School Garden Workshop Course

SGW Class Picture Fall 2023

Course Overview

This workshop course provides an opportunity to support the development of the Tucson community, by fostering collective action for social change and a more sustainable world. It is designed to enable both undergraduate and graduate students to participate in the initiation, maintenance and enhancement of Tucson school gardens by employing service learning as way of promoting self-determination, collective well-being and learning through community. Its overarching objective is to allow students to practice in the community the skills and knowledge they are gaining through classroom instruction. 

The course revolves around consistent and engaged involvement with an underserved school garden including its staff, students and/or community members. As a member of a school garden team, students are expected to cover a range of activities from maintaining a compost pile to administering lesson plans for teaching through the garden, to weeding, planting, and organizing work crews as well as many other tasks. Importantly, as an intern at a community or school garden, learning and teaching will become almost inseparable.

More about the course:

  • it is an internship and service learning course
  • undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to enroll
  • it is offered in both the fall and spring
  • the class meets Mondays 3:30-5pm
  • in addition to class Mondays, students commit to spend 4-8 hours each week working at their site (hours depend on the number of credits for which a student is registered)
  • students are placed at a garden site that meshes best with their existing schedule, skills, and interests

Course Syllabus Fall 2023

Course Cross-Listings

  • AIS 497F/597F American Indian Studies
  • ENVS 497F/597F Environmental Science
  • GEOG 497F/597F Geography and Development
  • HPS 497F Public Health
  • LAS 497F/597F Latin American Studies
  • NSC 497F/597F Nutrition
  • PLS 497F/597F Plant Science
  • STCH 497F/597F Science Teaching
  • TLS 497F Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies
  • TTE 597F Teaching and Teacher Education

For more information on the class, please contact Program Manager, Brittney Palomarez (bap@arizona.edu).