What We Do

Life Lab is a national leader in garden-based learning. Through innovative training and award-winning curriculum, Life Lab has equipped tens of thousands of educators nationwide to engage students in vibrant, outdoor garden classrooms. At the Garden Classroom educational center in Santa Cruz, Life Lab fosters experiential learning through field trips, summer camps, internships, and professional development events.

Equity Stance

Staff and Board Approved as of October 27, 2025

Life Lab is committed to increasing access to garden education and developing inclusive programming so that every child, from every walk of life, can experience the magic of learning in a garden.

How do we bring this commitment to life?

• We value diverse lived experiences as essential assets that people bring to Life Lab.

• We work in partnership with communities where discrimination is prevalent, particularly in regards to nature, wellness, and experiential education.

• We intentionally shift our organizational culture away from principles of colonization*, and towards interdependence, reciprocity, liberation and love.

We do all of this because we know inclusive garden education helps create a more beautiful, sustainable, and just world, now and into the future.

* Below are some resources to learn more about decolonization and liberatory practices in the workplace:
Decolonizing the Workplace - Dr Gerry Ebalaroza Tunnell
Qualities of Regenerative and Liberatory Culture - Daniel Lim
brief thoughts, 1: movement as liberatory space - adrienne maree brown
The Combahee River Collective Statement
The Service Berry - Robin Wall Kimmerer