Wisconsin School Garden Day honors and celebrates educators, students, families, community leaders, and all people who have made garden-based education a reality and an asset in communities throughout the state! This year Governor Tony Evers has declared Thursday, May 16, 2024 to be the 6th annual Wisconsin School Garden Day. (You can read Gov. Evers’ 2024 proclamation here.) You can participate in Wisconsin School Garden Day by engaging in some type of garden-based education activity or celebration on May 16, 2024 (or another day that week). We encourage everyone to celebrate Wisconsin School Garden Day in a way that best fits their programs. Any activity that involves kids engaging with a garden or gardening–including, but not limited to, activities around planting, observing, art, literature, STEM, weeding, and planning–can be a way to celebrate Wisconsin School Garden Day. If you’re looking for inspiration:
- Scroll through past participant lists to see what other programs have done to celebrate: 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
- Read through the 2024 WI School Garden Day Activity Guide for suggestions that are engaging and easy to implement at your school or program.
- Check out the list of participating programs below:
- Milwaukee Parkside School for the Arts: We will be transplanting our growing seedlings out to the garden that day. Teachers, students, faculty and family are all encouraged to help plant. That evening is also the 1st grade’s plant showcase- the students sewed, buttoned, and put together a poster board about germination from seed to sprout, to a big blooming sunflower. We are incredibly fortunate to have hydroponic fork farms. Last month, 1st grade sowed hydroponic lettuce and basil. They will be showing their families and the community their hard work of growing these plants from seed to harvest.
- Waterloo: We will be transplanted the seedlings that we started indoors to our school garden. We have planted peach trees, too!
- Midvale Elementary, Madison: We will be planting seedlings from Oakhill Correctional Institute in our school garden.
- Crestwood Elementary, Madison: We will be planting seedlings from Oakhill Correctional Institute in our school garden.
- Madison School Farm, Madison: We are excited to be hosting a field trip for Thoreau Elementary kindergartners and also welcoming members of the Healthy School Meals for All coalition. Students will participate in planting, harvesting and cooking activities and also help us celebrate with the unveiling of our new Madison School Farm sign!
- Bayfield School, Bayfield: We will be having a day-long event where all elementary classes will come up for 45 minutes to enjoy garden-related games, art, music, planting and cooking potatoes in the earth oven.
- Mendota Elementary, Madison: We will be celebrating with a 4th Grade field trip to Troy Kids’ Garden to feed the chickens, make a garden snack, and help prepare the Kids’ Garden for spring planting. The rest of the day, students at Mendota will be doing final preparations for seedling planting and transplanting seedlings into the garden.
- Monona Grove School District: Some of our classrooms participating in nutrition education lessons will be planting donated seeds in indoor starter kits to learn about, and watch the germination process. At the end of the school year, these seedlings will be transplanted to a local organic farm to complete growing and harvesting.
- Winnequah Elementary School, Monona: We will transplant seedlings from Oakhill Correctional Institution into the garden on WI School Garden Day with participating classrooms! Those unable to join will be reusing milk cartons to plant seeds in their classrooms, which will either be transplanted into the school garden at the end of the year, or be taken home by students.
- Mauston School District: We will host a site visit for representatives from USDA Food & Nutrition Service, DPI, DATCP and DHS and give a tour showcasing Mauston School District’s farm to School activities including the aquaponic system, tower gardens, greenhouse, and the meats lab. We will also talk about our Community Sharing supper, orchard plans and maple syrup project.
- Montello School District: We will host a site visit for representatives from USDA Food & Nutrition Service, DPI, DATCP and DHS and provide a tour of our facility highlighting an afterschool program funded by the USDA F2S grant, the equipment purchased for use in our kitchens, a look at our school garden (garlic planting), and a sampling of some of the taste test opportunities community members and students have experienced. We will speak about our summer food assistance program and the connection the district is making with FoodWIse to provide services to high need populations.
- Stevens Point: We are planting native plant rain gardens today at two schools.
- The image below can be saved and shared! On Instagram, use the hashtag #WISchoolGardenDay
We want to know what you have planned! If you know how you will celebrate Wisconsin School Garden Day, tell us about it! You can email Wisconsin School Garden Network/ Rooted Farm to School Director, Erica Krug, or share on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #WISchoolGardenDay.
