Students laughing and working in school garden

Community Garden

$25,000

open space authority funds contributed to project

2016

project awarded

Measure Q funds will go towards Joseph George Middle School's Learning Lab/Community Garden, which will promote environmental education by expanding on an existing garden on the school's campus. Through apprenticeships, outside classroom lessons, and community meetings students, teachers, and parents in the Joseph George Middle School community will become more aware of environmental and land use issues. End results will include: improved student academic outcomes, increased knowledge and awareness of gardening and the environment for all involved constituencies, the beautification of the school campus and the neighborhood, and the introduction of freshly-grown produce into the diets of several families who currently live in a park-poor neighborhood within a food desert section of San Jose. Construction will begin in Spring 2018.
Award Date:
November 10, 2016
Program:
Urban Grant Program
Location:
277 Mahoney Drive, San Jose

Have a similar Project?

Learn more about our Grant Program

Enter your email address to get updates on our grant programs

Other Success
Stories

Love the Guadalupe River Park Two-Year Public Programs Pilot

Love the Guadalupe River Park Two-Year Public Programs Pilot

This pilot is an initiative by the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy to develop, implement, and measure the outcomes and impact of a regular calendar of parks and nature-based public programs. The Project Scope supports the implementation of 20 public programs over two years (approximately 10 per year), offering trail tours, nature walks, visitor center programs, special-topic workshops, youth activities, and more. The aim is to cultivate environmental stewardship, social cohesion, and civic engagement through nature-based programming that connects people to nature and each other.

Children learning how to garden

CommUniverCity's Growing Sustainably Program

CommUniverCity's Growing Sustainably Program

Growing Sustainably aims to increase urban food system awareness and engagement, reduce access barriers to natural spaces, and raise environmental literacy in low-income, Central San Jose communities. Led by CommUniverCity, and with funds from the Open Space Authority, 1,850 residents (1,400 students and 112 families) will learn about urban agriculture and environmental science through hands-on lessons, field trips, and family education kits. They will garden at schools and home, visit an urban farm, and experience San José 's Kelley Park.

Child and adult bending over plants in raised garden bed

La Mesa Verde Garden Education

La Mesa Verde Garden Education

Sacred Heart Community Services’ La Mesa Verde is a network of gardeners committed to improving the local food system. Authority grant funds were used to strengthen La Mesa Verde’s introductory gardening curriculum, making it more effective, interactive, and consistent with the goal to encourage community leadership and power. The project resulted in an engaging gardening curriculum that builds gardening skills, increases environmental awareness, and grows social connections that inspire a passion and commitment to local food justice.