Upcoming Events

Check back soon for details about our next event.

Who We Are

  • Staff Lead: Ashley Luttmer (ECE Educator)
  • Parent Lead: <open>
  • School Garden Manager: Emma Creamer (FoodCorps)

All Miner staff and caregivers are welcome and encouraged to join the Green Team. We have many focus areas, and we welcome all levels of interest - from leading a focus area to lending a hand in the garden once in a while.

Follow the Miner Garden Program on Instagram: ​www.instagram.com/Minerelementarygarden/

    Join the Green Team

Our Focus Areas

Garden Program
  •     “Peace” Garden - veggie and herb garden adjacent to the field and playground
  •     “Discovery” Garden - pollinator garden adjacent to the ECE playground
  •     Classroom Resources & Instruction
  •     Garden Club
  •     Composting
  •     Nutrition
  •     Community Service

Food Waste Reduction

Recycling and Sustainability

Nature and the Environment

Equity and Access

Benefits of School Gardening

Improving Students’ Nutrition, Health, and Behavior: Exposure to a school garden increases children’s vegetable consumption and the variety of vegetables eaten, contributing to better overall health. Studies show that garden programs help children improve life skills, including self-understanding, conveying emotions, and working with groups. Gardening has also been shown to reduce symptoms and improve skills in children with ADHD and learning disabilities.

Improving Educational Outcomes: Integrating hands-on garden programs with math, science, reading, and social studies curricula has been shown to improve these test scores. In a comprehensive review of 20 years of literature on school garden programs, 93% of the studies reported improved student performance in science, 80% saw improvement in math, and 72% noted improvement in language arts.

Environmental Stewardship: School gardening instills appreciation and respect for nature that lasts into adulthood. Garden programs also improve environmental attitudes, especially in younger students.

For more on the above info, visit greenourplanet.org, populationeducation.org, and kidsgardening.org. To download a seed-to-table classroom curriculum, visit edibleschoolyardnyc.org.

Our Events

  • Campus and Garden Cleanup - August, before school starts
  • Garden Club - weekly
  • Community Garden Parties - autumn and spring
  • Earth Day - in April
  • Household Hazardous & E-Waste Collection - during the PTO Community Yard Sale
  • Garden tours and crafts - during Miner Community Days

​Current & Past Partnerships

FoodCorps (foodcorps.org)

Apogee Farms (apogeefarms.com)

Cultivate the City (www.cultivatethecity.com)

Anacostia Watershed Society (www.anacostiaws.org)
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Washington Youth Garden (www.washingtonyouthgarden.org)

Mayor’s Office of the Clean City (communityaffairs.dc.gov/mocc)
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Grants

Office of the State Superintendent of Education (osse.dc.gov)

DC Department of Energy & Environment (doee.dc.gov)

Capitol Hill Community Foundation (www.capitolhillcommunityfoundation.com)
​
Whole Kids Foundation (www.wholekidsfoundation.org)
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