Hosted by the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, with support from the School Garden Support Organization Network, the first-ever event titled Growing School Gardens: Seeding a Healthy Future for Our Youth will be from 10-11 a.m. Tuesday, April 27 on growingschoolgardens.org. The event is in honor of National Garden Month which was nationally declared by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in 2015.

“It is essential that we educate our children about establishing good nutrition and healthy eating habits early in life to lead to better, positive health outcomes later in life,” said Vilsack. “We need to expand and improve our outreach and education with a much greater focus on nutrition security, giving children and families tools to make healthy food choices because the food we eat affects our health throughout our lives. One of the most effective education tools we have with kids is gardens. When a child tastes food grown in a garden for the first time, it opens her eyes to new choices and can begin a nutrition journey that lasts a lifetime.”

The 45-minute virtual event will be taught through student voices and viewed by an estimated 500 elementary schools. Lessons will capture how school gardens are advancing nutrition and environmental literacy, STEM education, and social-emotional wellness.

“This event provides educators with classroom content and will increase awareness to the true value of garden-based education,” said John Fisher, co-founder of SGSO.

Livestream activities kick off in Hawaii and culminate in Washington, D.C. Among the featured schools will be Radcliff Elementary School in Watsonville, which will present on “What a School Garden Means to Students.”