School Garden Manager Forum

**B*@aol.com**

Received info from mallorn.com and while I could probably be a good contact I 
am not that great with all the online capabilities, and I don't have spare 
time to develop those skills at this time, but after careful consideration, I 
decided to at least let you know of my interest in this new forum and see if 
I could be of use and not feel overwhelmed at the same time.  
My categories of expertise are:
            Getting Started with School Gardening
            Historical/multicultural Gardening
            School Greenhouses
            Parents' exchange

Description of my school garden projects:
            Was coordinator for The Gardening Angels Program, the school 
gardening
            division of Common Ground at University of California Cooperative 
Ext., in
            Los Angeles County, for 5 years.  In that position I worked with 
various
            grants to design and build educational gardens and programs on 
many 
            campuses and held mutiple trainings for volunteers (and teachers) 
on how
            to maintain and sustain schools gardens that tie in with 
curriculum.  I am 
            currently serving as a volunteer consultant to that program.  The 
                        program developed to over 200 schools while I was 
administering it and I              was doing it in a part-time position 
until they got funded (part time for
            5 years, more like full time) as I did not want to be the 
administrator
            for the program. I'm too busy in other areas and prefer being 
outdoors,
            hands-on with various projects.  I still help out once a week for 
them.

            I also have been coordinating a special grant for the City of 
Santa Monica
            through Environmental Programs which began in 1995/6 where we have
            designed and built 12 gardens/programs in all of the schools in 
the city,
            including a high school greenhouse that just completed 
construction.  It
            was designed and built by students/staff.  We also have two 
native plant
            gardens on two different campuses that are used with 3-5th grade 
studies
            and do activities related to indigenous peoples and do "3 Sisters 
Garden"
            as well as other themed gardens.  I oversee all the gardens in 
the district
            and develop materials with teachers and train volunteers to 
assist.  We
            produced an 8 minute video on this program that I have been doing 
presen-
            tations with and it's been highly successful in motivating 
teachers and
            audiences.

My internet experience is fairly new, we didn't have it for our program down 
at work but I had it at home and have been linking up with more and more 
groups and resources since working out of my home office and the Santa Monica 
job, but I am no expert and I don't have much spare time, but I do love to 
share the knowledge that I've attained doing this over the past 9 years.  And 
I have worked with NGA on various projects, conferences with Jim Flynn, etc.  
and always push the newsletter and curriculum at my workshops.  That's all I 
can say, I want to stay informed even if I can't be a good manager.  Bonnie 
Freeman
Gardening Angels Outreach Consultant, UCCE Los Angeles County and Coordinator 
of Santa Monica School Gardens Program.  310/395-7788, fax: 395-2779, email: 
bif724@aol.com   and I'm in the extension office most Tuesdays: 323/838-4544

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