2026 School Garden Contest

School gardens are living laboratories that support hands-on learning in nutrition, agriculture, and a range of subjects. They can take many forms—from a classroom windowsill herb garden to raised beds, in-ground plots, or greenhouses. Gardening helps children understand where food comes from and encourages healthy eating habits. Research shows that students are more likely to try fruits and vegetables they’ve grown themselves.

Oklahoma Farm to School and the Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee are proud to host the 2026 School Garden Contest.

Eligibility and Guidelines:

• Applicants may be any public and private K-12 school, early childhood education facility, and alternative
  learning environment.
• Each applicant can only apply for TWO categories. Please fill out a form for EACH application. After each submission, click a link to submit another response.
• Schools that won a category in the previous year are not eligible to apply for the same category the following year. However, they may apply for any category they did not win.
• Schools that have won two years in a row are ineligible to apply the following year. They must wait one year before applying again.

Application Deadline: 11:59 PM on June 15, 2026

Contest Categories

Best Education-Based School Garden:
This category recognizes schools that provide exemplary hands-on education using the school garden during the school year. This can be seen by integrating garden instruction into the classroom curriculum, providing frequent hands-on opportunities for students to learn about nutrition, gardening, cooking, and/or agriculture, and offering other educational opportunities such as school garden clubs, field trips, farmer visits, etc.

Best Community Collaboration School Garden:
This category recognizes schools that have a variety of community collaborations during the school year. Stakeholders from nearby farms, businesses, non-profits, and/or organizations participate in a school garden committee, provide donations/grants, lead classroom and cafeteria presentations, and more.

Best Start-up School Garden Proposal:
This category recognizes schools that will be breaking ground on their garden in the upcoming school year. Schools must have achievable goals, clear maintenance plans, and activities listed to provide education, harvest, and community connections using the school garden.

Best Harvest School Garden:
This category recognizes schools that utilize their garden harvest to help students understand the important health benefits of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables. Through harvesting the garden, students have the opportunity to understand the natural growth of plants — from seeds to sprouts to flowers to fruits — and learn firsthand the connection between nature and their food supply.  Students are encouraged to taste the harvested produce, encouraging them to establish healthy eating habits.

Best Pollinator Garden:
This category recognizes schools that have established a school pollinator garden that is planted predominantly with flowers that provide nectar or pollen for a wide range of pollinating insects. The purpose of this garden is to help students better understand the important role pollinators play in our ecosystem and to expose them to new ideas about food, wildlife, and plants.