Planning and Funding a School Garden with a Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Grant

Have you ever wished your school had a garden? A garden provides multiple benefits to school stakeholders. Gardens allow teachers to introduce science curriculum in a hands-on outdoor environment. They are often the first step to introducing a child’s palate to fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. Introducing children to healthy eating habits also sets them on the right path toward avoiding obesity and the early onset of diabetes. I have often been amazed and amused when a child speaks up and says something like, “I didn’t know ketchup came from the garden!” In addition, planting and harvesting food from a garden teaches children to respect the environment. When children understand that plants thrive by absorbing nutrients from the soil and fresh rain water they can see why it is important not to pollute the ground and water they grow in. Gardens involve lots of different types of activities to keep them weed-free, healthy and thriving. This is a great opportunity to encourage teamwork and task-sharing skills. Finally, students can demonstrate new entrepreneurial skills by having produce sales at harvest time and plant sales from the seeds produced.

Now that you’re sold on the idea of having a school garden, here’s a simple way to get the money to start it: Lowe’s offers one thousand Toolbox for Education grants (between $2,000 and $5,000) nationwide yearly (500 each in spring and fall) for school projects. They award a large number of these grants for school garden projects. My Lowe’s school garden grant was my first attempt at grant writing and was a very positive experience. Here are some simple steps that can put a garden on your school property in less than one year.

Plan your project thoroughly

There are lots of private companies that offer grants to public schools. However, as with any charity, the giver wants to know that their money will be used responsibly and for a project that aligns with their core values. Lowe’s provides a Pre-Application Checklist and their website has links to Sample Projects and advice on presenting a winning grant application.

Submit application early

The Lowe’s Toolbox application process closes when 1,500 applications are received. That gives each applicant an automatic 1 in 3 chance of selection. However, applications that are approved are those that are presented in a clear, detailed plan that shows community support. Start your plan before the grant application period begins in order to have a winning plan ready to submit. If your application is chosen by Lowe’s, you will be notified early enough to plan your Garden Kick-Off prior to receiving your grant check.

Garden Kick-Off

A Garden Kick-Off event is a must so that your school can involve as many parents, staff and children as possible. We kicked off our garden with a student contest to name the garden. It is important for students to feel ownership in their garden and part of the decision-making process. Get creative and generate as much excitement as possible. It is also important to generate interest from the teachers so they feel welcome to align curriculum to hands-on lessons using the garden. PTA/PTO organizations may be willing to assist teachers in purchasing additional materials for use in the garden such as birdfeeders, recycle bins or composters. A successful Garden Kick-Off will ensure you have enough volunteers for Garden Day, when the garden is built and ready to plant in!

As you finalize plans for your project, keep in mind that there is no requirement to purchase your supplies from Lowe’s. However, I talked to my local store manager and was assigned a special employee that was able to find everything I needed, gave me a discount on the items I ordered and delivered everything the morning of the build right beside the garden site via flatbed truck and forklift. In some cases, Lowe’s is even able to provide employees to volunteer on your Garden Day as well.

Garden Day

Garden Day is that special day when your volunteer group of students, staff and parents gathers together for a good old-fashioned “Garden-Raising”. In order to make it a success, here are a few tips. Provide breakfast and lunch for volunteers. Keep it simple. Donuts and fresh whole fruit make a simple, mess free breakfast menu. For lunch, I ordered a variety of foot-long sandwiches from Subway, sliced in four parts, wrapped separately and labeled. In order to please everyone, I provided condiments in packets on the side, not on the sandwiches. I had plenty of juice and bottled water in coolers available so that no one got dehydrated. A couple of packs of Wet Wipes are great to have on hand so that volunteers can easily wash their hands before eating.

Provide task assignments in writing along with how many people are needed for each one. Include diagrams and specific instructions for every task. Don’t assume that people will somehow automatically understand how a task should be done. Have tools and supplies sorted and placed in the area they will be used. If volunteers bring their own tools, be sure they are labeled so that they get returned to the proper owner.

A final piece of advice -take lots and lots of pictures! I made the mistake of not taking as many as I would have liked on my first garden project. Pictures show your donor, Lowe’s, that you appreciate their gift and that you are a good steward of the money. They tell the story of your garden and allow you to share your inspiration with others. Create a Facebook Page or website for your garden and share your accomplishment with the world. Happy Gardening!

Clifton Elementary School Garden