Cliffwood Elementary School received $5,000 as part of the Sprouts Healty Communities Foundation grant.

The grant will allow the school garden to serve as a living classroom, providing students with hands-on, experiential learning opportunities that extend and reinforce concepts taught indoors. By actively participating in planting, tending, and harvesting, students develop real-world connections to subjects such as science (plant biology, ecosystems, and life cycles), math (measuring, estimating, and tracking growth), and nutrition and health.

The garden also fosters social-emotional learning, as students work collaboratively, build responsibility through caring for living things, and develop patience and perseverance over time.

Teachers will be able to integrate garden activities into lesson plans across grade levels, making the outdoor space a dynamic extension of the classroom that brings curriculum to life through direct experience with the natural world.