Reflecting on 2024 and Growing Together in 2025

As 2024 comes to a close, we’re proud to reflect on a year filled with growth, education, and community impact. This year, HOPE Gardens reached 2,641 students in garden and nutrition classes that inspired young minds and fostered a love for healthy living. From engaging students to hosting workshops and our successful heirloom plant sale, […]
Putting Our Gardens to Sleep for the Winter

As the growing season comes to an end, it’s time to tuck our gardens in for their winter rest. Recent mulch deliveries at North Godwin and Lee Middle helped us prepare the soil for the colder months, ensuring it stays protected and nourished. These two gardens needed a little extra attention, but luckily we had […]
New Fences and Expansions at Four School Gardens

Big things are happening in our school gardens! This fall, four Wyoming school gardens received brand-new fences: Godfrey Early Childhood Center, Godfrey Elementary, Gladiola Elementary, and West Elementary. These additions bring both beauty and functionality to each space, making the gardens even more welcoming and efficient. At Gladiola Elementary and West Elementary, the upgrades didn’t […]
From Soil to Plate: First Graders Discover the Journey of Food

By Angie Bruder, Garden Educator How does food get here? Does it just appear in stores? To answer that question, first graders at West Godwin explored the fascinating journey of cornflakes from soil to plate. Students learned that all foods come from nature, and then many foods are trucked to factories for processing and packaging. […]
H.O.P.E. Gardens Featured in School News Network: Cultivating Community and Learning

This year, H.O.P.E. Gardens was honored to be one of only four organizations in Michigan awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program. School News Network visited our schools to learn more about what this grant means for us. Check out their article here.
A Family School Garden Adventure at STEM Night!

We loved being a part of West Elementary’s STEM Night, showcasing the beautiful garden that students helped create! Families enjoyed a fruit salsa tasting and were given a kid-friendly recipe cookbook before heading out to explore the school garden. For many parents, it was their first time seeing the garden, and their children proudly led […]
Garden Detectives on the Case: Uncovering Nature’s Secrets with All Five Senses!

This year, 3rd and 4th graders from four Wyoming elementary schools are embarking on the Great Garden Detective Adventure! In their first lesson, the young detectives used their five senses to gather clues about the fruits and vegetables growing in the garden. As part of this exploration, they tasted a variety of produce and used […]
From Bloom to Seed: Harvesting Sunflowers for Next Season’s Growth

Harvesting Sunflowers!
From Vine to Cup: Empower U Students Make Their Own Grape Juice

From the vine to the cup! Concorde Grape Juice!
Parent Night Open Houses in the Garden

“I’m Growing Food at Home!”We were thrilled to hear that families from Parkview, Oriole Park, and Gladiola Elementary have been embracing gardening at home! During the recent Parent Open House events at all three schools, excitement filled the air as students proudly guided their parents through the gardens they helped cultivate. These vibrant gardens, full […]