Garden-Based Learning Workshops
In our amazing Garden Classroom on the UC Santa Cruz campus, or at your school or garden site, Life Lab Science Program's professional trainers bring inspiration to educators interested in science, nutrition, and garden-based learning. Life Lab Science Program staff is available year-round for workshops at your site.
Upcoming Workshops in the Life Lab Garden Classroom
- To register for an upcoming workshop, visit our secure form.
- If you would like to be notified when we add new workshop dates, please join our email list.
- To view and print the information above, click on our Upcoming Workshop Flyer.
- Click here for an application for Financial Assistance. Applications received one month prior to each workshop date will be considered, based on need. For questions, please contact John Fisher at (831)459-3833 or education@lifelab.org.
- Life Lab and collaborators offer more training opportunities through the Garden-Based Learning Regional Resource Center. Learn more.
Bringing a Workshop to Your Region
Life Lab has trained tens of thousands of educators nationwide. Our workshop offerings are listed below, and any one can be specially crafted to fit the interests of your audience. Our hands-on workshops accomodate up to 25 participants at a time. One-day workshops cost $1,500 plus travel expenses for 1-2 trainers. Individualized quotes for multi-day workshops are also available. Curriculum is sold separtely. If you are interested in learning more about having a Life Lab workshop in your area, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Workshop Offerings
The Growing Classroom: An Introduction to Garden-Based Learning
This two-day workshop, located at the amazing Garden Classroom, is ideal for those interested in supplementing their existing science program with garden-based learning. Using The Growing Classroom activity guide for grades 2-6, you’ll experience hands-on activities, learn basic science concepts and gardening techniques, and develop management strategies for a school gardening program. Find out how to teach the standards while you guide students through the natural cycles of the garden. You’ll receive Life Lab’s 480 page book, The Growing Classroom, as well as many other ideas and resources.
Click here for more details, agenda, and photos of this workshop.
Plant It, Grow It, Eat It: Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education
Make the connection from seed to table in this fun and delicious one-day workshop. Explore ways to teach nutrition through gardening, harvesting and meal preparation in Life Lab’s Chez Panisse Garden Kitchen. You’ll learn effective ways to encourage kids grades 2-8 to eat more fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy lifestyle. Participants will sample the bounty of the farm and harvest to prepare nutritious snacks. You’ll receive an activity booklet with gardening and nutrition lessons, recipes, and garden kitchen design resources.
Click here for more details, agenda, and photos of this workshop.
Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden
Because teamwork is so fundamental to creating and sustaining a garden, we designed this one-day workshop for school garden teams. Participants will learn the basic gardening skills they will need to design, develop, enhance, and maintain a school garden. Topics include garden design, soil preparation, planting, watering, and pest management as well as building a support network, linking to academic content standards, and program planning. Teams must include at least one teacher and can also include parents, volunteers, school administrators, or other personnel. Each participant will receive a resource packet and Creating Gardens for Learning, a guide published by the California School Garden Network. Schools may opt to add a second workshop day to apply these skills directly at their site.
Click here for more details, agenda, and photos of this workshop.
Sowing the Seeds of Wonder: Discovering the Garden in Early Childhood Education
Spend a day looking at the garden through the eyes of a preschool student. Sample many activities designed to encourage young children to learn about their world using all their senses. Learn how to implement garden activities in a pre-school setting. We’ll also discuss basic gardening skills, appropriate garden design, safe plants for pre-school gardens, and garden art projects and songs. You’ll receive Sowing the Seeds of Wonder, a 120-page activity guide with activities and songs for teaching preschool-aged children in a garden setting throughout the year. Click here for more details, agenda, and photos of this workshop.
Math and Science Inquiry in the Garden
A school garden provides a rich, living, outdoor context in which students can explore and apply fundamental math and science concepts. In this one-day workshop, you will learn to inspire curiosity and enthusiasm in your students as you lead engaging and effective lessons designed for 4th-8th grade students in the garden. Topics include graphing, angles, fractions, worm composting, plant science, and more. Participants will receive Life Lab’s 480 page book, The Growing Classroom, as well as many other ideas and resources. Click here for more details on this workshop.
Art in the Garden
Learn to turn your garden into an art studio in this one-day workshop, filled with fun and whimsy. We’ll share ideas for creating art in the garden from gardens around the world and experience art projects such as making paper, natural dyes, windsocks, scarecrows, plant prints, corn husk dolls and botanical illustrations. Explore creative possibilities for teaching art standards in the garden while you get your own creative juices flowing.
Life Lab Science
This one- or two-day workshop uses Life Lab’s K-5 core curriculum - Life Lab Science - to show how you can teach earth, life and physical science using the garden. You’ll learn how to use grade-level specific activities and major themes to teach science concepts, using Life Lab’s unique unit format which includes pre and post assessment, literature links, experiments and projects, special readings, and teacher tips. The workshop will give you the gardening experience you need to feel confident conducting garden-based lessons.
Creating A Waste Free School
Learn how to reduce the amount of waste your school sends to the landfill while you reduce the amount of money you are literally throwing away. Staff will develop a plan for reducing solid waste while learning classroom activities that teach the values of environmental stewardship in this one- or two-day workshop. Based on the success of the award winning Waste Free Schools program in Santa Cruz County. Participants will receive Away with School Waste and Create from Waste.
