Roosevelt Partnerships


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.

 “Make sure you have a team and partnerships.  It’s very, very difficult. We’ve had so much help getting this started.  It’s way more than a one-man show.”  Ms. O’Donnell 

Have a plan for what you want to do.

If you don’t have a plan, things can get very expensive.  With a clear plan, you can ask for help, and more often than not, people and businesses are happy to donate materials, supplies, money or time.

 

San Diego Zoo—a unique partnership

A win-win exchange:

  • After some basic blueprints had been drawn up for the garden area, the zoo had their landscape designers formulate the final design.  Then they came in to help execute the plans.  When the underground watering system had to be put in, they brought in their forklifts and bobcats and did it.  These were jobs that the teachers and parents weren’t qualified to do.  All the basic infrastructure which is so crucial at the beginning of establishing a garden was provided by the San Diego Zoo. 
  • In return, the zoo uses the space for summer workshops/camp-outs with kids.  They purposefully designed a large space where kids could sleep overnight.
  • For ongoing help, someone from the zoo’s horticulture department comes out each week to give advice on plants and mow the lawn.  They also help with restructuring and landscaping periodically.

Curriculum links:

  • The school participates in the San Diego Zoo’s “Girls in Science” program, which creates science-based experiences with professional women from the San Diego Zoo. Through a variety of activities, Roosevelt girls get a behind-the-scene look at the workings of the zoo.

Other friends and partners

The California Dept of Education LEAF grant provided money for the garden shed. Navy sailors from the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC)came out and put the shed together.

The greenhouse was a partnership with the high school.  High school students in the Learning Service Project came every day and worked on it, mentoring the middle schools students at the same time.

Community members donated $2,000 for a pond that runs on a solar panel and pump. 

Parent volunteers help with watering and maintenance during summer months.  Dads have helped with building the raised beds.

The best partners are the kids—they do most of the work in the garden. They helped build the shed, organized on-campus composting and recycling.  They constructed all the planter boxes and painted them in colorful designs.

Another partner is the San Diego School Garden Resource Center, which is run through the SD Resource Conservation District (RCD) as well as with the San Diego Master Gardeners.