About the Project

Santa Ana USD Adult Transition Program (ATP) Root Down Garden Project connects ATP students with elementary age future gardeners. Along with SAUSD’s Farm to School Coordinator, our Special Education ATP teachers provide their students with a look at how food is grown and distributed while building job-related soft skills with local partners. Using traditional classrooms and the garden as a classroom, students learn composting, landscape design, and how to grow a variety of plants. These skills can assist in the development of gardens throughout the school district while enhancing our current garden project. We have partnered with three schools: Taft, Monte Vista Elementary, and Santa Ana Valley High School. Students will create committees of each school’s community members and plan a garden at each school site and develop the tools to practice sustainable development. Students will participate in learning opportunities with our partners from the local agriculture community such as Heritage Museum of Orange County; Gospel Swamp Farm, and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Center.