Green Team

Upcoming Events

Sunday, June 11

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM in the ECE Garden // Garden Clean-Up: The Green Team is hosting a garden clean up of our ECE garden. Located on the ECE playground (on the South side of the building) this garden is no less important than our larger Peace Garden, serving as a pollinator garden (plus it is home to some native fruits--be sure to try the pawpaws if they're ripe). This is where our youngest students are first exposed to the science of gardening and nutrition, so we would love some help cleaning it up as we transition into summer!

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/

Our Focus Areas

Garden Program

“Peace” Garden - vegetable, flower, 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
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)

Washington Youth Garden (www.washingtonyouthgarden.org)

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

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)

ANC 6A (anc6a.org/grant-applications/)