Boston School Gardens Receive Whole Kids Foundation Grants 

CitySprouts is excited to announce that it has been awarded four $2,000 grants from the Whole Kids Foundation to make substantial improvements to school gardens at four Boston Public Schools.

CitySprouts is a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop, implement and maintain beautiful, resource ­rich school gardens in collaboration with public school communities throughout the Greater Boston area. Founded in Cambridge in 2001, CitySprouts has been active in Boston since 2010, where it partners with four district schools: Orchard Gardens Pilot School, Higginson ­Lewis K­8 School, David A. Ellis Elementary School, and the Mather Elementary School. Grants have been awarded to fund improvements in all four schools.

CitySprouts’ edible learning gardens serve many purposes for school communities. The garden is a natural site for hands­-on learning across the curriculum, from science to social studies. The CitySprouts program gives teachers the support they need to use the school garden as an academic resource. The garden also fosters children’s affinity for the natural world and empowers them to make healthy food choices. CitySprouts will oversee the implementation of these Whole Kids Foundation grants to enhance the variety of crops grown in the school gardens, including the addition of fruit bushes and trees.

“This represents a wonderful opportunity for Boston children to expand learning beyond the classroom walls,” said CitySprouts executive director, Jane Hirschi. “We’re so grateful to Whole Kids Foundation for helping Boston Public Schools make the best possible use of their schoolyard learning gardens.”

Contact information:
Michael Hachey
(617) 876­2436
mhachey@citysprouts.org