Continuing Our Impact with Remote Lessons
We provided remote lessons with garden activity kits to more than 600 students at 13 schools each month this winter. The activities were enjoyed by leaders and students alike. In January, students were given a lesson on Seed Dispersal and then used seeds to create Pinecone Bird Feeders. Students had fun getting their hands into […]
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 program […]
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 couldn’t […]
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!
Poverty, Privilege and Pumpkin Seeds
Poverty, Privilege and Pumpkin Seeds Today as I was preparing my favorite breakfast food, American fries with onions, I thought of how privileged I was to have a home and food to prepare. As I adjusted the flame on the stove my thoughts shifted to a young girl’s face and a conversation I had with […]
Rich’s Garden Tips: Gardening in your landscapes [VIDEO]
In this video, Rich teaches us about gardening in your landscapes using natural untreated wood chips as a cover. Perennials are popping up including chives, parsley and mint. Garlic is proving strong in more ways than one.
The Challenge Before Us: Feeding the World
The challenge before us…feeding the world. Quite often we are looking to the big companies to rise up to this challenge yet we are all aware of the toll it takes on our soils. With the rise in population comes a need for re-thinking the way we grow food. We see a solution and it […]
“Whose Garden Is It?” Kids: “It’s Our Garden!”
“Whose garden is it?” Kids: “Our Garden!” This is near and dear to my heart! It has been such a privilege to spend time with kids and youth in gardens as we learn together how to grow food and try new things. This year we had some water challenges which gave youth the opportunity to […]
The Seed of Love and the Thorn of Prejudice
The seed of love and the thorn of prejudice. This week we were saving sunflower seeds. We grow a variety at the schools that produce brown, tan, white, black and grey seeds. While picking out seeds a young girl shared with me that some people are prejudice toward her but she isn’t going to let […]