Our view: North County schools eligible for state funds for green thumbs

The state is offering a little seed money for a school garden to any campus that requests it. We’re glad to see many North County schools seizing this opportunity, and we encourage campuses that haven’t to consider it.

The state Education Department is offering $15 million —- in chunks of $2,500 and $5,000 —- in grants to promote, create and support gardens that savvy schools incorporate into their curriculum. There’s no shortage of lesson plans that can get their fingernails dirty: science, quite obviously, but also math and health/nutrition, and for the truly enterprising, English and social studies. Many schools are already taking advantage of this old-school and cutting-edge educational tool.

Any campus that asks for a school-garden grant will get it, provided it fills out a three-page application online at the Education Department’s Web site. More information is available at the California School Garden Network’s Web site. The deadline is April 20.

Carlsbad and Vista are among the school districts that are applying; at least eight Oceanside elementaries are requesting a grant. But word has it that Los Angeles, which boasts a full-time school garden coordinator, has far more schools applying for this found money than we do.

It’s not like $2,500 or $5,000 is a pot of gold, but it is a nice boost to any school that wants to get its students out in the garden. We hope many North County schools dig into this statewide grant.

source :www.nctimes.com By: North County Times Opinion staff