project in its entirety. View the Entry Form Checklist. Every student that appears in photos or videos must have an accompanying signed parent release form submitted with your entry. The form is also available in Spanish. All entries must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Click here to access the online entry form. Awards Fifteen entries will be selected to receive award packages for their efforts, including: one grand prize winner who will receive a prize valued at $5,000; four winners, selected for exemplary demonstration in the following specialty areas: Carton Act in the Garden, Environmental Stewardship, Health and Nutrition, and STEM; who will receive a prize valued at $2,000 each; and ten winners (five middle/high schools and five elementary schools) who will receive award packages valued at $1,000 each. More Information To learn more about the Carton 2 Garden Contest, visit the Kids Gardening website.
August 19, 2019 2020 Gro More Good Garden Grants Now Open If you’re a Head Start program looking to integrate gardening into your curriculum, apply today for a Gro More Good Garden Grant! About Studies show that many children from at-risk backgrounds don’t have access to fresh produce on a daily basis. However, research also shows that children who grow fresh food eat more fresh food and are healthier as a result. That’s why the National Head Start Association and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation are joining forces to address this critical issue facing young children. Through the Gro More Good Garden Grants initiative, both partners will work with Head Start programs across the country to teach children, families, and communities how to grow their own fresh produce. Their multi-year initiative will make garden grants, garden kits, educational curriculum, and garden training available to all Head Start programs with the goal of creating more edible gardens for young children and their families. Grant Details $5,000 grants, garden kits, and product donations will be awarded to the 10 highest scoring applicants. The Garden Grants are a three-year program with an opportunity to apply again in the fall of 2020 for the 2021 grant cycle. Expectations As a part of the grant award, Head Start programs will be expected to host a Community Build Day, bringing together Head Start students and families, community partners, and Scotts Miracle-Gro associates in a day of community service to build and celebrate the garden. Community Build Days should be held during the March through June timeframe. Application To apply for a Gro More Good Garden Grant, visit the application page. Applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on October 11, 2019. Learn More For more information, visit the National Head Start Association website or the grant FAQ page. For direct questions, email gardens@nhsa.org. *Information provided by the National Head Start Association
July 29, 2019 Early Learning: Young Sprouts Join the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh this August for a series of nature-focused explorations of treasures, art, songs, and stories! Sessions are designed for children 0 – 5 years old, but suitable for all ages. Session Topics Garden Science: Things that Float Garden Science: Life Cycles Garden Science: Things that Fly Garden Science: The Curious Garden More Information To learn more, visit the Facebook event page!
March 19, 2019 Young Sprouts: Compost Stew What is compost and how do you make it? Learn about how you can take your old food scraps and turn them into nutritious soil to help the garden grow with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh! The group will also read Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals. This program is designed for our youngest learners (0-5) but is suitable for all ages. The event is drop-in, so guests may come and go as they please! Program location is weather dependent: the group will be in the Garden if the weather allows; find them in the Nursery if weather is less than ideal. For more information, visit the event page!
Young Sprouts: Garden Art Join the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to explore natural and repurposed materials to decorate their garden by bringing your art outdoors. This program is drop-in, so guests may come and go as they please! This program is designed for our youngest learners (0-5) but is suitable for all ages. Program location is weather dependent: it will be in the Garden if the weather allows; find them in the Nursery if weather is less than ideal.
March 18, 2019 Young Sprouts: Starting Seeds – Germination Station Visit our Young Sprouts Germination Station! Are you curious about seeds? What is a seed, anyway? What do seeds need to grow into healthy plants? Investigate the many colors, shapes, and sizes of seeds and listen to the story, A Seed is Sleepy. We will also be giving away seeds saved from our garden! This program is drop-in, so feel free to come and go as you please! This program is designed for our youngest learners (0-5) but suitable for all ages. Program location is weather dependent: we will be in the Garden if the weather allows; find us in the Nursery if weather is less than ideal.
