Raised Garden Beds For Our Students

The Excelsior Academy Greenthumbs Program is building a brand new school greenhouse! Right now, the interior of our greenhouse is just an empty concrete slab, but with your help our greenhouse can become a thriving learning environment filled with happy student gardeners. 

First and foremost, we would like to build raised beds that will be functional, beautiful, and safe for growing our vegetables. Our goal is to raise funds to build these beds out of high-quality, durable materials that will last for many years.


Soft woods like Pine and Douglas Fir begin to rot almost immediately, and will need to be replaced entirely after just a few years. Treated lumber cannot be used because it leaches toxic chemicals into the soil, and thus into the foods we will grow in the soil. Cedar wood is the gold standard when it comes to building raised garden beds due to its natural resistance to rot and insects. Cedar wood is durable, beautiful, and safe, but it is also expensive. I think our students are worth it! 



This type of raised bed system will allow us to experience all the benefits of a functional, year-round school garden, which (according to research) include:

- Students involved with school gardens generally take pleasure in learning and show positive attitudes towards education (Canaris, 1995; Dirks & Orvis, 2005).

- Students who have school garden programs incorporated into their science curriculum score significantly higher on science achievement tests than students who are taught by strictly traditional classroom methods (Klemmer, Waliczek, & Zajicek, 2005).



- Children who are familiar with growing their own food tend to eat more fruits and vegetables (Bell & Dyment, 2008), and are more inclined to continue healthy eating habits through adulthood (Morris & Zidenberg- Cherr, 2002).

- Gardening during childhood exposes children to healthy food, moderate exercise, and positive social interactions and can often lead to a lifetime of gardening (Gross & Lane, 2007).

- The school garden serves as a “safe place” for students. Studies show that large numbers of students report “that they feel ‘calm,’ ‘safe,’ ‘happy,’ and ‘relaxed’ in the school garden” (Habib & Doherty, 2007).



We are so excited to start growing! Will you please consider helping us reach our goal? If so, please donate and share this link with your friends and family on your social media accounts!

And thank you very much!

- From all the Greenthumbs students at Excelsior Academy