2026 School Garden Leadership Institute

Participant Hub

June 22-27, 2026 - UC Santa Cruz

Participant Timeline

March 24 - Attendee Teams Confirm Participation Via Commitment Form
April 30 - Attendee Teams Submit Travel Details, Complete Pre-participation Survey
May 15 - Partner School Sustainability Surveys Due
June 22-27 - Leadership Institute Dates

Partner School Sustainability Survey

Link to School Garden Sustainability Survey

1. How many School Garden Surveys does each Leadership Institute team need to complete?

Each team is required to complete surveys with four (4) partner schools.

2. When do the surveys need to be completed?

Pre-Surveys: All four schools must complete the pre-survey by May 15, 2026.
Post-Surveys: A follow-up survey must be completed by those same schools between March and May 2027.

3. Who are we surveying?

Life Lab will request a list of your four partner schools that your School Garden Support team plans to survey. These should be the schools you are directly working with and supporting.

4. How will this information be used?

Life Lab will:

Track survey respondents
Monitor participation across schools
Compile and report survey response data back to each SGSO team as responses are received

The data will help measure growth, sustainability, and impact over time. We will report outcomes to the Leadership Institute funder, Whole Kids, in our grant reports.

5. Can we submit more than four surveys?

Yes! Your team is welcome to submit surveys from more than four schools. Please notif us of the four schools whose data you would like us to loook at.

For evaluation purposes, Life Lab will only analyze and report data from four schools per team.

6. What if I leave my position before the post-survey is completed?

If there is a staffing transition, your organization should designate another team member to ensure the post-survey is completed between March and May 2027. We recommend documenting your four partner schools and sharing survey expectations internally to support a smooth transition.

7. How will my partner schools know which survey to complete?

When respondents fill out the survey, they will be asked to select you as their School Garden Support Organization from a list.

Please be sure to send Life Lab the exact name your schools know you by, so we can ensure it appears correctly in the survey.

Leadership Institute Draft Agenda

Monday, June 22 Arrive by 3:45, Check-in, Welcome, Optional Evening Networking
Tuesday, June 23 Four Domains of Resilient School Gardens, Building Strong School Garden Culture, Snapshot of Partner School Sustainability Surveys, Solution Sessions
Wednesday, June 24 Exploring Instructional Models, Effective Professional Development
Thursday, June 25 Field Trips: Creating and Maintaining School Garden Sites, Sustaining and Staffing School Garden Programs
Friday, June 26 SGSO Engagement Planning, Team Reflection & Action Planning
Saturday, June 27 Departure, Option Post Excursions to Redwoods, Farmers Market, Etc.

Helpful Links

Check out our restaurant and itinerary suggestions.
Connect on Social Media: If you’re on social media, get your fingers ready! Use #sgso2025 or tag @lifelabgarden in your posts
View School Garden Support Organization's Promising Practices

Questions? Contact Kelsey Cerdas kelsey@lifelab.org

Join the School Garden Support Organization Network E-list to to receive future institute announcements and updates on upcoming events or join the SGSO Network Google Group to be part of a national dialogue of school garden support organizations.

JOIN SGSO NETWORK HERE