The School Garden (OEC) is an outdoor classroom / learning environment for the use of up to 50 students. It is a place to learn about nature, water conservation, gardening, native plants, composting, and other environmental studies and much more. Throughout the school year, OEC volunteers conduct lessons in the garden for each class. These lessons include: learning about parts of the plants, what plants need to grow, seed dispersal and composting.

Volunteer Commitment:
● Up to 8 lessons throughout the year
● A total of 30-45 mins prep before and after each lesson
● ~1 hr for each lesson every month
● Requires on campus presence during school hours
● 2-3 volunteer parents per class
● sign up with your classroom teacher

Volunteer Responsibilities:
● Coordinate with the class teacher/Mr. Tony for scheduling lessons
● Prepare the garden prior to the lesson and clean up after completion
● Conduct lessons at the OEC or in the classroom depending on weather

All volunteers need to complete a mandatory volunteer application prior to entering campus for repetitive volunteering purposes.

Program Leads for 2025-2026: Maria Villanueva and Deepika Bala

Questions? Contact - garden@mlpta.org