Apple festivities in Eastport and a group photo of Rose M. Gaffney elementary school's work party to clean up their garden and plant a cover crop of oats.  Nice work everyone! 

Longfellow Elementary School students grew 140 pounds of carrots and 112 pounds of potatoes this year!  Learn more about their harvest here.

Grant Opportunities

 A $500 Do Something Seed Grant is given out every week to community action projects.  These grants can be used towards project ideas and programs that are just getting started or projects that are already developed and sustainable. 

The National FFA Organization is pleased to announce the availability of funds, to help fight hunger, in the form of a competitive grant for chapters. The FFA: Food For All grants support National FFA’s Feeding Our World – Starting at Home initiative.

The New England Grassroots Environment Fund has a SEED grant available to help volunteer groups launch and build their newly evolving project(s). The deadline is rolling, with decisions made in about three weeks. The range is $250 to $1,000. 

The Edible Schoolyard has compiled a list of fundraising resources and best practices for writing grants.

The National Gardening Association is accepting applications for their Youth Garden Grant until December 6th, 2013.  The garden grant awards $500 gift certificates to the Gardening with Kids online store.

The Maine nonprofit Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI) is pleased to announce that it is once again accepting applications for its Sow It Forward garden grants program. Sow it Forward offers $300-$500 grants of cash, seeds, supplies, educational materials and online garden planning software to groups wishing to start a new food garden project or sustain an existing one. Last year's grantees included schools, food banks, community gardens, libraries, colleges, senior groups, tribal organizations, prisons and other nonprofit causes interested in the health and sustainability of their local communities.  Online applications are due January 5, 2014. 

The Muhammad Ali Center Peace Garden Grant supports youth gardening programs focused on peace and hunger awareness with a gardening package valued over $500.  The package includes tools, soil amendments and plants. Applications are due January 17, 2014.  

Contest: Real Food Media Short Video.  This contest invites aspiring filmmakers, teams of food change makers, and communitcators to create 30-second to four-minute films in one of four styles: documentary, advocacy, experimental, or "wildcard."  Entries must be submitted by 9 pm on February 3, 2014.  Cash prizes will be given to the best 10 films and the audience choice winner, including a $5,000 grand prize and a chance for a screening at the Food and Farm Film Festival in San Francisco in April 2014.

Apply to receive a Mantis Tiller before March 7, 2014.

The Rising Tide Cooperative Community Fund provides $100 - $300 grants to local groups working on environment, community, food & hunger, and cooperative projects.  The next deadline is March 15, 2014.

To donate to the MSGN:

Please make your check out to:
Maine School Garden Network

and mail to:

Maine School Garden Network
28 State House Station
Augusta, Maine
04333

Thank you for supporting educational gardening in Maine!

About Us:

Our Board of Directors meets monthly, on the third Tuesday of the month, in Brunswick. If you'd like to join us, or just have a question or comment, please email Kat Coriell, board chair, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Even though our name specifies "school" gardens, be assured that we promote educational gardens of all persuasions, whether they are located at a public school, private school, community garden, summer camp, private educational organization, home school, or elsewhere.

The Maine School Garden Network collaborates with various state organizations, including Maine Ag in the Classroom, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Healthy Maine Partnerships, and the Maine Farm to School Network.

Visit the website of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association for a wealth of information and a full calendar of regional events.

Board Members

Kat Coriell, Chair, Landscaper

Rebecca Jacobs, Vice Chair, Knox-Lincoln County Soil and Water Conservation District

Laura Budde, Secretary, FoodCorps

Willie Sawyer Grenier, Treasurer, Maine Agriculture in the Classroom

Suzanne Balbo, Educator and Farmer

Mary Ellen Doyle, Maine CDC PAN-HW Program

Ian Hammond, Muskie School Master's Degree Candidate

John Harker, Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (nonvoting member)

John Ibsen, Ferry Beach Ecology School

Ellen Libby, University of Maine Cooperative Extension (nonvoting member)

Vina Lindley, University of Maine Cooperative Extension

Welcome to our website!

Check out our Garden Directory for an overview of some of the many educational gardens in Maine.

If you currently have an educational garden, please register it in the Directory!  Our goal is to have a complete listing of school gardens in Maine, not only for documention, but to give you a chance to network with other garden coordinators.

If you're looking for specific information on school gardening, check out "Quick Start To a Garden" or the Resource section.