Planning a Successful School & Community Garden Program Summer 2026

Zoom sessions are a real-time opportunity get together virtually and interact with each other, ask questions, and share ideas. Sessions are suggested for this course and recorded if you miss them. Find the current schedule and link to each session here. Recordings are posted within one day of the session.

Tips for success in this online course

1. Be an active participant. Sense of community in an online course is just as important as in a face-to-face classroom. I believe it is more important, because we depend on our written words to reflect, collaborate and communicate. The discussion forums and group activities serve to enhance and advance the content we are learning.  Please follow the Rules of “Netiquette” for a positive and open environment. Be respectful of each other’s thoughts and opinions and if you are compelled to disagree, that is OK; we need to hear all perspectives. 
2. Keep up with readings, discussions and assignments, and adhere to the deadlines. Falling behind in an asynchronous online learning environment will cause you unnecessary frustration and stress. This course is comparable to a college-level course, and participants who successfully complete all assignments may earn Continuing Education Units. It may seem like a lot of work to do, but it is  manageable if you keep current each week. By signing on every day or every other day and devoting 5 or more hours each week, you should be able to keep up with ease. There is a built-in grace period so you can still turn in assignments up to one week beyond the due date if needed. In the rare event of a personal issue or emergency, please message me through Moodle so we can agree on a longer time extension. 
3. Look ahead at each new week as soon as it opens every Monday. There are six units of study, all of which build on the previous week. For this reason all modules are not all open at once. When each week becomes available, you will see a checklist of all the required readings, activities and assignments for the week for you to plan your time accordingly. The readings, activities and assignments should be done in the order they are listed each week.
4. Sense of community in an online course is just as important as in a face-to-face classroom. I believe it is more important, because we depend on our written words to reflect, collaborate and communicate. The discussion forums and group activities serve to enhance and advance the content we are learning.  Please follow the Rules of “Netiquette” for a positive and open environment. Be respectful of each other’s thoughts and opinions and if you are compelled to disagree, that is OK; we need to hear all perspectives. 
5. Keep up with readings, discussions and assignments, and adhere to the deadlines. Falling behind in an asynchronous online learning environment will cause you unnecessary frustration and stress. This course is comparable to a college-level course, and participants who successfully complete all assignments may earn Continuing Education Units. It may seem like a lot of work to do, but it is  manageable if you keep current each week. By signing on every day or every other day and devoting 5 or more hours each week, you should be able to keep up with ease. There is a built-in grace period so you can still turn in assignments up to one week beyond the due date if needed. In the rare event of a personal issue or emergency, please message me through Moodle so we can agree on a longer time extension. 
6. Look ahead at each new week as soon as it opens every Monday. There are six units of study, all of which build on the previous week. For this reason all modules are not all open at once. When each week becomes available, you will see a checklist of all the required readings, activities and assignments for the week for you to plan your time accordingly. The readings, activities and assignments should be done in the order they are listed each week.
7. Plan to submit assignments as you complete them so I can provide timely feedback. Please don't wait until the end of the course to submit everything all at once! Remember, we have a break week, and this will give you extra time to catch up on assignments if needed.
   • Please do not email assignments, as it will disrupt the integrity of the course and grading system. All work takes place in Moodle and all assignments are uploaded into the assignment area. If you haven’t taken an online course before, no worries!  I was new at it once, myself, and I hope you will find my guidance to be supportive and warm. 
   • When uploading designs or photos, you can use your phone to take a photo, then upload it to Moodle as a jpg. If you have a scanner, you can scan your work and save it as a pdf or jpg. If you get a message that says ‘invalid json string’ it means that you are trying to upload a file too large for Moodle. Here is a quick tutorial on submitting photos and documents in assignments and journals: Uploading Photos and Documents.
   • Once you finish uploading your assignment, make sure to click on the submit button. Scroll down the page to be sure the submission status is showing as 'Submitted for grading' and not 'Draft'.  Here are the four steps to submit an assignment.
   • I generally provide feedback for assignments within a couple of days. You will receive an email letting you know your assignment has been graded and you can log into Moodle to see my feedback. Check your spam folder if you don't see that email.
8. Keep in touch. If you need support or guidance, do not fade into the background. You invested in this course, and it will pay off for you in the long run. Please let me know if you are having any technical or other issues that are affecting your participation.
9. Enjoy the freedom and flexibility of this course and all that we have to offer each other….and have fun! We all share a common interest, a desire to maintain the connection we have to our environment, and to share our enthusiasm with others through garden–based learning.  I am confident you will leave this course with a network of like-minded professionals, a few new friends, and a bundle of wonderful resources to use in your garden-based learning program
10. To help make your experience with the Moodle course an easy one, I advise:

• A recent version of an Internet browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
• A current version of Acrobat reader, or other pdf reader. 
• You may need to turn off your pop-up blocker while in the course.

Take a look at this "How to Submit an Assignment" tutorial to be sure you follow all the steps to successfully submit your assignments for grading. Sometimes assignments are left in 'draft' form and there are a couple of steps you need to do to move your assignment from 'draft' to 'submit'. 😊 Thank you!

Please fill out this short online survey which will be helpful for your instructor to learn more about you, your location, your gardening program, program goals, and what you wish to gain from this course.

In Assignment 1.2 you analyzed your volunteer needs based on different stages of the garden project. Once you have a general idea of the types of volunteers you need, when you need them and how many, you can design volunteer organizational tools that will work for your team and garden project.

There are many ways you can set up a spreadsheet to track volunteer roles needed for your project. Here is one example, based on the commitment level required of the volunteer: ongoing, seasonal or one-time. Something like this can make it easier to match the volunteer role with the amount of time/interest of the volunteer. This makes it easier to respond quickly to offers of volunteer help, whether from a  group looking to donate help through a team-building event, or an individual who wants to contribute their time. 

There are many other ways you could organize a spreadsheet of volunteer roles - for example, listing projects in a calendar format if that makes more sense for your program. The most important thing is that it's easy to use by everyone involved, and can easily be added to as new ideas and projects come up.

In Module 2 you will start by defining your program goals and developing a plan summary. We will use logic models to formulate an idea into a plan that can be implemented, evaluated and communicated more effectively.

Here is an excellent resource, compiled by LSU with Cooperative Extension specialists across the US (including Cornell Cooperative Ext. and your instructor!). It's an older publication and some of graphics do not line up, but the content is there and very useful as you plan your programs.

Often we have untapped community resources for our garden projects right under our noses! Think strategically about how you can access these resources to help support your garden-based learning program. You will start by assessing your physical site for the garden, plan ahead for garden maintenance, and do some research on where to find free and low-cost garden materials for your project.

Here are a few good publications on best practices on starting a school garden. These are not in your required readings, but I suggest you save them for future reference as they will be helpful in starting and sustaining a healthy and productive garden.

Checklist for Starting a School Garden from NC Cooperative Extension: https://guilford.ces.ncsu.edu/school-garden-planning-checklist/

Here is a variety of resources and examples of best practices on starting a community garden. These are not in your required readings, but I suggest you save them for future reference as they will be helpful in starting and sustaining a healthy and productive garden.

Cornell Garden-Based Learning: The Top Five Things to Know While Working with a Community Garden

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia & Greene Counties Master Gardener's Podcast:

Below is a sample maintenance schedule, watering schedule and parent/volunteer recruitment poster you can use or adapt for your own garden project.

Now that we are more than halfway through the course, you may benefit from watching this past Zoom session and take away some good ideas from the students in the Fall 2025 session of this course. Here you will learn about their projects, questions they had at this point of the course, and more detail of Module 4 assignments. 

These activities are part of the NYS Master Gardener curriculum, and were adapted for the Gardening in Our Warming World: Youth Grow! curriculum and the online Organic Gardening course.

Resources on managing gardens and volunteers, including samples of volunteer handbooks

Check out the Youth Lessons at https://gardening.cals.cornell.edu/lessons/

In the Gardening in Our Warming World: Youth Grow! curriculum, you can find activities: 

• 1.4 Know and Show Sombrero
• 1.5 Systems Thinking and Me
• 2.2C Growing Food: Exploring Soilless Alternatives: Hydroponics, Aeroponics, Aquaponics
• 2.2D Introduction to Permaculture

https://jmgkids.us/: I have used all of these curricula, The JMG Core Curriculum includes some of what is found in the more focused Health and Nutrition from the Garden, Wildlife Gardener, Learn, Grow, Eat (newest) and my favorite, Literature in the Garden curricula. 

The Jr MG Learn, Grow, Eat & Go (LGEG) is an evidence-based curriculum, beginning with the Learn, Grow, Eat & Go curriculum for Elementary students, there is now a new Early Childhood LGEG curriculum expands access to preK-Kinder students!

National AG in the Classroom has any new, updated resources, including career exploration and Agribusiness. You can also find local resources in the Teacher Center at https://agclassroom.org//

American Horticultural Society https://ahsgardening.org/ hosts an Youth Gardening Conference, and has great resources. https://ahsgardening.org/gardening-resources/gardening-with-kids/

LifeLab: https://www.lifelab.org/school-garden-resources

Here is a list of different curricula to explore, that were shared by students of this course. Thank you!

Beetles Project has resources for outdoor science.

Project Learning Tree has lesson plans for school/community gardens:

Wildwonder.org has teaching resources for nature and garden sketching/journaling. 

Here you will find videos of past presentations from our Sustainable Landscapes Lunch and Learn Series:

• Overview of the Gardening in a Warming World: Youth Grow! Curriculum
• Overview of Project S.O.W (Seeds of Wonder): Food Gardening with Justice in Mind

Do you know of another garden program or resource to add to this list?

New resources added on 1/17/25

Here is a series of podcasts by the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia & Greene Counties, and their conversations on gardening, ecology, and nature topics. This weekly podcast is designed to entertain, inspire, educate and inform listeners who want to begin or enhance their gardening journey.

This site assessment booklet, written by former CCE staff Charlie Mazza, has 12 different activities for assessing the physical characteristics of your garden site: sun/shade, soil, wind, slope, existing plants, wildlife interference, etc.

These assessment exercises are useful for learning more about an existing or proposed garden site, and they are fun and interesting to conduct with youth and/or adult participants at your garden.

These are the same assessment exercises used by students in the Organic Gardening and Introduction to Garden Design courses.  You can use them for your home garden as well.