Green Our Planet

Green Our Planet is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in las vegas, nv that operates the only stemworks-accredited school garden and hydroponics programs in the united states. The mission is to increase student academic performance in stem (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects and conserve the environment through project-based stem education, which includes nutrition, financial literacy and environmental education in prek-12 schools and communities. The organization is mainly supported through grant income, program fees, and contributions and operates three main programs: the outdoor school garden stem program, the gardenconnect program and the hydroponics stem program at over 500 schools, libraries and community centers in 37 states across the country impacting over 230,000 people. School garden stem program - since 2013, the organization has built 194 outdoor school gardens and currently runs the program in 97 schools in las vegas. The organization enables schools to use gardens as experiential teaching tools to engage students in stem. The program includes a next generation science standards aligned prek-5 garden stem curriculum, science and gardening lessons from the organization's experienced horticulturalists, a farmers market experience, financial literacy, chef demos and teacher training support. Currently, the stem school garden program is one of the largest and most comprehensive school garden programs in the us, impacting more than 140,000 students. Gardenconnect program - starting in fall 2022, the organization implemented gardenconnect, an online program at 50 schools nationwide and impacts 24,000 students. The online programming through gardenconnect provides teachers with digital resources, standards-aligned curriculum, consulting, and community. The program allows students to learn hands-on stem, nutrition, and financial literacy through the prek-5 curriculum while maintaining, harvesting, and selling plants grown in their school gardens. Hydroponics stem program - this program has been implemented at over 325 schools, libraries and community centers and impacts 100,000 people who learn stem through indoor hydroponic gardens. Modeled after the garden program, students learn hands-on stem, nutrition and financial literacy through a k-12 curriculum written to next generation science standards while planting, maintaining, harvesting and selling the plants grown in their hydroponic gardens, which they build themselves. In response to distance learning as a result of covid-19, the organization created the Green Our Planet virtual academy (virtual academy) to provide teachers, students and families with standards-aligned video lessons taught by experienced horticulturists, chef-nutritionists and hydroponics experts. The virtual academy videos teach students educational standards and core concepts in a fun and engaging way. Created in 2020, the virtual academy now houses a library of over 330 video lessons based on the organization's stemworks-accredited curricula.