National Academies Gulf Research Program Award Empowers Galveston’s Own Farmers Market to Bring Successful Young Gardeners Program Into The School Day
National Academies Gulf Research Program Award Empowers Galveston’s Own Farmers Market to Bring Successful Young Gardeners Program Into The School Day
GALVESTON, Texas - December 2, 2024 - The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has announced awards totaling 5 million dollars to support 12 projects across the Gulf to cultivate K-8 youth into advocates solving environmental issues in their own communities. K-12 non-profit EcoRise has been awarded $421,880 to forward and level up the work of GOFM’s Young Gardeners Program within Galveston Independent School District. EcoRise has been a robust partner of Galveston’s Own Farmers Market (GOFM) since 2022 as the primary collaborator behind the Students for Eco-Empowerment & Diversity paid high school internship program.
The ‘Growing Galveston Project’ combines EcoRise’s standards-aligned curricula, teacher professional development, and student-driven microgrants with Galveston’s Own Farmers Market’s (GOFM) Young Gardeners Program to offer hands-on, place-based education, transforming school gardens into outdoor classrooms, fostering scientific and environmental literacy for every K-8 student.
GOFM’s Young Gardeners Program (YGP) currently operates at 7 Galveston ISD (GISD) schools as part of the TOR and Texas ACE after-school programs. With the support of the NASEM award, the ‘Growing Galveston Project’ will further integrate YGP operations into the school day, provide access to bilingual STEM-based and TEKS-aligned outdoor lessons, support student-led innovation projects where K-8 students will collect and analyze environmental data to identify local environmental challenges in their schools and communities, and offer customized professional learning experiences for all K-8 teachers in GISD that provide teachers with the skills and confidence needed to facilitate lessons in their school gardens alongside GOFM’s Young Gardeners Program staff.
Interested community members can learn more about volunteering by emailing volunteer@gofarmersmarket.com or visiting our website: https://galvestonsownfarmersmarket.com/volunteer
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About Galveston’s Own Farmers Market
Founded in 2012, Galveston's Own Farmers Market is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to connecting our community to local foods through year-round weekly farmers markets, food access initiatives, school gardens, and health & food education opportunities. Learn more about our programs: https://galvestonsownfarmersmarket.com/about
About EcoRise
EcoRise is a national K-12 environmental education nonprofit that mobilizes a new generation of leaders to design healthy, just, and thriving communities for all. Working at the intersection of sustainability education, climate resilience, and environmental justice, EcoRise programs elevate youth voices and advance student-led solutions to real-world challenges. Since 2011, EcoRise has supported over 11,000 teachers and 500,000 students in all 50 U.S. states through robust standards-aligned curriculum, teacher professional development, youth climate councils, and paid internships for high school students in partnership with frontline environmental justice organizations. EcoRise has been activating students as sustainability leaders since 2008 in Texas and across the U.S. To learn more, visit EcoRise.org.
About Galveston ISD
Galveston ISD is a public school district in Texas, established in 1884, that serves nearly 7,000 students. Its 10 Schools of Choice campuses consist of traditional and theme-based schools, charter schools, STEM programs, magnet schools, and a mega-magnet high school. The district’s mission is to Educate, Engage and Empower EACH student for a life of Excellence. To learn more, visit www.gisd.org.
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Media Contact
Honi Alexander, Young Gardeners Program Director
Galveston’s Own Farmers Market
honi@gofarmersmarket.com