Gardening from the Ground Up

At the first NIGC General meeting on September 11th, our members had the pleasure of meeting Holland Brown, the co-executive director and Co-Founder of Ground Education and learning about her exciting program currently being offered at twenty-two elementary schools within the Long Beach Unified School District. Gardening plots are established at each school for children to dig, plant, and reap their crops under the direction of horticulturists and college student interns. School curriculum is carefully interwoven within each monthly gardening lesson as well as learning about nutrition, environmental awareness, and collaboration skills. Ground Education horticulturalist, Lee Ann Rigerroni, who accompanied Holland, expanded on the program as well as introduced a few drought free plants you might find in a school garden. It was so interesting to learn of Ground Education and the learning/gardening opportunities offered to our LBUSD students.

Submitted By: Linda Frame, NIGC 1st Vice President, Programs