Gardening and Environmental Education at Garden School Foundation

Jack C., Spring 24  

Hello! My name is Jack and I’m a senior Environmental Studies student. This semester, I was given the opportunity to work with Garden School Foundation’s community garden at 24th Street Elementary School near USC. The organization partners with elementary schools around Los Angeles, curating gardens and using them to provide education on environmental topics to the students. 24th Street Elementary is their flagship and largest garden. In addition to providing a variety of fruits and vegetables, the garden is used as an outdoor classroom for lessons. A lot of my work revolves around garden maintenance, which taught me a lot about caring for plants and soil cycles. I gained experience planting seedlings, transporting plants, and making compost using food from the school’s cafeteria.  

In addition to the garden aspect, I was given a wonderful opportunity to work in educating youth on sustainability topics. This was the most rewarding aspect of the internship- being able to promote environmental awareness in young students. They are taught lessons on topics like botany, waste cycles, and cooking. Since the garden is used in these lessons, the students can interact with it, helping us water and pot plants and take fruits and vegetables. The internship experience has been very rewarding and important to the community. By teaching children responsible habits from an early age, the Garden School Foundation promotes environmental stewardship among the public and enriches the educational experience of these children.