Perennial Partnerships

Roosevelt Middle School, International Baccalaureate Magnet San Diego, CA 

Partnerships form the backbone of Roosevelt Middle School’s Garden Program.

Roosevelt shares the property with San Diego Zoo. It’s a unique partnership that has allowed them to be innovative and creative with their garden program. The Zoo uses the space for weekend and summer camping programs. In turn, they provide water, electricity, and much of the infrastructure for the garden. Read more about how Roosevelt partners with local groups.

Roosevelt has a mature garden program with structure and sustainability, and it’s taken over seven years to get there. At Roosevelt, the program takes place after school, with a group of volunteer students who form a Garden Club.

“When you have it after school, you find that students have the greatest amount of ownership and they can really do stuff. These are the kids that are REALLY interested.”

The importance of a school garden

“Having fresh fruits and vegetables in this area is really important, because the number of liquor stores and convenience stores outnumber the food outlets. It’s really neat to come out here when we have tomatoes and see the students eat them like they are apples. The students in the club are the only ones who get to enjoy the produce—the ones who work get to take it home. At the end of the day, we divide it up, amongst everyone. They take it home and they are so proud. If there’s enough we’ll make a dish out of something.

• One student’s parent wrote to say that she had six kids and wouldn’t have enough for them to eat if it weren’t for what her daughter brought home from the garden. So we always made sure she had enough to take home and if there was extra, we’d give it to her. Notes like that from parents are really meaningful!” (Heather O’Donnell, teacher, garden coordinator)

Check out more about Roosevelt’s garden program.

Fundraising and grant writing are an important part of the program’s sustainability.

Learn about an innovative fundraising activity created by and for students.