School gardens introduce students to nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables and influence lifelong eating habits. They are more than outdoor classrooms, often serving as neighborhood centers or community hubs, and yet, the majority of garden programs in Los Angeles (LA) County are severely under-resourced. Maintaining a school garden and keeping the educational program going is a big job, and with limited resources, most garden programs are understaffed and struggle to keep up. Though many UC Master Gardener Volunteers assist at school garden sites, many more would like to use their volunteer hours to support school gardens, but lack the specific skills and/or relationships with schools to make this happen. 

To build strong connections between Master Gardeners and neighborhood schools, UEPI’s Center for Community Food & Resilience began a collaborative project in 2020 with the UC Master Gardener Program in Los Angeles County. Funded by the CDFA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the project trained Master Gardeners on the unique needs of school gardens and facilitated connections to high-need schools for their required volunteer service hours. The project’s four-part workshop series (offered in 2021 and 2022) featured experienced school garden practitioners from a host of local organizations, as well as the project team. 

Are you a Master Gardener interested in working with schools? Our Guide for Master Gardeners includes a summary of the project as well as key takeaways and resources from the workshop series. If you are currently a Los Angeles County Master Gardener, you can also join the Master Gardener School Garden Network (MG SGN) by emailing: mg.school.garden.network@gmail.com