GROW at School

GROW at School is a garden-based learning programme in primary schools, where we train teachers to grow confidently and teach students to develop a deeper connection with food. By incorporating hands-on growing activities we help students gain an understanding of where food comes from, fostering what we call ‘food empathy’ as well as healthier, more sustainable food behaviours & choices.

We provide the raised beds, compost, seeds and learning materials that will support and engage an entire school community, creating a lasting impact that will influence generations of students.

Support GROW at School: 

Funding support is vital to the success and expansion of the GROW at School program, enabling us to reach more children across rural and urban schools with this transformative experience. Every contribution directly supports our mission to inspire healthier, more sustainable lifestyles and to empower the next generation with a deeper understanding of the natural world. With continued funding, GROW at School can have far-reaching impacts, including:

🐝 Connecting children to nature: Helps students from all backgrounds experience nature first-hand, linking their food choices to the environment and inspiring respect for the planet.

🥦 Encouraging healthier eating habits: Supports children in growing and tasting fresh vegetables and fruit, which fosters a preference for healthy food options that last a lifetime.

🌍 Fostering environmental awareness and stewardship: Builds a sense of responsibility for the environment, nurturing future advocates for sustainable practices.

💚 Boosting mental health and well-being: Provides a calming, hands-on learning experience in nature that helps students manage climate anxiety and supports their overall mental health.

Funding from philanthropic & corporate partners is essential in supporting GROW at School to expand its reach, invite more schools to participate, and deepen its impact one garden at a time, reaching more children with opportunities to cultivate a healthier, more sustainable future.

If you have capacity as a school, a parents committee or local business to fund a place on the programme, please get in touch with us to discuss this opportunity.

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VISION:
Make food growing systemic in Irish schools so that every child is food literate & understands where their food comes from.

MISSION:
Every primary school in Ireland has a food garden and the necessary skills to run a garden-based learning programme.

GOAL:
By 2026, 50% of primary schools in Ireland to have a food garden, impacting the lives of 250,000 children.

 

Following a three-year pilot, GIY launched the GROW at School programme nationally in 2022, looking to provide a vegetable garden in every school.  As a whole-school resource, GROW at School will foster healthy, sustainable food behaviours, connecting students to the food system, and supporting them to become our future environmental agents of change.


Measuring the Impact

GIY’s impact measurement of the GROW at School program highlights significant positive outcomes across several key areas. Through surveys, feedback, and observations, GIY has measured how the program improves children’s connection to nature, enhances knowledge about food origins, and promotes healthier eating habits.

  • 93% of students connect being in the garden with feeling positively about themselves
  • 96.4% of students feel positively about eating fresh vegetables
  • A third of students would have no access to a garden without GROW at School

 


GET YOUR SCHOOL INVOLVED

If you are a teacher and would like to take part in GROW at School and get a school garden kit for your school, please click below to express your interest in joining the GROW at School programme. Please have your Roll ID number ready.

If you’d like to learn more about our school programme and how schools can engage, contact the Grow at School project team at: growatschool@giy.ie

GROW at School is funded through philanthropic support. To learn more, visit our philanthropy page or contact our Partnerships Director, Nell Ward nell@giy.ie.

The programme sparked an interest in food growing among our pupils that helped make our school garden the success that it is... Most importantly, this programme has sown the seed of a positive attitude towards healthy eating at a young age.

Jarlath Conboy | Principal, St Patrick’s School ​
Co. Galway, Ireland​

What We Do:

Provide a School garden

We provide a school garden, which includes four timber raised beds suitable for any school location, along with soil, seeds for 14 different vegetables, and a weed guard. We also provide curriculum-linked planting plans and growing resources.

These resources support school gardens and elucidate the rationale behind GIY (Grow it Yourself) to students. Collectively, this programme transforms knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours surrounding food.​

Provide School Resources

We make it as easy as possible for schools to create and manage their garden by providing useful resources such as a school garden plan, garden site selection, and forming a garden committee information, as well as lesson plans to get schools started.

Our lesson plans are in editable, PowerPoint format so that teachers can personalise the learning or adjust for their classroom needs and abilities. Each lesson contains:

  1. Teachers Guide: an overview of the lesson, breakdown of activities, and curriculum links.
  2. Lesson Slides: editable PowerPoint slides with instructional notes. We also include a pdf version of slides and teacher notes.
  3. Activity Sheets: printable extension activities, formative assessments and more.

Teacher Training

We ensure the program can be effectively activated within the school by training and supporting teachers to deliver garden-based learning. Our educational content has been designed collaboratively by teachers and growers to help achieve meaningful and measurable outcomes.

Impact Assessment

We continually assess and measure the holistic impact of the program on children and teachers, helping us to fully understand the changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours that the program has delivered.

The GROW at School programme is delivered exclusively thanks to our generous donors and supporters who include: