School gardens of different types are growing in popularity as a place for integrated and experiential learning for children of all ages and abilities. The benefits of gardening for children and youth include increased knowledge and skills in a variety of academic areas, including social studies and science. Ecological literacy and nature-friendly attitudes are also promoted.

Garden-based inquiry can foster the development of democratic competencies in preschool children

Researchers added a garden to an accessible outdoor environment at a preschool in the United States and then observed children’s inquiry-based behaviors. They found that children as young as three can be actively engaged in social studies practices through spontaneous inquiry in a school garden setting. They also found that these inquiries could foster the development of democratic competencies.
Casey, DiCarlo & Sheldon, 2019. Growing democratic citizenship competencies: Fostering social studies understandings through inquiry learning in the preschool garden. 

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Garden activities can promote preschool children’s scientific and nature-friendly attitudes

Preschoolers participating in a garden project involving cotton in South Korea made significantly higher gains in scientific attitudes and nature-friendly attitudes than preschoolers not participating in the project. While in the garden, the participating group experienced self-directed and cooperative learning, engaged in the scientific process, demonstrated nature-friendly attitudes, and increased their sense of wonder.
Kim et al. 2020. The power of garden-based curriculum to promote scientific and nature-friendly attitudes in children through a cotton project.

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Forest gardens can foster children’s ecological literacy

Through walk-and-talk conversations and informal interviews, elementary children in Sweden expressed strong positive feelings about a forest garden and their experiences in the garden. Their responses also revealed different aspects of their ecological literacy. Forest gardens imitate the natural structure of a forest which often produces berries and other edible perennials.
Hammarsten et al. 2018. Developing ecological literacy in a forest garden: Children’s Perspectives.

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Gardens offer real-life contexts for science and environmental teaching from preschool through higher education

This study was conducted in Spain with students representing four different educational levels: preschool, primary, secondary, and university. Students’ drawings completed before and after participating in a gardening program showed that the concept of what “a garden” is evolved and diversified for students at all four stages of education. Findings also suggest that educational gardens can promote awareness of sustainable agricultural practices.
Eugenio-Gozalbo, Aragón & Ortega-Cubero, 2020. Gardens as science learning contexts across educational stages: Learning assessment based on students’ graphic representations.

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The benefits of engaging children in gardening activities extend beyond increased academic and environmental knowledge to include changes in health-related behaviors and improvement in overall well-being. As the following studies indicate, gardening is beneficial for children’s physical and mental health, as well as their social emotional learning. 

School gardens focusing on academic standards may also promote social emotional learning

This literature review focused on how school garden programs – while addressing academic goals – can impact social emotional learning (SEL) among children and adolescents. Findings from qualitative (vs quantitative) studies from five different countries showed that the benefits of school garden programs can include improved SEL competencies and heightened connections with nature.
Lohr et al. 2020. The impact of school gardens on youth social and emotional learning: A scoping review.

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Children eat more fruits and vegetables after participating in garden-based programs

Twelve of the 14 studies included in this literature review reported that garden intervention programs were effective in significantly increasing children’s fruit and vegetable intake. The programs were conducted in a variety of school, after school, and community settings in four different countries and involved children between the age of 2 and 15, although most were elementary-age children.
Savoie-Roskos, Wengreen & Durward, 2016. Increasing fruit and vegetable intake among children and youth through gardening-based interventions: A systematic review.

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Gardening is beneficial for mental and physical health

This meta-analysis examined the results of 76 comparisons between control and treatment groups of people from multiple countries engaged in gardening in home, community, and therapeutic settings. Robust evidence shows that gardening can improve public health and supports public investments in gardening opportunities for a broad range of people, including children.
Soga, Gaston & Yamaurac, 2017. Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis.

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Male preschoolers may respond especially well to gardening programs in developing visual-motor integration

Pre/post-assessments of visual-motor integration showed no significant differences in preschoolers participating in a gardening program in the United States and preschoolers not participating in the program. When just the male students were considered, however, significant differences were found, with the males in the gardening group achieving higher scores in visual-motor integration than males in the non-gardening group.
Sommerfeld et al. 2021. Use of gardening programs as an intervention to increase children’s visual-motor integration.

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Garden-based learning may promote positive emotions and cooperative behavior

Five classes of sixth graders in Germany participated in a study examining the extent to which biology lessons in school gardens can impact the development of social and emotional behaviors. Data collected over a ten-week period indicated that students experienced happiness, pride, and surprise/wonder, and exhibited cooperative behavior, significantly more often in lessons in the garden than in the classroom.
Pollin & Retzlaff-Fürst, 2021. The school garden: A social and emotional place.

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School, community and home gardens provide multiple benefits for children, families and the wider community. These benefits include enhanced knowledge, skills and environmental attitudes. Gardens can provide supportive environments for children who are ill or with special needs; address urban education and food disparities; and provide opportunities for cultural expression and environmental restoration.

School gardens can positively impact students’ knowledge and attitude, and help them gain valuable experiences

The pilot testing of a gardening program in Iran indicates that adopting school gardens as teaching resources could help meet the country’s goals for urban education, including increased opportunities for promoting students’ attitude, knowledge, and experience. Testing results with sixth graders showed positive changes in each of these areas.
Amiri, Geravandi & Rostami, 2021. Potential effects of school garden on students’ knowledge, attitude and experience: A pilot project on sixth grade students in Iran.

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Healing gardens can promote ecosystem services and therapeutic goals for youth with autism

Eight male youth (age 15 to 23) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) worked as “Biodiversity Custodians” in the development of a healing garden in Italy. Their work proceeded from sowing seeds to plant cultivation to seed collection for the purpose of conservation of local biodiversity. Pre/post assessment results showed that the youth with ASD made significant improvements in independence, adaptive behavior, and interaction skills.
Scartazza et al. 2020. Caring local biodiversity in a healing garden: Therapeutic benefits in young subjects with autism.

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Home gardening promotes the physical health, mental health, and social connections of adolescents

Teens in New Zealand who participated in home gardening reported healthier dietary habits, higher levels of physical activity, and better mental health and well-being than those who did not participate in home gardening. They also reported stronger family and neighborhood connections.
van Lier et al. 2017. Home gardening and the health and well-being of adolescents.

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Community gardens offer multiple benefits to children, adults, and the wider community

This report shares insights gained over a five-year period as a researcher and his family participated in a community garden program located on the grounds of a university in Canada. Benefits of the gardening program, as noted by the researcher, include environmental restoration, community activism, social interactions, cultural expression, and food security.
Datta, 2016. Community garden: A bridging program between formal and informal learning.

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Natural environments can add a humanizing element to the care of hospitalized children

Information gathered from 17 children about their experiences in a Fairy Garden on the grounds of a hospital in Northern Thailand where they were being treated indicated that the garden gave them an escape from the clinical environment of the hospital. All the children expressed ways in which the garden made them feel happy and joyful.
van der Riet, Jitsacorn & Thursby, 2020. Hospitalized children’s experience of a Fairy Garden in Northern Thailand.

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The benefits of school gardens are well documented, yet educators working to initiate and/or maintain school garden programs are often faced with implementation challenges. Research on how to address these challenges remains sparse and fragmented. However, a few strategies for addressing challenges have been identified. Some such strategies are highlighted in the studies below.

Quality of implementation played a role in the effectiveness of a school garden program

More than 100 students in a primary school in Belgium participated in a school gardening program over a nine-week period. While the students’ vegetable consumption did not increase, their awareness of recommendations for vegetable consumption did increase, but differently for different groups. Quality of implementation seemed to be the determining factor in students’ level of awareness.
Huys et al. 2019. Effect and process evaluation of a real-world school garden program on vegetable consumption and its determinants in primary schoolchildren

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Teachers in Havana and Philadelphia use opportunities through schools and the social context to legitimate marginalized garden-based learning

This case study compared the way teachers in Havana, Cuba and Philadelphia, United States navigated challenges and opportunities relating to the use of gardens in their school settings. Teachers in both cases found ways to situate their garden programs in a pedagogical framework consistent with the policies, mandates, and cultures of their respective educational systems.
Bucher, 2017. Opening garden gates: Teachers make meaning of school gardens in Havana and Philadelphia.

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School personnel and students make suggestions for improved implementation of school gardens

This study was based on the premise that experiencing the benefits of school gardens depends on successful implementation. Primary school personnel and students in Belgium, while positive about school gardens, identified barriers to success and offered recommendations for improved implementation, including involving external organizations and parents in the development and maintenance of the gardens.
Huys et al. 2017. School gardens: A qualitative study on implementation practices.

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Integrating Navajo traditions into the school’s nutrition and gardening lessons may help reduce obesity among Navajo children

Navajo traditions were intentionally integrated into a garden-based intervention program for students attending a small Navajo Nation school in New Mexico (US). The intent of the program was to address obesity concerns by increasing students’ fruit and vegetable consumption. Students enjoyed the hands-on garden activities and using what they grew in the garden for preparing snacks.
Ornelas et al. 2021. Engaging school and family in Navajo gardening for health: Development of the Yéego intervention to promote healthy eating among Navajo children.

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A garden-based program promotes food-related and horticultural skills among urban youth

Youth (age 14-15) participating in a garden-based education program in Minneapolis (US) worked in teams led by undergraduate student mentors and community garden mentors in gardens located throughout a low-resource area of the city. While the program’s focus is on the development of food and horticultural skills among urban youth, the program also promotes environmental, social, and racial justice through special projects initiated by the teams.
Rogers et al. 2019. Growing North Minneapolis: Connecting youth and community through garden-based experiential learning.

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