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SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced 3,849 schools will share in $10.8 million in California Instructional School Garden Program grants. Because of the large number of recipients, the list of grantees may be found on the California Department of Education Web site at Funding Results: California Instructional School Garden.

"School garden programs provide students with hands-on experience about growing food in a real-life setting, and then they get to eat what they sow," said O'Connell. "This keeps children engaged in the love of learning about the origins of food and the natural and scientific processes involved in growing our food. At the same time, school gardens help our students learn healthy eating habits."

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) sponsored Assembly Bill 1535 that provided $15 million for the garden grants. The money is designed to provide seed money for new garden programs or enhance existing gardens. 

"This time of year is harvest time for many California crops, so it's an appropriate time to see which schools will be reaping the benefits of our school gardens program," said Núñez. "These gardens will help provide students with a lifelong knowledge and appreciation of agriculture and nutrition, and I congratulate all the schools about to take part in this exciting project."  

A study by the State Education and Environment Roundtable in Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrative Context for Learning, shows students participating in environment-based learning tend to have reduced discipline and classroom management problems; have better problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills; and have an increased enthusiasm for learning. Instructional school gardens also provide students with hands-on, environment-based education that positively impacts their healthy food choices, knowledge of nutrition, and physical activity.

Local education agencies were eligible to apply for this noncompetitive grant. Because only $10.8 million in garden grants were disbursed, another round of Request for Applications will be offered early next year.