Bridge Biodiversity and Sustainability Garden

Bridge Program Biodiversity and Sustainability Garden

May was Living Schoolyard Month! The San Mateo County Office of Education’s Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative recently highlighted the recipients of its Living Schoolyard Grant program - including our very own Bridge Biodiversity and Sustainability Garden.

The grant program was established to recognize that supporting the development of living schoolyards is an equitable way to provide regular access to high quality green spaces for every student at a school site. 

Living Schoolyard Month is an annual celebration of green school grounds that was first established in 2014 as part of a California state resolution to promote the design and construction of outdoor green spaces for all students in K-12 public schools. A living schoolyard allows students and educators to spend restorative time in nature and engage in place-based learning. Additionally, living schoolyard elements can increase local biodiversity, benefit natural habitats, and integrate natural systems into the built environment.

Read the highlight below about the garden: 

The Bridge Garden Project is designed, built, and maintained by students. The garden has become the cornerstone of the English Learner Introduction to Science class at the Bridge English Language Development Program, a program of Peninsula High School. Much of the curriculum around the garden this year focused on the role of healthy soils in climate resilience. Next year, the school hopes to expand impact and curricular ties to the garden in the areas of ecosystem ecology, cycling of matter and energy, and other sustainability topics.