Welcome

Upcoming Events

We're thrilled to introduce our new training developed in partnership with 18 Reasons, Cooking the Common Core: Bringing Educational Standards to Life in the School Garden.  This three-part workshop takes place at 18 Reasons on Feburary 17th, March 16th, and April 6th, 2012. Participants may attend one or all three days.  For more information, please click here.

What is San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance?

SFGSA is a regional support network for school communities working to transform their schoolyards into vibrant outdoor classrooms and thriving ecosystems. We advocate for greening at the school site, District, City, and State levels; provide professional development for teachers and parents; secure horticultural supplies and other resources for schools; and maintain a website and hotline for advice and troubleshooting needs.

How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers

By Arden Bucklin-Sporer and Rachel Pringle of SFGSA

"It's all here: developing the concept, planning, fund-raising, organizing, designing the space, preparing the site, working with parents and schools, teaching in the garden, planting, harvesting,     and even cooking, with kid-friendly recipes and year-round activities. Packed with strategies, to-do lists, sample letters, detailed lesson plans, and tricks of the trade from decades of experience developing school garden programs for grades K–8, this hands-on approach makes school garden projects accessible, inexpensive, and sustainable."   -Timber Press

Why Green School Grounds?

We believe that the environment that surrounds children as they learn is vital to how they perceive the world around them. Paved schoolyards are often chaotic environments that leave children with few opportunities for creative play and very little shade. Asphalt-covered schoolyards frequently make up a large portion of a school’s domain, yet they are rarely used for educational activities. Green schoolyards can substantially change the appearance of a school and its ecological impact on the surrounding community, as shown in the pictures below. With colorful plantings and creative use of space, green schoolyards offer expanded educational and recreational opportunities, shady nooks for teachers and students, and refuges for wild birds, butterflies, and other creatures. These outdoor learning and play environments can be great assets for the schools that invest the time and money to plan and build them. (Written by Sharon Danks, SFGSA Founding Board Member)

From Grey to Green illustrates the transformation of schoolyards from flat, asphalt expanses into thriving outdoor classrooms and green spaces. Take a look and see what schools in San Francisco are doing to create naturalized play yards, school gardens, and stronger communities.

This video was produced by Rick Bacigalupi. www.bacipix.com