"A network is nonhierarchical. It is a web of
connections among equals. What holds it together is not force, obligation,
material incentive, or social contract but SHARED VALUES and the understanding
that some tasks can be accomplished together that could never be accomplished
separately. One of the important purposes of a network is simply to remind
its members that they are not alone." Beyond Limits, Meadows,
Meadows & Randers
Vision:
Every child in Southern
Ohio
has the opportunity to experience nature in their own school's back
yard.
The mission of
the network is to
promote and support the development of schoolyard based
environmental education andexperimental learning
and the sustainability of such programs in
Southern Ohio.
Objectives: In support of our
mission, we build community partnerships, research the needs of
the emerging school garden community and develop financial,
in-kind and training resources to support each schools
development of a sustainable foundation.
Our goals are to
Raise funds so we can provide
trained program coordinators to support the programs at
individual schools.
Form alliances within the
community to secure in-kind donations and provide overall
support to the program.
Establish a series of teacher and
volunteer training workshops to provide real life hands-on
training experiences to train teachers, staff and
volunteers.
Develop an on-line forum through
which school garden and nutrition curriculum, best
practices, training and resources can evolve and be shared.
"Don't judge each day by the
harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson