About the Project

This project aims to support adult students with special needs enrolled in the Adult Transition Program to create a sustainable community garden space at both Sunny Hills and La Sierra High School campuses utilizing an abundance of gardening methods such as raised garden beds, vermiculture composting, and water conservation. Students will collaborate in peer teams to construct, participate and observe the planting, propagation, growth and cultivation of a multitude of plant varieties in hands-on, project-based learning. Through these activities, students will learn life-long skills of responsibility, teamwork, and ownership. While working and learning in the garden, students will gain valuable skills in leadership, communication, and growth mindset by continuous engagement with peers and the community. We are eager to utilize this garden to grow healthy foods and native plants; develop lessons to support garden activities in math, science and reading; and to preserve natural resources. Furthermore, by exposing students to these important life lessons and activities that are tied with the garden, we are teaching them functional skills, responsibility, and self-reliance, all skills they can use well into their post-secondary life.