Tucson Standard

The University of Arizona's School Garden Workshop is set to expand its influence in K-12 education, thanks to a significant $1 million donation from the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation. This funding will support the development of the "Sprouts House" project, enhancing educational opportunities through school gardens.

Located within the School of Geography, Development and Environment at UArizona's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the School Garden Workshop collaborates with Tucson Unified School District. The program places interns in 18 under-resourced schools and supports over 50 school gardens by providing teachers with resources and training.

Lyndsey Waugh, executive director of Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, expressed enthusiasm for the initiative: "We're thrilled to help establish the Sprouts House in Tucson and to help the University of Arizona School Garden Workshop expand its capacity to support more schools and students access garden-based education."

The gift from Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation amounts to $1,050,000 and is pivotal for creating Sprouts House. The project involves renovating two historical houses near Mansfeld Magnet Middle School into a community classroom and a commercial kitchen. The site will also feature a teaching garden with a greenhouse.

Moses Thompson, director of the School Garden Workshop, highlighted Sprouts House as central to their mission: "Sprouts House will be the linchpin in the School Garden Workshop's K-12 school garden pipeline."

The vision for Sprouts House includes becoming a national model for school garden education. Annually, it aims to impact 150 educators, 150 university students, and over 6,000 K-12 students.

Lori Poloni-Staudinger, dean of UArizona's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences stated: "We are deeply grateful to the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation for its investment in the School Garden Workshop."

For four years now, this foundation has partnered with UArizona’s program. Their contributions include launching initiatives like Sonoran Desert School Gardener's Almanac. Robert C. Robbins, president of UArizona said: "This gift from the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation provides a wonderful opportunity to expand ongoing efforts."

Each semester since fall 2011, around 40-60 UArizona students have trained through this workshop program serving TUSD schools. These interns engage in activities such as curriculum development using gardens as teaching spaces.

Thompson added that assessments show positive feedback from K-12 students who enjoy learning more when involved with school gardens: "Our program has gained a lot of national attention."

John-Paul Roczniak noted gratitude towards contributors saying: "Gifts like these have a tangible impact on K-12 students in our region."

This donation forms part of UArizona’s Fuel Wonder campaign aiming at raising $3 billion for various educational advancements across disciplines including cancer research among others.