Gateway Greening School Programs

Gateway Greening is committed to sharing the fun and the rewards of gardening with our younger area residents. From grow labs to vermicompost to school garden projects, Gateway Greening and its volunteers are bringing gardening activities to the classroom with programs in place at over 135 schools and community education centers in the metropolitan St. Louis area.

Grow Labs: Gateway Greening volunteers have built and distributed more than 145 grow labs to schools in St. Louis City and County in the past 12 years. Grow labs are three-tiered, lighted grow stands used to start seeds and seedlings inside the classroom for transfer to outdoor garden or beautification projects.

Classroom Composting: Vermicompost bins have been set up by Gateway Greening in more than 100 classrooms in St. Louis City and County and Jefferson County since 1997. Students and teachers feed and maintain red-wiggler worms which create fertilizer for plants from organic food scraps. Learn more about classroom composting by calling Molly Dupre, Education Coordinator, at (314) 577-9484.

Gateway Greening's Classroom Composting School Program has worked with 105 teachers at 75 schools, 13 located in St. Louis City, 50 in St. Louis County, and 12 in Jefferson County. These projects total 120 vermicompost bins, including 76 "worm aways," 29 "can-o-worms," and 15 small scale commercial multi-bin units.

School Gardens: Gateway Greening gardens and volunteers can be found in outdoor classrooms at over 35 local schools, giving young people the opportunity to experience first-hand planting, tending and harvesting their work.

Follow these links to find out how to get your school involved in Gateway Greening's school programs: