Native Plant School Garden Program

San Diego CNPS has developed a new Native Plant School Gardens program to provide resources to teachers, parents, and students interested in installing native gardens at their schools.  Native gardens are becoming a popular addition in elementary and secondary schools statewide, providing hands-on education in the subjects of native wildlife, ethnobotanical uses of local plants, habitat types, and water conservation, as well as the local history and natural beauty of San Diego County. 

CNPS is partnering with local landscape architects and designers who specialize in native gardens to provide free design advice and planting plans for native gardens for qualifying schools in the San Diego are. A designer will work with the lead teachers or administrator to develop a planting plan for their native garden.  The designer or another CNPS volunteer will also be available to direct activities and provide planting advice on the day of installation.  Although we can provide advice on funding opportunities and native plant nurseries, the school would be responsible for purchasing the plants --  a minimum budget of $500 is highly recommended. 

After the garden is in place, a CNPS volunteer will continue to work with the lead teacher/ administrator to assure that the garden continues to be properly maintained and remains a useful teaching resource for years to come.  The CNPS volunteer will visit the garden from time to time, be available to address any emerging problems, and keep the school updated on new programs and opportunities to benefit the garden.

We hope to provide support for ten new Native Plant School Gardens this school year.  We will evaluate each application to determine the likelihood of long-term success.  Please review the following guidelines for a successful project and complete the attached application.  Once your application has been reviewed and approved, we will contact you to begin the design process.

Application Guidelines:

• The School shall provide a single point of contact.
• The school Principal must actively support the project.
• A budget of $500 to $1,000 is typically needed to purchase plants and materials. 
• Educational goals should be clearly defined.  
• The Site Plan should be clear, detailed, and accurate. 

Please Note:  This is not an application for grant funding.  This application is for professional volunteer assistance in designing a native school garden. 

Please click on the following links for the application and site plan. 
Email the completed application as a Word document to: schoolgardens@cnpssd.org.

School Garden Application (doc)

School Garden Site Plan template (pdf)
 
Please mail Site Plan pdf hard copy to
California Native Plant Society, San Diego Chapter
c/o San Diego Natural History Museum
P.O. Box 121390
San Diego CA 92112-1390

Click here - San Diego Master Gardeners Schools program where you can find information on grants and other other presentations offered through the Master Gardeners of San Diego