A Great School Garden Resource

The Garden Club of South Carolina's Good to Grow program is an excellent program that teaches school age children along with their families not only how to grow their own food, but how to make healthy food choices. The most significant purpose of the program is how beneficial Good to Grow is for the youth of our state.  Childhood obesity is at an all time high and is affecting not only the health of the children of South Carolina, but also their ability to learn.  Through gardening, the Good to Grown program teaches families how to grow food that is nutritionally valuable, while having fun while reinforcing lessons of reading, science, and math.

The Good to Grow program manages a BLOG that is an excellent resource for those involved or interested in school gardens and healthy eating for today's youth.

Winter Walk!

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day: A Winter Walk, Monday, January 17th, 10 am-noon.
Take a guided walk through the woods and around the ponds at the Clemson Sandhill
REC to discover what nature is up to during midwinter.

$2 per child; no strollers. Space is limited; register in advance. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, contact Chanda at 803-459-3212 or visit the website!

Resources

The Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity has posted a view links to books and articles that support School Gardens as valuable learning tools and helpful in addressing childhood obesity concerns. For more information please visit: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/prc/proj_eat_literature.html and also the Eat Well, Keep Moving website which addresses a number of audiences interested in childhood obesity and physical activite concerns, including parents, food service providers, teachers and others : http://www.eatwellandkeepmoving.org/

Gimme 5 Challenge in the Low Country!

I heard about this neat initiative going on in Bluffton, SC called the "Gimme 5 Challenge!" I thought that some of you who are interested in linking your garden programs with healthy eating and activity choices might be interested in checking out their website and activities. You can learn more about the Gimme 5 Challenge at: http://gimme5aday.org/index.htm

The Healthy School Toolkit

Here is an interesting resource from the Food Trust, for those of you who view your school garden program as part of your overall school wellness program. This publication provides some good ideas about organizing community and volunteer groups, setting goals, and sharing successes. http://www.thefoodtrust.org/catalog/download.php?product_id=144