Who: Grade 3+ students in English and French
When: Year-round
Where: Your classroom
Cost: Free
Registration: Opens May 1, closes May 31. All teachers will be contacted by June 14, 2024 as to whether they have been accepted into the program or not. Please note that Little Green Thumbs is only available to classroom schools.
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Little Green Thumbs (LGT) is our full-size, intensive classroom gardening program. It is ideal for Grades 3 and up, with large grow boxes and lights to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, basil, lemon balm, beans, peas and anything else you and your students want to grow and eat! Compost classroom food waste with our vermicomposting kit and cycle the nutrients back to the garden. The garden needs 1.2 m x 2.4 m (4’ x 8’) of space with close access to an electrical outlet.
We provide you with equipment, supplies, training, year-round support and full access to the LGT teacher portal, with activities, growing tips and videos. You commit to our mandatory training and our all-teacher workshop in October (two days, including MTS SAGE PD Day), completing the annual survey and sharing the learnings that come from the program and students.
The LGT program remains with you for as long as you are a teacher or are able to use it in your classrooms. Since the program is attached to you instead of your school, if you change schools the program — with all its equipment and supplies — travels with you. We provide annual supplies, support and training for as many years as you are with us and our program.
Applications for both the Little Green Thumbs and Little Green Sprouts classroom gardening programs are competitive! We always have more teachers applying to the programs than we have funds for. So, pour yourself a coffee or tea, find a quiet spot and provide us with the best application you can on why you should get a garden. We are looking for teachers who are keen to offer hands-on, year-round agriculture and food learning opportunites for their students.
To learn more about the Little Green Thumbs national program we offer, go to the Little Green Thumbs webpage.
For resources on classroom gardening, head to our resources section.
Would a Little Green Sprouts garden better for your class? The chart below might help you decide!
With support from Little Green Thumbs National, Nutrien, TD Friends of the Environment, Telus Friendly Future Foundation, Federated Co-op, and AITC-M’s partners.