Edna Maguire Elementary School

Mill Valley Children's Garden

A community garden with raised beds, a greenhouse, and a sign that reads 'Pizza Plot'.

The Mill Valley Children's Garden is a ½-acre edible school garden and outdoor classroom, located on the campus of Edna Maguire Elementary School. Started in 1990, the organic and pesticide-free garden is a hands-on treasure for exploratory experimentation as well as age-appropriate, curriculum-based teaching that encompasses math, science, art, writing, physical education, social studies, and personal and social responsibility. The Garden is instrumental in teaching the K-5 students about where food comes from and the ecosystems on which they depend. Led by a full-time Garden Educator, students use a community-based approach to work the soil, plant the seeds, nurture crops, and prepare the vegetables they harvest. Through this process, students are encouraged to connect their actions to their impacts on ecosystems and their eating choices to nutrition. The Garden Program and Garden Educator are funded each year by parent donations as part of the annual PTA donation drive.

Garden Curriculum

Grades K-2

The lower grades have 30 minute garden sessions, every other week. The lessons foster students’ innate curiosity, encouraging them to engage their five senses and ask questions to promote scientific learning. Students are exposed to a variety of topics and gardening techniques that lay the groundwork for their studies in the upper grades. They learn the basics of using hand tools as they help plant and maintain the Garden.

Kindergarteners are focused on discovering the interdependent relationships of plants and animals in the Garden. Through direct observation, they describe what plants and animals need to survive and note how plants and animals can change the environment to meet their needs. They begin to open their taste buds to new foods as they nibble their way through the Garden.

1st Grade students dive deeply into the study of plants and animals, with a focus on anatomical structures and functions. They use observation to deduce how plants grow and change over time and the roles that a plant’s parts play throughout its life cycle. Their animal studies focus on insects; they learn how different body parts help insects survive and discern garden friends from garden foes. As part of their nutrition study, the first graders learn about how eating a rainbow of healthy foods fuels our body.

2nd Grade students get to know the soil by investigating the properties of its components and the living organisms that inhabit it. What is soil made of? Why is it such a precious resource? The students shift from observing the interdependent relationships among organisms in the garden to conducting investigations and making models to further understand the importance of these relationships. Moving deeper into our nutrition study, second graders begin learning about essential nutrients found in foods and what they do for our bodies.

Kindergarteners are focused on discovering the interdependent relationships of plants and animals in the Garden. Through direct observation, they describe what plants and animals need to survive and note how plants and animals can change the environment to meet their needs. They begin to open their taste buds to new foods as they nibble their way through the Garden.
1st Grade students dive deeply into the study of plants and animals, with a focus on anatomical structures and functions. They use observation to deduce how plants grow and change over time and the roles that a plant’s parts play throughout its life cycle. Their animal studies focus on insects; they learn how different body parts help insects survive and discern garden friends from garden foes. As part of their nutrition study, the first graders learn about how eating a rainbow of healthy foods fuels our body.
2nd Grade students get to know the soil by investigating the properties of its components and the living organisms that inhabit it. What is soil made of? Why is it such a precious resource? The students shift from observing the interdependent relationships among organisms in the garden to conducting investigations and making models to further understand the importance of these relationships. Moving deeper into our nutrition study, second graders begin learning about essential nutrients found in foods and what they do for our bodies.

Grades 3-5

The upper grades have 45 garden sessions, every other week. The longer sessions allow them to conduct more advanced experiments and delve more deeply into specific areas of study. Students work on some projects over multiple weeks, which leads to a stronger connection to the outdoor classroom as well as the opportunity to notice the fruits of their labor over time. They learn how to correctly use larger tools like digging forks and spades as they take on more responsibility maintaining the Edna garden.

3rd Grade students work on refining their ability to record observations and analyze and interpret data. In one investigation, they learn about the diversity within families of vegetables and determine which ones grow best in the Garden. They also conduct an experiment to determine how space affects the growth of plants. The third grade nutrition lessons focus on the importance of eating a balanced diet of whole foods. Students learn all about persimmons and discover the many ways to prepare and enjoy them.

4th Grade students focus on the internal and external structures of plants that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. They look closely at seeds and flowers to see the relationship between structure and function. Fourth graders have two main garden projects: They promote community access to healthy food options by planting, maintaining and harvesting vegetables that go to the Marin Food Bank; and they are responsible for nourishing the soil by planting cover crops over the winter. As part of their nutrition study, the fourth graders learn about the importance of eating dark leafy greens. From seed to table, they plant, maintain, harvest, and cook delicious stir fry greens.

5th Grade students have two projects that carry them through the school year. In the fall, they adopt an apple tree in the orchard and as the seasons change, the students learn how to best care for their tree with basic pruning, organic pest prevention, and other orchard maintenance techniques. Fifth graders are also responsible for maintaining the garden’s compost bins. With this job, they observe first-hand how matter and energy move among plants, animals, decomposers and the environment. Their nutrition study focuses on the major food nutrients and healthy ways to include them in a diet. Making kohlrabi fritters is a highlight of their last year at Edna.

3rd Grade students work on refining their ability to record observations and analyze and interpret data. In one investigation, they learn about the diversity within families of vegetables and determine which ones grow best in the Garden. They also conduct an experiment to determine how space affects the growth of plants. The third grade nutrition lessons focus on the importance of eating a balanced diet of whole foods. Students learn all about persimmons and discover the many ways to prepare and enjoy them.
4th Grade students focus on the internal and external structures of plants that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. They look closely at seeds and flowers to see the relationship between structure and function. Fourth graders have two main garden projects: They promote community access to healthy food options by planting, maintaining and harvesting vegetables that go to the Marin Food Bank; and they are responsible for nourishing the soil by planting cover crops over the winter. As part of their nutrition study, the fourth graders learn about the importance of eating dark leafy greens. From seed to table, they plant, maintain, harvest, and cook delicious stir fry greens.
5th Grade students have two projects that carry them through the school year. In the fall, they adopt an apple tree in the orchard and as the seasons change, the students learn how to best care for their tree with basic pruning, organic pest prevention, and other orchard maintenance techniques. Fifth graders are also responsible for maintaining the garden’s compost bins. With this job, they observe first-hand how matter and energy move among plants, animals, decomposers and the environment. Their nutrition study focuses on the major food nutrients and healthy ways to include them in a diet. Making kohlrabi fritters is a highlight of their last year at Edna.

Garden Events

Garden Workdays

Nov. 17, 10am-2pm

Garden Faire

May 4, 2025 8AM-5PM

Ways to Help in the Garden

Garden Work Days

There are four garden work days during the school year, most are held on Sundays from 10 AM to 12 PM, with many jobs for all ages and energy levels. These work days are a great way to get your hands dirty, flex your muscles, and experience the garden alongside your Edna student(s). Look for announcements about scheduled work days in the weekly PTA newsletter. Please contact the school office for information on the next Garden work day.

The Garden Faire

The Garden Faire—the main fundraising event—will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2024. A day-long affair, the Faire is an enormous undertaking that requires volunteers to help with all aspects, from advance planning to logistics to taking charge of booths/ activities to event day staffing to set-up/take-down/clean-up, and much, much more. Look for volunteer recruitment and sign-up information in the Spring.

Weekly & Daily Jobs

While many volunteers are needed for garden special events and work days, the Garden Educator and part-time Aide also rely on parents and students to help maintain the garden and outdoor classroom areas. You can pitch in even if you only have 15 minutes to spare, and there’s no need to commit on a regular basis. Just stop by the garden and check the to-do list on the whiteboard and jump in. Our garden grows and thrives because of you!

Some examples of weekly and daily jobs:

Chicken Friend - care for the chickens on the weekends
Wednesday Weeder - tackle weeding in the garden on Wednesday mornings (or other days, too!)
Water Wizard - water areas of the garden not on automatic irrigation for a week or weekend
Greenhouse Guy/Gal - start and maintain seedlings in the greenhouse
Master of Compost (MC) - help with building, turning, and sifting the compost piles
Worm Whisperer - make sure our composting worms are fed regularly and harvest the castings
Handy Person - help with various fix-it jobs in the garden
Tool Time - keep the garden tools clean and organized
Farmer's Market - bake, harvest, sell produce and products at our Farmer's Markets on Wednesdays, after school
Classroom Cleaner - help maintain our outdoor classroom by sweeping and wiping down the cabinets and tables and keeping supplies tidy
At-Home Volunteer - take garden projects home with you and bring them back when done