Planning a Successful School & Community Garden Program

Introductory Week: Welcome & Introduction

• Week 1: Growing Your Planning Team; Community Partnerships
• Week 2: Developing Garden Program Goals Using Logic Models
• Week 3: Tapping Your Community Resources
• Week 4: Evaluation and Assessment; Building Your Curriculum Toolbox
• Week 5: Creating Sustainable Gardens; Finding Funding
• Week 6: Project Portfolio; Next Steps

Break week: July 4-7

Instructor: Donna Alese Cooke dmc72 [at] cornell.edu (dmc72[at]cornell[dot]edu)

Purpose

This course is perfect for educators, program staff, volunteers, volunteer coordinators or anyone wanting to develop a community garden, school garden, or garden-based learning program for youth, adults, or people with disabilities in their local community, school, Cooperative Extension, or after-school program.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will:

• Understand the foundations of garden-based learning and its benefits.
• Explore and identify available resources, case studies, research, and successful school and community-based garden programs.
• Utilize logic models to identify program inputs, activities, and desired outcomes.
• Use real world tools to practice and develop a garden-based learning program in alignment with program needs.
• Build a toolbox of resources and portfolio of program planning, deliverables, and strategies for sustainability.
• Utilize strategies to organize a community of volunteers and identify leadership.

Course Philosophy

This course is designed to enrich the practice of community-based gardening in schools and communities, for children, youth, and adult audiences, and to encourage a network of state and nation-wide educators, volunteers and communities who will learn and grow together.

Approach

Using a logic model approach to program development, this online course teaches methods and strategies on planning, organizing, and developing a successful and sustainable school and/or community gardening program.

Participants will connect with and learn from others with the same purpose, and by the end of this course, will become a more confident and knowledgeable garden-based learning educators and program organizers. 

Expectations

Given the flexible nature of the distance learning environment, it is easy to fall behind and lose out on what could be a very valuable learning experience for you. Keeping yourself well organized and current with assignments will help you get the most out of this course. 

This course has been designed to be learner-centered, with due dates, deadlines and self-evaluation exercises put in place to help keep you on track. Stated simply, you will get from the course what you put into it.

Supplies

A computer with reliable high-speed Internet access (to view videos, view readings, submit assignments, and participate regularly in discussion forums).