Garden School Programs

Through hands-on teaching, our Garden School program educates students about food systems and environmental stewardship. We are one of the largest school garden education programs in the Pacific Northwest.

It’s challenging for teachers, parents and volunteers to create a thriving garden & education program alone. Grow Portland’s Garden School team supports vibrant and sustainable school gardens while providing monthly garden education for thousands of elementary students attending Portland area schools; over half of our participants are students of color. We collaborate with and support upwards of 200 classroom teachers in this school-day programming.

According to studies compiled by the National Gardening Association, garden-based learning provides a range of benefits to students including increased engagement and knowledge retention in key subjects such as math, science and reading. Students improve their knowledge of good nutrition and broaden their taste of vegetables.

By integrating school garden education into the school day, and providing expert support, we impact large numbers of students and teachers. We use established curriculum resources and our own lessons to link garden sessions to Next Generation Science standards.

Grow Portland is committed to long term partnerships with school communities. Fundraising for the program is a collaborative effort between Grow Portland and partner schools. Schools pay a sliding fee scale of program costs based on their free & reduced lunch percentage.

Our educators teach at schools in two school districts; Portland Public and David Douglas School Districts. 2025-26 participating schools include:

• Bridlemile

• James John

• Harrison Park

• Irvington

• Grout

• Gilbert Park

• Vestal

• Creston

• Clark

• Menlo Park

• Mill Park

• Rose City Park

• Lincoln Park

• Woodstock

• Sitton

• Solid Foundation Child Care

Are you interested in a program at your school?

Thank you for your interest in Grow Portland’s Garden School program! We appreciate your enthusiasm for equitable school garden programming! We are currently at capacity for the 2025/2026 school year and evaluating our capacity for new partners for 2026/2027. We are committed to prioritizing long-term quality programming with our current partners and being intentional about future partnerships.

If you have serious interest in partnership with Grow Portland, please fill out our new school interest form and we will get in touch when we have availability. Thank you! 

Once you have filled out the new school interest form, you may check back with us every couple of months.

For more program information, check out this sheet and contact Wisteria Stuart