Collage of four gardens
Gardens enrich a community in many different ways, from providing fresh food or a quiet place to relax to acting as a vibrant gathering space. Clockwise from upper left: Well Fed Community Garden, Please Touch Community Garden, The Gardens at Chewonki, and Sunflower Village at Franklin Square.

Introduction

Gardens and green spaces are becoming more important in community development across the nation. They are revitalizing towns and cities and encouraging healthier lifestyles by providing a place for outdoor recreation and relaxation.

Building a garden or cultivating a green space has the potential to brighten up your neighborhood, mobilize community cooperation, and provide fresh produce and beautiful flowers.

How can creating a green space transform your school community? How can documenting and sharing that transformation inspire other communities?

Become a Smithsonian Gardens Green Ambassador!

As local leaders, you will gain a better understanding of how to make a positive impact on your environment. You will be challenged to conduct research, present your findings, gather support from others, lay out a design, and work to put your idea into action.

Students and teachers who complete this challenge will become Smithsonian Gardens Green Ambassadors, joining a national network of leaders who use gardens as conduits for community involvement and improvement.

Become a Smithsonian Gardens Green Ambassador by completing these three requirements:

  1. Design and build a green space or garden.
  2. Assemble a letter, images, and other media, documenting and explaining the impact and significance of your new community green space.
  3. Submit these materials to Smithsonian Gardens’ Community of Gardens digital story archive.

While we encourage you to complete all suggested steps of the design process, those steps represent optional guidelines, not requirements, for building a green space. Your class or group can become Green Ambassadors without completing every step of the challenge, and you may even find it helpful to return to an earlier step with fresh knowledge you’ve picked up along the way.

Ready to get started?

Teachers, download the teacher packet for lessons, national standards, and more detailed information.

Review a sample calendar for school garden building and maintenance to get a sense of the scope of the project.

Students, dig in with Step 1: Survey the Community.

Next: Survey the Community