Charlotte's GTT Staff Fundraiser

I am so proud to work as the Curriculum Specialist at Garden to Table, writing lessons and teaching students in our 16 school yard vegetable gardens.  I first became aware of Garden to Table when my children would excitedly report about planting pumpkins, harvesting lettuce, and snacking on radishes from their school's garden.  I volunteered to help care for the school garden in the summer, bringing my little ones with me to harvest the low hanging cherry tomatoes while I pulled weeds.  Seven years later, as I teach in the gardens, I am reminded that growing a carrot is great, but guiding eager students from careful seed planting to the wonderment of harvesting is remarkable.  It is my pleasure to work with such a great team to help inspire environmentalism, engage the school communities in the science and wonder of gardening, and encourage students to try new things, not just on their plate, but in life.  

Like last year, we have a staff and board challenge to inspire the most donations to Garden To Table through Colorado Gives Day. The total number of donors is all that counts - so please, give whatever you can. Every dollar raised goes to getting more kids in a garden in Boulder County.

By giving through Colorado Gives between November 1 - December 5th, your gift is eligible to be leveraged to raise even more money for GTT through the Colorado Gives Day incentive fund. Think a gift match - but just a little different. Colorado Gives Day has a pool of money that they divide amongst the organizations who fundraise, based on how much they fundraise through this platform. It's a great way to fundraise even more for garden curriculum at our elementary schools!

Garden To Table provides school garden management, standards-based curriculum, teacher professional development, and community support to engage all students in experiential, garden-based learning. Donate today to Garden To Table to support more kids in gardens!

Our vision is a future in which gardens are an integral part of every school community fostering connection to nature, health and wellness, academic engagement and achievement, and environmental stewardship.

In 2022/2023, we accomplished many of our goals including:

• Updated curriculum to meet new academic standards. We now provide 2-3 ready-to-teach lessons that align with BVSD academic units of study for grades PK-5
• We are halfway through our first-ever USDA Farm to School grant
• Our team, in partnership with school volunteers, maintained thriving gardens that created more opportunities than ever before for hands-on student learning. This led to a 46% increase in student garden visits from 2022!
• Our second annual Boulder Garden Tour was a great success, with over 800 participants. Thanks to our sponsors and ticket sales, GTT raised over $45,000 for our program. 
• translated all new materials into Spanish
• hosted and produced professional development for teachers who want to teach outdoors and parents who assist teachers in the gardens
• maintained 16 abundant school gardens in our 16th year of serving as Boulder County's only school garden support organization

We support parents and teachers so that these gardens are fully experienced by every child at each school -- from prepping, planting, harvesting, and winterizing gardens within school curriculum. School families harvest and take home healthy, organic produce from the gardens June-October, bringing our garden experience to their tables. We also donate excess vegetables to local food banks.

Donate today to get every child in the garden. Outdoor education, health and nutritional learning, and a connection to nature is important for all children - your donation to Garden To Table makes this experience a reality.