Friday, April 7, 2017

Community Garden Grant


The 7th grade Science Teacher and I began talking over the summer about starting a community garden. I soon discovered that the City of Austin has a Bright Green Future Grant through the Department of Sustainability so we decided to apply. During this process, we discovered one of our Social Studies Teachers, who also teaches a class called Speak Up, Speak Out, was hoping to create a community garden as well. Even though we didn't win the grant, we have still been able to create the garden anyway with the help of our school!






Here is a copy of the grant
Describe your proposed project. How does it provide a creative solution to an environmental issue? *
(250 words/1000 character limit)
Your answer


Our school Community Garden will create garden beds on campus and provide opportunities for students to gain hands on experience connecting our Art and Science students in an outdoor classroom. We will educate the community about how local, organic food and urban farms benefit heath and the environment as well as the role of community art and social change. We will work with Speak Up-Speak Out students, an organization that identifies a problem in their community and tries to create a solution. Our group identified that homeless people are not getting enough nutrition and to help solve this problem, we would also like to use this community garden to grow and provide healthier food for our students and local homeless people. Our garden will be aligned with both Science and Art TEKS standards. Art students will create ceramic pots for the science department’s annual seed project, paint a wooden bench for reflecting, and create a community mural promoting our project.



What are the steps you will take to complete your project? How will students and/or members of the community be involved? *
(250 words/1000 character limit)

Our school community of students, families, teachers, and staff will be invited to help create gardens with vegetables and herbs. Art students will create ceramic pinch pots and an Eco Arts Mural to be used in an interdisciplinary lesson with our Science department’s unit on seed growth and ecology aligning and connecting our TEKS standards.

A weekend event will be planned where staff, students, and families will be invited to help begin the project. This is a sustainable project where students, staff, and community members can work together to take care of the gardens for years to come.

Once the gardens are completed, we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony and invite students, the school, families, and community.  In collaboration with our Speak Up-Speak Out students, we will also provide free healthy food to homeless people in our community through the Salvation Army.





Which partners will work with you to complete the project? *
We will work with
Austin Resource Recovery
Home Depot
Armadillo Clay and Supplies
Jerry’s Art A Rama
Austin’s Sustainable Food Center
Salvation Army


What is the expected outcome for your project? How will you measure success? *
(100 words/500 character limit)

We will show connections across disciplines between the Fine Arts, Social Sciences and Science  and measure success with student participation in our school and homeless community.

How will your project promote public awareness or education? *
(200 character limit)


The Westview Community Garden will hold events inviting students, staff, and the community to come help begin and maintain our garden, healthy living, and help feed our local homeless population. We will use video to document the process.



Please provide an itemized list of the materials and costs for your project: *
(example: Wire Netting - $46)


Home Depot:
Soil=$500
Tomato Plants: $25
Tomato Cages: $25
Raised Bed Medley kit of Vegetables-$150
Peppermint plant-$25
Lemon Herb $25
Basil Herb $25
Kids’ Shovels: 10 shovels, -$90
Rake-$10
Hand Trowels: set of 10- $41.00
Hand Cultivators: set of 10-$41.00
Garden Hose: 200 ft-$100
Sprinkler-$10
Rosemary Herb plant-3-$33
Oregano Herb Plant-$20.00
Chicken Wire-$75.00
Wire Cutters: $8.00
Needle Nose Pliers:$8.00
Organic Fertilizer-$60
Garden Stakes: $15
Nozzle Head: $10
Garden Gloves-set -$30
Plywood for Mural: $90
Brushes: $50
Primer Paint: $50
Paint Tray Roller Kits-$35
Paint: $60
Painter’s Tape-$50
2 Benches: $300
Garden Beds: $400


Sustainable Food Center
Books: SFC'S GROW LOCAL SCHOOL GARDEN START-UP GUIDE and SFC'S GROW LOCAL SCHOOL GARDEN ACTIVITY GUIDE -$20

Jerry’s Art A Rama
Paint for Mural-$250

Armadillo Clay
Clay: $100
Glazes: $200

Total Funds Needed: $2931.00




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