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Stories of hope, inspiration, and of course — gardening!
2020: A Year in Review
In a year of many challenges and changes, H.O.P.E. Gardens was able to continue its mission of helping other people eat, thanks to generous volunteers and donations! Read the Full Year-End Report...
Staff Spotlight: Meet Arthur Gardine!
This year, we transitioned from having students helping in the gardens to working with only staff and a few volunteers, and found we needed extra help. In June, we hired our first youth employee, Arthur Gardine. Arthur first learned of H.O.P.E. Gardens when he was a 6th grade student at South Elementary. He helped...
Rising to the Challenge: Online Lessons & Garden Kits
Like most organizations, H.O.P.E. Gardens had to adjust to changes brought on by Covid-19. When we learned that some schools were going fully remote and outside organizations were restricted from offering their programs in person, we had a decision to make: could we adapt to this new challenge or should we wait out the...
H.O.P.E. Gardens Receives Farm-to-School Grant
In August, H.O.P.E. Gardens and the YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids were awarded a USDA Farm-to-School grant. This competitive award is granted on an annual basis to organizations that support planning, developing, and implementing farm-to-school programs. H.O.P.E. Gardens will use part of this grant to install a new fence for Wyoming Regional Center, a...
Spreading H.O.P.E. During COVID-19
The state-wide closing of schools last March due to COVID-19 presented us with a challenge: How could we involve students in school garden planting when we were not able to work together in person? We also wanted to support students and families while under the stay-at-home order, so we decided that if the students...
We Need Your Help!
We have had to make a lot of changes and adapt the way we offer our school programs due to COVID-19. This summer we were not able to meet in person with our summer garden programs but we provided pea seed cups, growing instructions & journals for kids to grow at home. This fall,...
Planting in Pots! Watch Makaylee show you how
Planting in pots an easy way to grow herbs indoors....
Makaylee Plants Cress: Cress is Best!
Learn how to plant watercress -- it's easy to grow and tasty in a salad!...
Mrs. Smith Reads Books About Gardening & Our New YouTube Channel
Watch and listen to Mrs. Smith read some of her favorite books about gardening! You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos here. ...