Rooted in Action: School Gardens as Living Labs (featuring Whitney Cohen)
In this episode, we sit down with Whitney Cohen, Executive Director of Life Lab and lecturer at UC Santa Cruz, to explore what it truly takes to spark lasting change in our classrooms, schools, and communities. Whitney shares her journey from developing her own Sustainable Community Development major and teaching outdoor science to stepping into leadership at Life Lab and shaping garden-based education nationwide.
We dive into how educators and school leaders can use garden-based learning as a living laboratory to foster deep belonging, authentic science learning, and student agency:
Fostering Real Belonging & Purpose: How hands-on outdoor work gives students a genuine sense of purpose, helping them step into roles as caregivers for living things and building teamwork across the school.
Bringing Curriculum to Life: Using school gardens to teach Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), balanced forces, life cycles, math, and literacy in meaningful, real-world contexts.
Overcoming Operational Challenges: Why long-term sustainability requires investing in people and anchor educatorsā€”not just physical infrastructureā€”to keep gardens thriving past initial enthusiasm.
Greening Urban Spaces: Creative strategies for urban and cement-heavy campuses to introduce raised beds, container gardens, and grant funding so every student can build a connection with nature.
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Stay tuned for upcoming Season 3 episodes covering service learning, sustainability, edible education, and global citizenship!
