A school garden is an excellent asset to any school campus. A school garden is not just visually appealing, but it also provides valuable educational opportunities and fresh produce for the students and staff. If you’re interested in starting a school garden, one of the first steps is to seek administrative approval. Between the school site administration and the school district, it can be challenging at times to cut through the red tape. In this blog post, we’ll share tips on how to get permission to start a school garden. 

Developing a Vision + Outline 

Your first step should be to connect with any other parents, teachers, students, community members, or other individuals who support starting a school garden at your school. This group will constitute your support network. Together you can work to create a shared vision and make it a reality.

You’ll want to meet together to discuss your ideas and create an outline that you can present to administrators. Try to think through any potential obstacles you may face or objections that others may have to your proposed plan. 

Here are a few basic questions you may want to cover in your outline:

• Where will the school garden be located?
• Where will you find funding and supplies to construct the school garden?
• Who will construct the school garden?
• What is your tentative plan of action and timeline?
• How will you physically maintain the garden?
• How will you financially sustain the garden?
• How will the garden support the standards-based curriculum?

School Administrator Permission

Once you have a clear outline ready to present, contact your school administrator (such as a school principal) to schedule a meeting. When you meet, share your vision and outline and seek their approval to build the school garden. An enthusiastic and supportive principal is one of the strongest allies you can have on your path to starting a school garden.

School District Permission

At many sites, you may need to seek approval from administrators at the school district level in order to build a school garden. The department that supervises grounds keeping may need to be involved in approving your design. Here are some common examples of situations where you may need to work closely with the school district to build your garden:

• The site you’ve selected for your garden does not currently have access to water.
• The garden area is not ADA-compliant (meaning accessible to wheelchair users).
• Large trees, existing landscaping, or hardscaping must be removed from the desired garden area before you can build a garden.

Key allies at the school district level may include the district superintendent and school board members. You may wish to present your outline at a school board meeting to connect with potential supporters. Many times these individuals love to be associated with innovative projects like school gardens, and their support can be invaluable. 

Yolo Farm to Fork has a mission to create and sustain edible school gardens in Yolo County, California. If you live in Yolo County and are looking for support in starting a school garden, feel free to contact us. We’d love to help.