School Gardens with Ease
Discover how to effortlessly integrate school gardens into your elementary or middle school curriculum with the School Gardens with Ease Podcast. This podcast is your go-to resource for creating flourishing and productive food gardens that provide long-term educational benefits. Learn tips, strategies, and insights to help you grow and maintain a sustainable school garden that enhances your teaching and inspires students for years to come.
Episodes
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila Mireskandari offers a heartfelt wake-up call for educators, parents, and school leaders who believe in the power of regenerative school gardens—but still haven’t attended the free School Gardens with Ease webinar.
If you know that kids need more nature, more hope, more hands-on learning, and more connection to real food, this episode is for you. Leila speaks directly t...
Thinking about starting a school garden but don’t know where to begin, or worried it might be too much work? In this episode, host Leila Mireskandari pulls back the curtain on her annual free webinar, School Gardens with Ease, and explains why it’s a must-attend event for any teacher who wants to grow a thriving classroom or school garden without stress, big budgets, or burnout.
Leila shares what’s inside this 70-minut...
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila Mireskandari shares the inspiring story behind how she discovered Permaculture, and how it completely changed the way she grows and teaches school gardens.
You’ll learn the two key elements that make a school garden both easy and productive, and discover why so many school garden projects struggle unnecessarily. Leila also shares behind-the-scenes updates about the upc...
Have you ever dreamed of starting a school garden with your students but felt overwhelmed by the idea of needing a big team of parents, colleagues, and volunteers? In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila Mireskandari challenges the myth that you can’t run a garden project on your own. Spoiler alert: you can, with just you and your students!
Leila shares how classroom gardens, powered by a sunny window and a ...
If you’re dreaming of starting a school garden in the spring, the most important step is to start planning now, not in March or April. In this episode, Leila shares why fall and winter are the best seasons to prepare for a thriving school garden, and the common mistakes that cause so many projects to fail before they even begin.
Leila explains what needs to happen behind the scenes, budgeting, pitching your idea, desig...
Want to bring fresh, healthy food into your classroom, without needing outdoor space or expensive equipment? In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, I’ll show you exactly how to grow a continuous supply of salad greens indoors, all school year long.
You’ll learn:
- How to set up a simple sub-irrigated planter system for reliable growth
- The best classroom-friendly seed mixes to choose for abundant harvests
- Why a sun...
The doors are officially open to the Oasis Fall & Winter Program, a done-for-you lesson package designed to bring your classroom to life during the gloomiest months of the year. In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, host Leila Mireskandari shares five engaging, low-cost, and curriculum-connected gardening activities that can be done indoors without grow lights or special equipment.
From seed stratification t...
Fall often signals the end of gardening season, but when it comes to school gardens, closing things down too early means missing out on valuable learning opportunities. In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, host Leila Mireskandari explains why you don’t need to clear everything away in autumn, and why letting your garden rest naturally through winter is actually better for your students, your soil, and local bi...
Designing a school garden isn’t just about putting plants in the ground—it’s about creating a sustainable, low-maintenance space that engages students, thrives with minimal summer care, and becomes a true part of the school community.
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, I share my process for designing school gardens that actually work for teachers and students. Drawing from more than a decade of experience an...
Fall is here, and while outdoor gardens may be winding down, your classroom gardening journey is just getting started! In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila Mireskandari explains how fall and winter activities fit into her brand-new School Gardens with Ease course. From harvesting last year’s crops with new students to hands-on indoor gardening projects like seed stratification, seed balls, and growing mi...
Have you ever wished you could create your own school garden program, tailored to your classroom and teaching style? In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, I share the exciting news — I’m developing a full class that teaches my entire method for building educational school gardens from start to finish.
You’ll hear how your feedback shaped this decision, why this program is for classroom teachers (not just garden ...
Spoiler alert: Yes, and no!
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, I finally answer the question many of you have been wondering: Is growing a school garden really as easy as I keep saying it is?
The short answer: It depends on how and why you do it.
Most school gardens fail or become overwhelming because they're not built for education. But when your school garden is teacher-led, student-built, an...
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila Mireskandari shares a fresh new idea that came to her—literally—as she woke up: Should she create a School Gardens with Ease course designed for high school teachers?
Up until now, Leila has worked primarily with elementary and middle school teachers, building low-maintenance, student-led school gardens that connect seamlessly with the curriculum. But a recent experien...
Thinking about starting your school garden as an eco club or lunchtime green team? You’re not alone—but this episode will change the way you see that common approach. In this bold and honest episode, Leila Mireskandari breaks down why growing a school garden as a club fails most of the time, and why classroom-based gardens are the real path to success.
Drawing from over a decade of hands-on experience, Leila shares:
Is an outdoor garden necessary to teach kids how to grow food? Absolutely not!
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila Mireskandari challenges the myth that you need access to an outdoor school garden to create powerful, hands-on gardening experiences in your classroom. Whether you’re in summer mode or gearing up for the new school year, this episode will help you feel excited, not overwhelmed, about school ...
Do you know what kind of school garden teacher you are?
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, I help you discover your School Garden Teacher Type — so you can stop spinning your wheels and start growing with more ease, clarity, and confidence.
Whether you're dreaming of your first classroom garden or scaling an existing one, knowing your unique approach to school gardening can completely shift how you plan, ...
In this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila shares real stories from Toronto schools where well-meaning but misinformed caretakers accidentally damaged school gardens—from mowing over fruit trees to refusing to maintain grass paths. These challenges are more common than you might think in school gardening—and there’s an easy solution.
Sheet mulching.
This simple Permaculture technique not only keeps grass o...
What does it really take to grow a thriving school garden year after year? Spoiler alert: it’s not a big budget, a huge team, or fancy tech. In this episode, I share the key ingredients behind the success of one of my Oasis program teachers whose garden is thriving—and growing—without any of the common “must-haves” people assume are necessary.
I also explain what kind of teacher doesn't lead to a lasting school ga...
Welcome to Episode 51 of School Gardens with Ease!
As the school year winds down, are you heading into summer break with peace of mind, or dread, when it comes to your school garden?
In this episode, host Leila Mireskandari helps you take a deep breath and shows you exactly how to set your school garden up for summer success with almost no summer maintenance.
Whether you've created a lush indoor garden with O...
Are you unknowingly sabotaging your school garden project with poor timing? In this fiery episode, Leila Mireskandari tackles one of the most overlooked — and crucial — aspects of school gardening: plant timing.
From high school science classes to elementary school projects, too many well-meaning teachers are planting seeds at the wrong time of year, leading to wasted resources, missed learning opportunities, and plant...
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