Founded 2001 Employees 8 (full and part-time) | Founder Jane Hirschi | |
Focus Food and nutrition education Location Cambridge, Massachusetts Area served Boston and Cambridge Public Schools, Massachusetts | ||
CitySprouts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that partners with public school teachers and other school staff to develop school gardens in public school communities in Boston and Cambridge. CitySprouts collaborates with local farmers, restaurant chefs, and food service programs in Boston and Cambridge to bring urban school children the experience of growing, preparing and eating fresh, healthy food.
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Since 2001, CitySprouts has expanded to serve schools in Boston as well as every elementary school in Cambridge Public Schools. During the fall and spring, CitySprouts staff supports teachers' use of the school garden as an outdoor classroom during the teaching day. CitySprouts Garden Coordinators devote ten hours per week in each partner school between April and November to oversee garden maintenance, coordinate its use, and to help teachers develop and implement garden-based extensions to their core curriculum. In CitySprouts' partner schools, 83% of teachers in Cambridge and 55% of teachers in Boston utilize the learning garden for instruction with CitySprouts support.
The CitySprouts Middle School Program, established in 2007, provides an opportunity for young people to learn firsthand about the natural ecology of their local environment, beginning with the school garden. The After-School Program, currently held at all four Cambridge Upper Schools as well as the Orchard Gardens Pilot School and the Higginson-Lewis K-8 School in Boston, focuses on deepening middle school youth's interest in science, technology engineering, and math (STEM), as well as helping them make positive changes in their food choices. CitySprouts' Summer Program in Cambridge is designed as an internship in which young people tend and harvest their school gardens to make healthy lunches, apply their knowledge and science, and explore ways to contribute to their community. The Middle School Program's work is accomplished with the help of Commonwealth Corps, Cambridge Youth Programs, and CitySprouts' Summer Programs Fellows.
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Mission
The CitySprouts mission is to develop, implement, and maintain beautiful, resource-rich school gardens in collaboration with public school communities. Integrated into the curriculum, CitySprouts gardens inspire teachers, students, and families to develop a deep, hands-on connection to the food cycle, sustainable agriculture, and the natural environment.