October 29, 2024
Our legislation proposal for a statewide Instructional School Garden Program
The coalition's proposal to restart and fund a statewide Instructional School Garden Program, shared with legislative offices.
The newsletter
Fall Updates
Legislation Proposal
Thank you to those who were able to join our September 30 Broader Coalition meeting, when we introduced a legislative proposal (cover page) to restart and expand California's Instructional School Garden Program (ISGP). The proposal aims to create lasting, generational benefits for California students by providing equitable access to environmental education. Many studies of established instructional school garden programs demonstrate that regular participation opportunities lead to improved science achievement, higher levels of school engagement and personal resilience, and increased adoption of eating habits strongly linked to long-term health.
We propose reviving the inactive ISGP and naming the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) as the administrator for its initial phase, which we hope would establish an advisory council to develop grant criteria over the next year and ensure future equity-focused implementation. In the future (ideally next year), phase 2 would tap into various funding sources, including federal and special funds, enabling school districts, especially underserved ones, to apply for multi-year grants to implement and sustain instruction in school gardens.
Proposal Status
- We are actively emailing state legislators and seeking a bill sponsor for our legislation proposal (aligning with the legislative calendar). If you/your organization would be willing to email your legislative representatives to ask for support for the legislation proposal, please reply to let us know, and we can draft and/or send the email. We are seeking bipartisan support.
- Once a bill sponsor is secured, we plan to seek letters of support for the legislation from the broader coalition. Stay tuned! 🤞
- CDFA confirmed their interest in serving as the grant program administrator.
- Senator John Laird, key legislative consultants, and others toured school gardens in Santa Cruz County with Life Lab last week.
- Congressman Jimmy Panetta toured school gardens in San Luis Obispo County with One Cool Earth and is identifying grants that might fund the proposed grant program.
- Thank you to our broader coalition, for providing key feedback on the legislation proposal in our September 30 coalition meeting! We are still researching approaches for some key questions that were asked in the meeting.
History of Support and Legislation for Instructional School Gardens
We embarked on an internal learning journey to ensure our proposed legislation harmonizes with the broader outdoor education landscape, reflects best practices, and honors relevant historical efforts. Our history research findings focus on:
- The history of school garden legislation.
- The support for instructional school gardens throughout the education system and beyond.
This project heavily influenced our legislation proposal.
Show Your Support!
If you/your organization would like to publicly showcase your broader coalition membership, please reply with your logo, and we'll add it to our coalition webpage! Broader coalition members receive these types of communications and are invited to our broader coalition meetings every 3-4 months.
Contribute Today!
To continue this important work through February, we are seeking funding support for project management consultant time to help us to continue to build our case, network, and legislative strategy. Please consider a contribution and share any potential donor details with us. Contact: Vicki Moore, Founder, Living Classroom and Leadership Team Member, School Garden Coalition.