The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Announces Commitment to Connect 10 Million Children to the Benefits of Gardens and Greenspaces by 2023
From food deserts and poor nutrition, to childhood obesity and nature deficit, the lack of access to gardens and greenspaces is impacting today’s children. To help find a solution to this issue, The
Gro More Good is an enterprise-wide commitment for The
“It’s important we provide as many opportunities as possible for children to connect with the natural world around them,” said
Supporting more youth garden and greenspace development comes at a critical time when challenges facing today’s youngest generation are significant, and problems with children’s physical, mental and social health are on the rise. However, ScottsMiracle-Gro’s work with communities over the past decade, as well as NGO and academic research, confirms that gardening and outdoor play provides a wide range of health benefits for children. These benefits include increased emotional well-being, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, more physical activity, improved relationships and better academic performance.
Over the next five years, ScottsMiracle-Gro and the Foundation will provide monetary grants, educational curriculum and training to communities across the U.S. in collaboration with its Gro More Good partners, all with the goal of creating more gardens, greenspaces and refurbished outdoor play spaces for children.
Gro More Good is The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company’s latest iteration of garden and greenspace community outreach programming. Previously, ScottsMiracle-Gro and the Foundation supported the creation of 1,000 community gardens and public greenspaces in every state across the U.S. The GRO1000 program, which culminated in 2018 with the planting of the thousandth garden, enabled ScottsMiracle-Gro to see firsthand the positive effects that gardens and greenspaces can have on communities, and even more so, children’s lives.
“Gardens not only have the unique ability to feed children’s bodies, minds and spirits, they give kids the chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” said
Key partners in the Gro More Good initiative include the following:
- Franklin Park Conservatory and
Botanical Gardens provides world-class natural experiences for all ages. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Children’s Garden at the Conservatory is an award-winning, two-acre immersive experience for children with 16 different garden galleries nurturing creativity, hands-on exploration and unstructured play. - KidsGardening has led the school garden movement since 1982 by providing educational curriculum and resources for garden-based learning.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation has partnered with KidsGardening to provide funding for 175 grants to school and community gardens each year. Major League Baseball encourages young people to participate in baseball- or softball-related activities of all forms. In an effort to make sure kids have a safe place to play in communities across the U.S., Scotts and MLB created the Scotts Field Refurbishment Program where grants are awarded to youth-based nonprofit organizations to give kids a modern, playable ball field. To learn more or submit an entry visit www.mlb.com/scottsfield.National Farm to School Network advocates for increased local food and nutrition education in schools and early care and education settings to improve children’s health.The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation will work with theNational Farm toSchool Network andHawthorne Gardening Company to expand STEM-aligned hydroponic gardening to more underserved schools across the U.S.National Head Start Association serves as the voice for one million at-riskHead Start children, staff and grantees across the country.The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation has partnered withNational Head Start Association to increase edible gardens and hands-on garden education at Head Starts nationwide.National Recreation and Park Association is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of public parks, recreation and conservation. Through the Parks for Pollinators program, National Recreation and Park Association is connecting children to pollinator-friendly spaces and hands-on education in local parks around the country.- No Kid Hungry works to end childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation will work with No Kid Hungry to provide up to 4.5 million nutritious meals to children in the next three years. Together, they will also utilize indoor gardening methods to add more fresh food to children’s meals at partner organizations across the country.
“We’re passionate about the partnerships we’ve built to connect millions of children to the benefits of gardens and greenspaces over the next five years,” said King. “We believe our work with these organizations will grow much more than gardens. It will grow hope, positive attitudes and better futures. It will grow the next generation of healthy adults and nurturers for this Earth.”
To learn more about the Gro More Good initiative, visit www.GroMoreGood.org.
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