Published June 3, 2025
Growing to Green is Columbus’s largest and longest-running initiative dedicated to supporting community and school gardens through education, outreach, and hands-on assistance. Since its founding in March 2000, the program has helped launch and revitalize hundreds of gardens across Central Ohio. By empowering individuals, schools, and neighborhood groups, Growing to Green cultivates vibrant, sustainable spaces that serve as hubs for learning, food access, and community connection.
A cornerstone of the program is its Community Volunteering initiative, offering accessible, hands-on opportunities for people of all experience levels to engage directly with local gardens. Volunteers assist with essential seasonal tasks such as planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and maintenance. With Growing to Green staff on-site to offer support and guidance, the program helps gardens thrive while fostering appreciation for the vital role green spaces play in building healthy, resilient communities.
Since March 2025, Growing to Green has hosted five successful Community Volunteering workdays at gardens across Columbus, including Bethany Bronzeville Community Garden, Schumacher Garden, and LIFE Community Farm. Volunteers consistently describe the experience as rewarding and meaningful—one participant shared, “I felt the help was needed and enjoyed contributing to something bigger.” These collaborative efforts continue to strengthen the bonds between people, plants, and place.
Beyond community gardens, Growing to Green also supports school gardens across Columbus. The program currently partners with five schools—Kid’s Care Academy, Slate Ridge Elementary, Big Hearts and Little Hands, Bridgeway Academy, and Berwick Alternative Elementary—offering site consultations, planting support, and leadership resources for educators. These efforts help ensure each garden’s sustainability and value as a living classroom.
Through partnerships with organizations such as the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Columbus City Schools, Farm to School Program, GEAR, and Maryhaven Residential, Growing to Green continues to expand its reach. Events like A Celebration of Agriculture at two Columbus City Schools have connected over 900 K–8 students with hands-on gardening activities and educational experiences. The program also hosts regular community events such as garden tours, pizza-making workshops, activity days, and a Seed Swap featuring seven local gardening partners.
On-site garden tours highlight both the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Community Garden Campus, offering visitors a firsthand look at sustainable growing practices and community-led urban agriculture.
Growing to Green currently manages 44 community garden plots within the Conservatory’s Community Garden Campus, tended by individuals, families, and local groups. Through seasonal events, workshops, and shared workdays, the program fosters community connection, shared learning, and mutual support among plotholders.
Each gardener works closely with the Growing to Green Educator to set and achieve sustainable, meaningful goals—whether growing food, flowers, or pollinator habitats. With tailored guidance and hands-on assistance, participants are empowered to create thriving, resilient green spaces.
Stay connected through the monthly Green Patch newsletter and bi-weekly bulletin, which highlight agricultural events, educational opportunities, and stories from Growing to Green programs and partners. Subscribe here!
With every garden it supports and every relationship it builds, Growing to Green advances its mission: to cultivate greener, more sustainable, and more connected communities across Columbus.
