The gap that separates generations from their farm roots grows with each passing year and with that increasing gap the knowledge to grow food becomes greater.   School gardens provide the opportunity to reconnect children to the knowledge possessed by their ancestors by using food as the link.   The magic of agriculture, taking soil and placing seeds in it creates a feeling of accomplishment.  School gardens create the opportunity for students to gain gardening knowledge, responsibility, self-esteem and collaboration as they work with others.  Visibly seeing a garden grow is a sign of their success.

Agents from Grant County Cooperative Extension Service, Grant County Soil Conservation District, Grant County Farm Bureau, volunteers from Napoleon Steel Products and Family Resource Officers from Grant County High Schools collaborated to develop a school gardening programs to promote hands on learning thru agriculture.  

In 2021 school garden was started with small, raised beds where produce is grown.  Students started zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, and transplanted cherry tomato plants from the Extension Office greenhouse.  As the projects have grown several schools have incorporated temporary greenhouse structures to start their own transplants and flowers.  In 2023, thru the Parent Teacher group at Sherman Elementary a parent lead group completed a resource gathering campaign for the addition of a permanent greenhouse to further complement the program.

Across the Grant County Schools Elementary Program Extension Agents and Family Resource Officers have engaged with 212 students to teach horticulture techniques.   From the base of this program 187 students have applied knowledge gained from the program to start or continue flower and vegetable gardens at their own home.   While growing their own food is the basis of the program 95 students identified that they had eaten their grown produce from their home garden.   The base of the program did not include any food preservation 22 students indicated that they had canned or frozen their own produce for consumption later.

The problem with the program is that the kids have continued to grow and mature as a result in 2023 the Grant County Middle School has adopted this program and added animal husbandry with a small goat herd in a learning program.