Award-Winning Programs in Science Education and Organic Vegetable Gardening
The New York Botanical Garden is a leader and national model for plant-based education, committed to developing innovative programs and unique learning facilities designed to improve scientific literacy among schoolchildren, teachers, and families. Key components of the curricula introduce plant biology and ecology, conservation, and organic gardening to increase their awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the natural world. Hands-on, inquiry-based programs, which serve more than 300,000 people annually, utilize the Garden’s grounds as living classrooms, encouraging engagement in protecting the environment as well as the excitement of scientific thinking and investigation.
NYBG is home to three unique educational facilities where highly skilled educators offer a comprehensive educational curriculum: the Edible Academy and Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, and the GreenSchool in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Additionally, NYBG offers customized institutes, workshops, and partnerships that have trained nearly 50,000 teachers in best practices for science education through school gardens. These offerings are designed to foster STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) literacy and cross-disciplinary connections. Teachers gain both horticultural and educational skills, learning how to build a school garden, tips on maintaining the garden, and integrating the garden and planning activities in their own classroom curricula.