USDA grant expands Food Forests for Schools in Miami-Dade

The Education Fund won a $48,182 USDA Forest Service grant to expand STEM and urban forestry lessons across Miami-Dade County public schools. The project adds teacher training, student materials and family resources for more than 4,000 students and 200 educators.

Why it matters: - The grant expands hands-on environmental science education in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. - The project connects classroom STEM lessons with urban forestry, nutrition and sustainability. - The Education Fund says the effort reaches students and families through school Food Forests and take-home materials.

What happened: - The Education Fund received a $48,182 grant from the USDA Forest Service in cooperation with the Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. - The funding supported the Education Fund’s Food Forests for Schools program. - The program serves 30,000 students across 71 Miami-Dade public schools. - More than 4,000 elementary students took part in STEM and environmental science lessons at 12 Food Forests for Schools sites. - The project trained 200 Miami-Dade educators to use forestry and local Food Forests in daily classroom lessons.

The details: - The Education Fund added a chapter on the benefits and growth pattern of trees to its Food Forest Teacher Field Guide. - The project created 12,000 Food Forest information cards for take-home harvest bags. - The cards are meant to extend lessons on tree crops, nutrition and urban canopy into students’ homes. - The project designed, built and installed 24 interpretive exhibit signs across 12 Food Forest schools. - The signs help students, families and neighbors identify native tree species and understand urban forest ecosystems. - The project assessed feedback on the learning materials across 30 Food Forest schools and 21 edible garden schools to support long-term sustainability. - The grant benefited teachers, students and families at Avocado Elementary, Charles Hadley Elementary, Charles Wyche Elementary, Coral Park Elementary, CPM/Westview K-8 Center, Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8 Center, Ludlam Elementary, Miami Heights Elementary, Nathan B Young Elementary, North Miami Elementary, Spanish Lake Elementary and Sylvania Heights Elementary.

Between the lines: - The Education Fund is using school food forests as both nutrition infrastructure and outdoor science labs. - The program’s family-facing materials suggest the group is trying to extend learning beyond school hours. - Linda Lecht, president of The Education Fund, said urban food forests function as living laboratories that boost science literacy and connect students with nature. - Lecht said the USDA Forest Service support helped bring Food Forest tree canopy knowledge into students’ hands and homes. - The Education Fund said the project aims to boost science test scores by 50% or more after hands-on Food Forest lessons. - The effort aligns with a broader USDA Forest Service push to grow healthy urban tree canopies and connect communities with nature.

What's next: - The Education Fund will continue using the Food Forests for Schools model across Miami-Dade public schools. - The group is positioning the program as a long-term tool for environmental education, nutrition learning and community engagement. - The Education Fund says it will keep assessing the usefulness of the materials to support sustainability and future classroom use.

The bottom line: - A modest federal grant is scaling a local program that ties tree canopy education to classroom science, family engagement and student outcomes.