Setting up and Running a School Garden - A Manual for Teachers, Parents and Communities

FAO is pleased to announce publication of Setting up and Running a School Garden - A Manual for Teachers, Parents and Communities. FAO has prepared this manual to assist school teachers, parents and communities who wish to start or improve a school garden with the aim of helping school children to grow in both mind and body.

Children's health is the concern of the whole school and community. The classroom curriculum, extra-curricular activities, the school establishment and the school environment should reinforce each other and work together with the family and community to ensure that children have their basic rights to education and to adequate nutrition.

The School Garden manual works on all these fronts - growing food in the garden, learning about it in the classroom, involving the school meals service, and bringing in the family and community to support the programme. This multi-faceted approach is the best way to successful education for better nutrition and learning. More than that, it may play a part in promoting not only the children's health but also the health of their families and of the natural environment.

The School Garden Manual

The School Garden Manual is based on experiences of setting up and running school gardens all over the world.

Who is it for?
FAO has prepared this manual to assist school teachers, parents and communities who wish to start or improve a school garden with the aim of helping school children to grow in both mind and body.

What is the age range?

The intended age range of pupils is 9 to 14 years. This is not to say that children outside this age range cannot be involved; there is always something for very young children to do, and senior students can of course lend a hand with all kinds of tasks, including managing the work.

What does it consist of?

The Manual takes you through all the steps of planning a garden project: deciding what your garden is for, planning how to get help and learning how to prepare the site. There are sections on organizing the work, and motivation has a separate chapter. In the appendices there are horticultural notes and factsheets on nutrition. The Manual does not aim to give detailed horticultural advice for all situations. For this you will need to consult local experts. In each part there are also:

• tips for action, including ways of involving children, families, helpers and the community
• suggestions for outputs such as reports and posters.

Garden lessons

Parts 3 to 10 of the Manual have outlines of appropriate lessons to do in class. These are aimed at children aged 9-14 years and supplement and support garden activities. They focus not only on knowledge and skills, but also on awareness, life skills, and routine behaviour. Such "garden lessons" have enormous educational value. They bridge theory and practice, reinforcing classroom learning with hands-on experience and observation, and vice versa, and should have a regular place in the classroom timetable, in addition to gardening time.

Aims and principles of school gardens

School gardens can have many different uses and have been seen in many different ways, some practical and some educational. What is important is that they are:

• realistic
• achieve a good balance between education and production
• appeal to everyone (e.g. children, teachers, parents, school staff)
• are discussed and agreed by all the main participants
• respect and protect children's rights

FAO encourages schools to create learning gardens of moderate size, which can be easily managed by students, teachers and parents, but which include a variety of nutritious vegetables and fruits, as well as occasionally some small-scale livestock such as chickens or rabbits. Production methods are kept simple so that they can be easily replicated by students and parents at their homes.