The NM Grow Project Grows So Much More Than Food!

Building
Teamwork, Cooperation & Environmental Stewardship

Recently, we have all experienced a heightened awareness of the important role of our food supply. With dairy, meat, and even toilet paper supply chain issues as well as price changes, more of us have begun to pay closer attention to the way our food is grown and gets from the farm to our table. Great teachers understand that current events play a wonderful role in student engagement, therefore the New Mexico Grow Project is a perfect fit for the upcoming school year! It is designed to help great teachers grow important skills that students need now more than ever before.

Great teachers want to:

Reach all students and learning styles.
Foster real-world problem solving.
Provide a unique way for students to learn that hard work is rewarding.
Incorporate quality hands-on experiences.
Help your students make deep connections to their environment, community, and multicultural traditions.
Give students excellent opportunities for scientific observations and hypothesis testing.
Assure students use higher order critical thinking skills.
Make connections across the curriculum for comprehensive learning.
Learn along with their students and show learning is a lifelong process!
Be able to network with other successful educators already using the materials.

Since you are a great teacher and want to offer these unique learning opportunities for your students, the NM Grow Project was designed especially for you!

Teachers and community volunteers at a NM Grow Project Workshop at Hillrise Elementary in Las Cruces build the drip irrigation system for their raised garden bed.

Project Design Makes It Easy For Teachers:

The NM Grow Project provides everything a classroom needs to explore growing throughout the school year anywhere in the state. The inventory of free materials is extensive and is designed for busy teachers that don’t have time to gather and put everything together. We do all of that for you! We also provide training and networking options with teachers and local experts to help you learn how to use, troubleshoot, and easily duplicate project materials to sustain and grow your program. You don’t need any experience or a green thumb, just enthusiasm and a willingness to learn!

I am in love with our hydroponic system. It is so cool! My kinders have learned about life cycles, living vs nonliving, seasons and soil. They are curious as to why dill the plant tastes like pickles.
Amber Spence, Dexter, NM , 2019 Award Recipient

“Students are very engaged in the NM Grow Project. Not only are the students who signed up for the course enthusiastic, but also students who did not sign up are asking to participate.”
Scott Meihack, Jemez Valley High School, 2019 Award Recipient

All of the students in Cliff, NM benefit from the New Mexico Grow Project Grant thanks to high school teacher, Frances Miller.

The New Mexico Grow Project application window is now open until June 1, 2020. The easy online application is available here.

The application asks for:

School/garden team information Helpful Hint: The more your whole school is involved, the better. Numbers of students do not impact judges decisions so that small schools can apply.
A brief checklist confirmation to assure you have basic garden site requirements. You would be surprised how many schools lack access to water! If you lack access, describe the plan to get access.
8 brief questions on how you plan to use the materials (see list here) The evaluation rubric the judges will use is even provided! Helpful hint: think about how to use the materials of both the raised bed AND hydroponic system as these are meant to overlap and facilitate great science explorations throughout the school year.