Our Services
How Urban Harvest can help you get started and support your garden
Urban Harvest assists schools with the design and construction of outdoor learning environments, including vegetable gardens, fruit trees, wildlife habitats and ponds. We provide teachers with help in getting started with curriculum, and we teach students in our After-School Program. Our ongoing support for existing gardens includes a range of services, such as organic gardening classes, an awards celebration for volunteers, and networking with other schools. These outdoor classrooms provide hands-on learning in science, math, history and other core subjects.
Our School & Youth Gardens Program includes the following services:
Free How to Start Class
Our free “How to Start a Community or School Garden” class is held each month. It includes the basic steps to creating a garden and tips for success. If you are just starting and are at the idea stage of your garden, this is the ideal time to take our class. Any number of interested teachers, administrators and parents may sign up for a class. Visit the Classes and Events section of our website to find out when the next “How to Start a Community or School Garden” class is being held.
Free Gardening Classes
Many of our classes are free for teachers and volunteers who work in outdoor classrooms. Check our website for the latest schedule of classes, which includes:
- How to start a community or school garden
- Gardening Basics series in the fall, including composting and fertilization
- Growing fruit series in the winter (citrus, berries, stone fruits, etc)
Other classes may not available free but can be taken at half-price by members.
Summer Workshop for Schools
Each summer Urban Harvest hosts a workshop for teachers, parents and others working with outdoor classrooms. Workshop content is new each year and includes sessions for those in the early planning stages of a new garden as well as for schools with existing gardens. Lecturers include local outdoor classroom instructors, who share what they are doing and what works for them. The workshop is designed to address elementary, middle, and high school outdoor classrooms.
Design and Curriculum Assistance
Staff is available to schools who have attended the How to Start a Community Garden to assist teachers in:
Developing a plan for an outdoor classroom (purpose, design, budget, staffing, financing)
Developing teaching programs for the outdoor classroom
Visits to Successful Outdoor Classrooms
Find out what’s working for others. Through its growing network of schools, Urban Harvest can suggest a variety of successful outdoor classrooms to visit.
Helpful Book to Aid in Teaching
Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston, by Bob Randall, Ph.D., Gardening guide written specifically for the Houston area. A fabulous resource.
Reference Library of Gardening Books
Hard to find books on all aspects of gardening are found in Urban Harvest’s library, including books on vegetables, fruits, herbs, ponds, wildscapes, and chemical-free gardening. There’s also an entire section on teaching in an outdoor garden classroom. Come in during our office hours to browse and read.
School and Youth Committee
One of Urban Harvest’s committees of volunteers develops programs to extend outdoor education to many more schools. Interested teachers and parents are welcome to join this hardworking group, who are developing additional resource materials, partnerships, and curricula.
Urban Harvest Partnerships
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – advice and design of ponds
National Wildlife Federation – grant recipients receive design assistance with wildscapes and ponds
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department – advice and design of wildscapes
Gardener Meetings
Urban Harvest organizes meetings of community and school gardeners to share ideas and trade stories. These meetings are often held at a garden and include a talk on a gardening topic. Meetings are attended by teachers, parents and/or volunteers who participate in the gardens.
Harvest Celebration
Each November the hardworking teachers, administrators and volunteers who keep your garden growing are honored at a Harvest Celebration. This potluck lunch is attended by 100+ community and school gardeners and includes awards for years of service as well as honors for individual gardens. Contact us in August of each year to talk with us about whom you would like to receive awards at the event.
A neat, informative sign identifies the school garden to the surrounding community and can aid in recruiting volunteers and raising funds. When the garden's neighbors know what they have, they ask questions and get involved. Urban Harvest provide handsome aluminum signs, white with green letters, available in two sizes below cost as a service to your garden.
Urban Harvest After School Program
In addition to helping build dozens of outdoor classrooms over the past decade, in 2003 Urban Harvest began providing education with an after-school program at area elementary schools. This is a hands-on program with activities in science, math, and other core subjects as well as encouraging good nutrition and teamwork skills. Lessons are connected to school state objectives, and garden instructors utilize the Junior Master Gardener materials and other expert youth gardening publications. Contact us if you are interested in adding your school to our After School Program.
Urban Harvest Membership
Membership can save your and your school money. For $30 per year for an individual or $40 per year for a school, you will receive the Guide, our quarterly newsletter with gardening advice and articles on what’s happening at other school and community gardens, and a seasonal planting calendar. Members also receive discounts at more than fifteen area businesses, which results in substantial savings on soil, mulch, plants and other supplies for your school garden.
