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People
A successful garden needs the support of students, teachers and administrators. Along with this core group, parents, staff and community members should be recruited to help with the planning and maintenance of your garden. It is important to contact these key players early in the planning stages to establish a feeling of "ownership." When people are involved in the decision making and active in the up keep, they are usually more supportive and less likely to get bored and quit. A specific steering committee made up of those most closely involved (teachers that will use the site) and individuals that are influential in the community (the principal, school board members, PTO president) should be established to provide leadership to the larger group of supporters.
To gather this support you may want to attend PTO meetings, garden society meetings, hold specific garden planning meetings and send out information in a newsletter, the newspaper, radio or TV. Public relations are very important. You need to let people know what you are doing and why to get the community involved. This helps when you are looking for funds, donations and volunteers later on. You need a lot of support from varied sources to prevent burn out from relying on a few.
Support can be found in many places. Get to know what is available in your community. You may want to look for volunteers and financial support at PTO meetings, nearby colleges, garden clubs, garden centers, senior centers, and/or at your local extension agency.
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