Quick Links:
- Observing Indicators of Garden & Foodshed Health: dozens of topics from HCFS
- HCFS’s San Juan Mountain Watch: Monitor and learn about our local foodsheds
- School & Preschool Gardens and Edible Education: HCFS
- Biodiverse Food Systems webpage: HCFS
- Biodiverse and Wildlife Friendly Food Systems: HCFS Tool Booklet
- How-To Garden Resources for SW Colorado: HCFS
- Wild Farming, Gardening, Ranching Practices: Wild Farm Alliance
- Environmental Education Opportunities: CAEE
- Scistarter: Find Citizen Science projects
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Birds and Citizen Science
- Climate-Friendly Food Systems: HCFS Tool Booklet
- Farm to School: HCFS Farm to School page
- Gardens in Native Communities: HCFS Native American Gardens page
- Southwest Colorado Groups: including Manna Soup Kitchen, Montezuma School to Farm, Powerhouse Science Center, San Juan Mountains Association, Mountain Studies Institute
- Kids Outdoors with Nature Resources: Child & Nature Network, Natural Start Alliance
Suggested Activities
Connect with neighboring farms and ranches: Visit a farm or ranch or invite the farmer or rancher to your school and garden to discuss how wildlife and biodiversity help them grow healthy sustainable food. Seek out especially those local growers who supply food for your school meals.
Provide habitat for beneficial wildlife:
- Plant a diversity of crops and native plants to encourage beneficial organisms: pollinator plantings, native bees, birds, and more.
- Build homes: for birds, native bees, and more. (See our HCFS flyer on “Bee Boards”)
Help out as “Citizen Scientists”: There are many excellent Citizen Science programs you can participate in to send your observations of what is happening in and around your garden to help scientists study our earth. The link above to the Scistarter website lists dozens of projects including these that are especially suited to gardens and growing healthy sustainable food:
- Nature’s Notebook: observe and send in reports of seasonal changes in plants and animals in and around your garden such as blossoming times, arrival of beneficial birds and insects, and more. Very comprehensive and for all ages.
- Lost Ladybug Project: Help scientists track and help save many different types of ladybugs that you can identify by the different spots on their backs. Learn how ladybugs help gardeners and farmers in growing food.
- The Great Sunflower Project: Watch and submit simple counts of pollinators (especially bees) visiting flowers (especially sunflowers) to help scientists study and protect these diverse pollinators.
- Cornell Bird Monitoring Projects: Several great options from NestWatch to BirdSleuth to eBird.
- Vegetable Varieties Investigation: A group project mainly for middle and high school students who interview area gardeners and submit results to aid scientists.
- More projects at Kids Gardening.
Watch the wild around your garden as well—the whole “foodshed” : Most species need room to roam. Protecting and restoring wildlife and biodiversity extends beyond your school garden—to the neighborhood, to other gardens, farms and ranches, and to wild areas in your region. You can do Citizen Science monitoring that tracks species and happenings that extend well beyond your garden—to the entire “foodshed”—such as: Journey North, Project BudBurst, Monarch Butterfly Migrations, PikaNet, and our own San Juan Mountain Watch.
Pay attention to the weather: As you watch birds, pollinators, and plants come and go through the seasons, it is clear that weather patterns affect them and their timing (or phenology). We know that the climate is changing, so watching the weather that affects what happens in and around the garden can help in understanding climate changes in a very constructive and positive way. Citizen Science monitoring of weather can help scientists as well. Watch clouds, install a rain gage and maximum-minimum thermometer, or install a full weather station at your school. Check with us if you want more information on watching the weather — that’s one of our specialities.
