Mini-Grants for Teachers
Edmonds Schools & Non-profits
We want to support Edmonds schools and non-profits with gardening and horticultural projects.
Note: We have closed the grant application process for 2024!
Edmonds in Bloom is excited to offer
small grants to schools and nonprofit organizations in support of creating gardens for kids in the greater Edmonds area. This grant is focused particularly on teachers and para teachers who might otherwise pay out-of-pocket for their classroom garden project expenses. The grant should be used for instructional materials, tools, seeds, plants, and planting materials. If you are an educator or are participating in a non-profit that focuses on gardens and kids within the Edmonds School District boundaries, you may apply for these grants of $50-$100.
Questions? Send us an email .
For larger garden projects exceeding $100, please visit our page 'Edmonds School Project Grants'.
Recipients
2024 Recipients
Seaview Elementary
Lynnwood Elementary
Thanks so much for supporting our growing of marigolds for Mother’s Day gifts. My kindergarteners have loved watching the seeds grow and mature into plants they will get to take home and continue nurturing as they watch them grow. We also decided to grow some vegetable starters and each kid took one of their choice home. So much fun!
Molly Gomez, Lynnwood Elementary Kindergarten Teacher
Sherwood Elementary
Sherwood Elementary School has a new look! PE Teacher Pamela Thain and her students took to the grounds for an Earth Day cleanup and flower-planting project. Pamela notes, “I want them to learn how to garden and take pride in their work to beautify our school. Gardening is an amazing workout and a wonderful lifelong skill to participate in.” EIB was thrilled to provide funds for this project through our Mini-Grants for Teachers. Go kids!
Maplewood Elementary
Thank you for your generous donation to the second grade class at Maplewood.
In addition to planting seeds and bulbs this spring during Garden Club, our second graders decorated pots and planted nasturtium seeds for a special Mother’s Day project.
Thanks for making this possible!
Westgate Elementary
Westgate reading groups are so thankful to Edmonds in
Bloom for the wonderful grant! Please see our attached Thank You Poster from the students, including pictures of our plants. We have had so much fun watching our seeds grow and learning new plant vocabulary.
If you'd like us to drop off the poster somewhere for you to keep, we are happy to do so. Just let us know.
Thank you so much again,
-Andrea Sisley & Meg Gardner (Westgate LAP Teachers)
Terrace Park Elementary
In the beginning, students researched different plants that could grow in Washington and we had a Social Studies connection to how the original inhabitants of our land in Washington, the Native American Tribes of the PNW, lived off the land. We talked about how their diets differed from ours and what they ate depended on the season and what they could harvest. Students then researched crops that they could plant in early Spring in Washington. Groups came up with a variety of ideas and we settled on these crops: Lettuce, Spinach, Multi-colored Radish, English Breakfast Radish, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Arugula, Sugar Snap Peas, and Sugar Snap Pods.
Kyle Jackson
Sherwood Elementary
Congratulations to Elena Gordons's First Grade Class! In her words:
"Thank you for the opportunity to put our classroom gardening project into action this spring! My first graders were able to choose between 4 different seeds (pumpkin, zucchini, sunflower, and bean) to plant in a bio degradable newspaper pot I made, so they would be easy to put into the ground and protect the fragile plant start.
I had a parent helper come and help with the planting. The grant money supplied seeds, newspaper for the pots, potting soil, and tools for weeding our existing school's small garden beds. The kids planted their own seed in a pot and then worked on a plant booklet that had them name, draw and label their seed and draw the steps involved in seed planting.
We kept the seed pots in the classroom in a plastic lidded box and put the box outdoors everyday for sunlight and warmth. Right before they took their plants home, we completed our last labeled drawing in their plant booklet of what their seed looked like. Most had sprouted!
On another day, our class went out to our small school garden beds with the tools purchased through the grant. The kids learned the difference between what some weeds looked like and good plants we wanted to grow in the garden. They LOVED using the tools to help them pull the weeds in the beds!
Next year, if this grant is offered, I'd love to apply and continue to expand the opportunity for more students to have garden tools to use in our school garden beds and plant vegetables to grow and eat by the end of the year.
Thank you again for providing an amazing opportunity for my classroom students to learn about nature, how plants grow, and how to care for plants!"
Brier Terrace Middle School
Kudos to Meila Hampshire at Brier Terrace Middle School who used her EIB garden grant to give her students a real-world experience for subjects related to Math, English, and Science. We love the sign they created for us. In her words:
“Since we received the grant from Edmonds in Bloom we have been busy getting the soil prepared, and starting seeds indoors that were transplanted now that the weather has warmed up.
We were able to save some money by making origami seed starter pots by folding newspapers. This allowed for easy transplant and the pots simply compost in the soil. As you will see in the pictures below, my students made the Edmonds in bloom sign posted in the garden by using a wood burning tool. I was proud to see the final result.
Right now in the garden we have strawberries and tomatoes and we planted the Native American "3 sisters" method of planting that consists of corn, beans, and squash. Several of my students will come over the summer to water and keep it healthy.”
Cedar Way Elementary 1st Grade
Congratulations to Kristi Pihl and her first-grade class at Cedar Way Elementary for completing a scientific project of planting seeds, measuring the sprouts, and recording and analyzing their data. In Kristi’s words:
“Ms. Pihl's 1st graders experiment with seeds and bulbs at Cedar Way Elementary School. They planted seeds and bulbs and watered and observed them daily. Each kid planted radish, pea, sunflower, marigold and pumpkin seeds. They also planted gladiolus and onion bulbs. The Edmonds in Bloom grant helped pay for the materials to grow the plants and bulbs.
Every few days kids used rulers to measure how tall their plants had grown. They recorded data and wrote and drew their observations. With the onion and gladiolus bulbs, kids observed how the roots grew first, and then the plants emerged. The gladiolus bulbs kids planted grew so tall, they had to use meter sticks to figure out how many centimeters they were. 16 out of 18 students were able to independently measure with centimeters after the unit was complete. Once the unit was finished, kids got to take their plants home. "It was really fun and I am excited for the bulbs to turn into real flowers," said one student. Another student said her pumpkin and gladiolus have gotten bigger at home".
Mountlake Terrace Elementary
Congratulations to Taylor Arbuckle, Mountlake Terrace Elementary teacher, and her 4th-6th grade students! In Taylor’s words:
Oak Heights Elementary
Kudos to Mercredi Noble and her Oak Heights Elementary second-grade class & their creative flexibility! Below in Mercredi’s words:
“Thank you so much for your grant. We had to pivot our original plans on the plant unit. We had planned on building planters and planting some veggies and planned to move the planters to our new school over the summer. However, we got a bit derailed as our school will be turning into a construction site on July 1st and we won't be able to get into our new/temporary building until August 5th.
We revised our teaching plan to plant some end-of-year thank you plants for our para support staff, office staff, custodians, lunch ladies, counselors, nurse, specialist teachers, reading teachers, principal, etc. FYI: We will be adding planters and plants next year in our very own private courtyard!”
Resources
KidsGardening.org Great resource for gardening at schools.
Kids Gardening Activites- National Garden Bureau
Educator Resources- American Horticulture Society
Simple Gardening and Nature Activities for Children and Youth
More Complex Gardening and Nature Activities for Children and Youth
From Seed to Seed : Plant Science for K-8 Educators
Our Mailing Address
700 Main St
Edmonds, WA 98020
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We are a group of volunteers passionate about gardening and the beautification of Edmonds. We encourage you to contact us and explore joining our team at any level of time commitment. It's a great opportunity to contribute to the Edmonds Community.