Growing Together: A Week with the School Garden Leaders

June 2025

Last week, in partnership with Whole Kids, a project of Whole Foods Market Foundation, Life Lab had the joy of hosting an inspiring week of collaboration, connection, and garden-grown learning during the School Garden Support Organization (SGSO) Leadership Institute in Santa Cruz!

Each year, this special gathering brings together school garden leaders from across the country to strengthen local and national support for school gardens. The 2025 cohort included 20 powerhouse teams focused on everything from building and expanding school gardens and farm-to-cafeteria programs, to increasing access to garden education and developing authentically inclusive programming.

Our week was packed with powerful sessions and even more powerful conversations. From peer solution circles and program model share-outs, to cooking with kids, there was no shortage of ideas to dig into (pun very much intended).

This community is proof that the school garden movement is thriving and growing stronger together!