Teacher: Cierra Schubin
School: Graham Mesa Elementary School
District: Garfield Re-2
District Website: https://grahammesa.garfieldre2.net/
School Address: 1575 Farmstead Parkway, Rifle, CO 81650
Grade Level: K - 5
Region: Northwest
Project Title: Growing Minds: A School Garden
Category: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
Amount Requested: $900

Project Description:
This grant would allow us to buy supplies for our school garden in Rifle, CO. Last year, our school received a generous donation of 3 garden beds. Right now, however, we do not have the supplies needed to incorporate the garden into student learning experiences. Being located in a rural, mountainous area, our students will benefit from the practical knowledge, essential life skills, and connection to nature that garden-based learning promotes. A school garden also will enhance our science curriculum, allowing our students to apply their learning in a real-life context. Our school serves a large population of multilanguage learners and students from a low socioeconomic status. The school garden will offer immersive, interactive, and multisensory learning experiences that otherwise might not be accessible to these students.

Proposal:
Our elementary school seeks funding to kickstart and integrate a school garden into our science instruction. This project will build on the generous donation of three garden beds received last year, which sparked excitement among both the students and the staff. We currently lack the essential gardening supplies needed to make the garden a thriving part of our curriculum.

With the requested funds, we will purchase gardening tools such as shovels, buckets, kneeling pads, seeds, stakes, and seed starting kits. These supplies will allow us to create an engaging, hands-on learning environment where students can explore plant life cycles, soil science, and environmental stewardship. The garden will serve as a living classroom, enhancing our science curriculum by allowing students to apply their learning in a real-world setting.

This project will have a significant impact on our students, particularly our multilanguage learners and those from low-income households. The garden will provide an immersive, interactive, and multisensory learning experience, helping to overcome language barriers and make learning more accessible. Additionally, it will offer all students, regardless of background, the opportunity to develop essential life skills, foster a connection to nature, and gain practical knowledge that is especially valuable in our rural, mountainous community.

Budget Breakdown:
Here are some items we are looking to purchase with the grant:

• Trowels
• Digging shovels
• Buckets
• A garden rake
• Heirloom seed starter kits
• A 75-foot expandable garden hose
• Kneeling pads
• Landscape fabric
• Landscape staples
• Garden stakes
• Shade cloth
• A sprinkler
• Watering cans
• A wheelbarrow
• Small pots for seedlings
• Seed starting soil
• Soil amendments

Photos:
Photo 1
Photo 2