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Big Green School Garden Grant Opportunity Jumpstart Savannah

Jumpstart outdoor education and bring student-grown produce to your school with Big Green's school garden program.

Dig into Jumpstart

Apply nowJumpstart your school's garden

In addition to our Fall 2023 cohort, Big Green is brining more schools gardens to Savannah in the Spring of 2024. Schools can now apply for a Jumpstart Grant or a Jumpstart Learning Garden Kit.

JUMPSTART CASH GRANTS & LEARNING GARDEN KITS

Jumpstart grants are available for schools in SCCPSS and ECE Centers in Chatham County. There are 2 grant opportunities schools can choose to apply for; Learning Gardens and Jumpstart cash grants.

Jumpstart Grant:

  • $2,000 grant to support garden education
  • Perfect for schools looking to support outdoor education but are currently unable to host a full school garden or for schools looking to support an existing outdoor garden space

Jumpstart Learning Garden Grant:

  • Full raised bed garden kit
  • $2000 cash grant
  • Perfect for schools that are ready to grow food and bring outdoor education to life with a full school garden

Schools in SCCPSS not previously awarded and eligible ECE centers can apply now through September 30, 2023 for the Spring 2024 Cohort. We encourage schools to choose the opportunity best suited for them.

Who Can Apply

Schools interested in applying for this grant are expected to take on full ownership of the garden. Successful school gardens have strong administrative support, a team dedicated to leading and organizing school garden education, clear programmatic or curricular integrations, and a school-wide commitment to facilitate outdoor education for all students. In order to participate, schools have to meet the following criteria:

  • Serve students meeting 65% FRL or another metric of economic disadvantage.

  • Have a plan of action that ensures youth will consistently and strategically use the Learning Garden as a regular part of the school day.

  • Have the full support of the school administration and a multi-member team dedicated to the integration of the Learning Garden into the goals, structures, and overall culture of the school.

  • Be able to participate in all required professional development sessions. (2 sessions for Jumpstart grantees and 3 sessions for Learning Garden grantees)

hands in soil with strawberry plants.

How to Apply

The short and simple 20-minute application can be found on our grant portal.

  1. Step one

    Jumpstart: Teacher Resources

    Review these Jumpstart Resources available on our website to give you a feel for the grant opportunities, and the resources available. Decide which grant opportunity is best for your school.

  2. Step two

    Click Here To Apply

    Complete the application. You can easily share it with multiple people on your team to collaborate. The deadline for grants that will be distributed in the fall is June 6, 2023.

Spring 2024 Cohort: Grant Calendar

  • August 5, 2023 Spring Cohort: Grant application opens
  • November 10, 2023 Spring Cohort: Grant application closes
  • October, 2023 Spring Cohort: Grantees Announced
  • November 2023-March 2024 Spring Cohort PD Sessions
  • February, 2024 Spring Cohort: Garden kits delivered
  • May 31, 2024 Grant reporting due
a group of students holding up vegetables.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes, but only one $2000 grant will be awarded per school in the 2023-24 school year.

  • Yes, The Jumpstart Mini-Grant can be used by any school looking to increase school garden education for their students in this grant cycle.

  • A full list of everything that comes with a Learning Garden can be found at https://biggreen.org/resources/learning-garden-kit-material-list/

  • Yes, any school that meets the qualifications listed above on this page can apply for a Jumpstart Mini-Grant or Learning Garden Grant.

  • There are several options of federal/state programs that people frequently use to represent low income and other considerations that can be used to represent the socio-economic demographics of your school. Schools can also include percentages of students with Disabilities and/or English Language Learners to demonstrate needs.

  • No, The Jumpstart Mini-Grant requires schools to attend 2 PD sessions. One is a webinar in June to support the development and organization of a school garden leadership team and the second is an asynchronous course on our website called Jumpstart: Organizing the Outdoor Classroom.
    Schools receiving the Learning Garden Grant will be required to attend 3 PD sessions. The same School Garden Leadership Team webinar for all Jumpstart Grantees, an additional session on planning a garden Kickoff Event and the logistics of receiving and building your new Learning Garden, and an in person event to offer hands-on guidance to build the garden and introduce the curricular resources available to support student learning in the garden.