Feb. 22, 2024

What:
Educators across the district come together to build garden, empowering them to use Learning Gardens in teaching children  

Gardopia Gardens and Big Green are sponsoring a workshop to kick-off a $250,000 investment in 22 San Antonio schools to support local food and school gardens

Who:
Stephen Lucke, CEO, Gardopia Gardens
Sam Koentopp, Director of Programs, Big Green 
Laura Romero, Madison Elementary School Principal

When:
Feb. 24 (Sat), 11 a.m. to noon

Where:
Madison Elementary 2900 W. Woodlawn Ave., 78228

Gardopia Gardens, Big Green, and San Antonio ISD will proudly announce a joint investment of $250,000 in SAISD schools to boost school garden initiatives for the 2023-24 school year. This collaboration aims to expand grant opportunities and support local food and school garden projects across San Antonio.

Central to this partnership is Big Green's Jumpstart program, empowering 22 SAISD schools. Fifteen schools will receive $2,000 cash grants. An additional seven schools will receive garden beds, soil, seeds, and an efficient irrigation system, coupled with a $2,000 grant, to kickstart or rejuvenate their garden programs.

“Bringing our school gardens to the community has been a great success for our students,” said Raul Salazar, SAISD Director of Health & Physical Education. “Our goal is to help decrease childhood obesity and heart disease in our communities, and through Gardopia Gardens and Big Green, our collaborative support fills three buckets. These are awareness, education, and service. We appreciate Big Green and Gardopia for working with us so we can all achieve those goals.”

Stephen Lucke, Chief Executive Officer of Gardopia Gardens, is “thrilled to announce a groundbreaking initiative in partnership with the San Antonio Independent School District and Big Green. This initiative is not just an investment in school gardens; it's an investment in our children's health, education, and the environment. By integrating these gardens into the educational curriculum, we aim to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of food sources, promote healthy eating habits, and instill a sense of environmental stewardship among students. Together, we look forward to seeing the fruits of this investment flourish in the form of vibrant school gardens that serve as living classrooms, inspiring our students and the broader San Antonio community.”

Sam Koentopp, Director of Programs at Big Green, emphasizes the significance of these grants, noting, “Big Green is excited to expand our investments in San Antonio communities to grow food. We began our work supporting families and community gardens through our Million Gardens and Big Green DAO projects and now are able to help more young people connect to their food through the garden. With these opportunities, we can start to see great improvements, not just in food access, but also in physical, mental, and social health, and increased richness in their classroom experience." 

Through this initiative, grants prioritize funding for Title 1 or Community Eligibility Provision schools, extending sustained support via networking opportunities, professional development avenues, and access to Gardopia’s school garden programming and Big Green’s expansive online school garden resources.

An essential aspect of this initiative is the upcoming kick-off workshop, scheduled for Madison Elementary School on Saturday, Feb. 24. Educators across the district will cultivate a garden, gaining hands-on experience building and teaching in a Learning Garden and empowering them to lead their own garden kick-off activities at their own schools.

The gardens, grants, and programming were made possible by generous contributions from the Mays Family Foundation. For more information, visit gardopiagardens.org and biggreen.org/donate. 

About Gardopia Gardens
Gardopia Gardens is a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency based in the Near Eastside of San Antonio. The mission of Gardopia Gardens is to grow healthy communities through garden-based learning. The organization has proudly serviced the community for 8 years, promoting health and environmental stewardship by implementing garden-based learning programming in schools, businesses, and community organizations - offering tools, materials, and best practices to ensure the garden's sustainability.

About Big Green
Big Green is a 501(c)3 nonprofit on a mission to get everyone in America growing food. Big Green believes that growing food changes lives. It improves nutrition security and mental health, gets us into nature, and opens our eyes to the weather volatility created by climate change. For twelve years, Big Green has helped people grow their own food with school and home-based programs and awareness campaigns. The organization deploys its unique, modular, raised bed gardens to expand gardening access at home, school, and community sites. It also provides grants and other capacity-building investments in gardening and urban farming projects and organizations and facilitates events and convenings to help people grow more food together.
Dig In: biggreen.org
Support: biggreen.org/donate
Facebook: /growbiggreen
Instagram: @biggreen