Why we work with schools

A meaningful share of what a child eats in a day, particularly for households already stretched thin, can come from what is available at school rather than at home, which is why school nutrition gardens are one of the partnerships we have prioritized as the organization has grown. A school garden reaches many children through a single site, and it introduces farming concepts to children who may not otherwise be exposed to them at home.

How a typical school partnership starts

Most of our school partnerships begin with a direct approach, either from us to a school administration or from a school reaching out after hearing about our work through a parent who is already a member. We start with a small demonstration garden — often no more than a handful of sack gardens or a single small bed within the school compound — rather than committing to a large-scale project before either side has a sense of what is realistic.

What a nutrition garden program covers

Beyond the physical garden itself, our school partnerships typically include a basic curriculum component, usually delivered by a volunteer trainer during a regular class period or after-school session, covering the same fundamentals we teach adult members — composting, basic plant care, and simple harvesting — adapted for a younger audience. Produce from the garden is generally used to supplement school meals directly rather than sold, which keeps the program's benefit focused on the students themselves.

Challenges we have run into

School gardens face a specific challenge adult member gardens generally do not: school holidays leave a garden unattended for extended stretches, which can undo weeks of careful watering and maintenance if no arrangement is made. Our more successful school partnerships have addressed this by involving a small rotating group of parent volunteers, several of them already Green Revolution Farmers members, who take responsibility for holiday-period maintenance rather than leaving the garden to fend for itself.

What we have learned so far

The clearest lesson from our school partnerships to date is that a garden without a genuinely engaged staff member or parent champion at the school tends to decline within a season or two, regardless of how well it was set up initially. We now prioritize schools where at least one staff member or parent has expressed real, ongoing interest in the program over schools that simply have available space, since interest and follow-through matter more than physical conditions for a program's long-term survival.

Measuring impact at a school garden

We track a simple set of indicators at each school partnership — rough garden productivity, consistency of maintenance across a full school year including holiday periods, and informal feedback from teachers and parent volunteers about student engagement — rather than a more elaborate formal evaluation that would be difficult for a volunteer-run program to sustain consistently across multiple school sites.

This lighter-touch tracking is enough to tell us honestly which partnerships are thriving and which need more support or, in some cases, an honest conversation about whether the partnership is working, without requiring more data collection than our volunteer capacity can realistically sustain.

School gardens are one of the more rewarding but also more fragile programs we run, precisely because they depend on sustained engagement from people — staff, parents — who have many other responsibilities competing for their time. We continue to prioritize partnerships where that engagement is genuinely present over partnerships that simply have available physical space, since engagement, not space, is what actually determines whether a school garden lasts. We remain interested in hearing from additional schools in the Babadogo and wider Kariobangi North area who might want to explore a similar partnership, and we would rather grow this program gradually, with genuine engagement at each new site, than expand quickly to a larger number of schools than our volunteer capacity can properly support. We would add that even a single successful school partnership tends to generate interest from neighbouring schools once teachers and parents see it working, which has been a more effective way of expanding this program than any direct outreach effort on our part alone.

Key takeaways

  • School gardens reach many children through a single site and introduce farming young.
  • Partnerships typically start small, with a demonstration garden rather than a large commitment.
  • Produce generally supplements school meals directly rather than being sold.
  • School holidays require a parent volunteer rotation to maintain the garden.

Frequently asked questions

How does a school start a partnership with Green Revolution Farmers?
Most partnerships begin with a direct approach either from us or from a school, often after a parent who is already a member connects the two.

What happens to the garden during school holidays?
A rotating group of parent volunteers, several already our members, typically takes responsibility for holiday maintenance.

Is there a cost to a school for this partnership?
Our training and advisory support is provided at no direct cost; the school covers basic materials for the garden itself.

Can a school request this partnership directly?
Yes — a school administrator or interested parent can reach out through our Contact page to start the conversation.