Course Description:

School Gardening for SC Educators is a five-week online program from Clemson Cooperative Extension Horticulture and 4-H Youth Development agents. The goal of this course is to help educators, parents, administrators, and other caring adults learn to garden successfully with students. Participants will learn the basic horticulture skills necessary to start and maintain their school garden. Licensed educators who successfully complete the course will receive twenty (20) renewal credits from the South Carolina Department of Education.

In addition to the online course, your registration includes the following:

The Seasonal Planting Guide for South Carolina School and Community Gardens,
The Garden STEM Curriculum for Your Garden Classroom (K-8),
and classroom materials including grade-level specific lessons and supplies.

After registering for the course, please log in and complete the Participant Information Form so that your materials can be mailed to you. The course will begin on June 1, 2025, and end on August 1, 2025.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Develop a school garden plan using techniques like site analysis and seasonal planting,
Identify necessary conditions to grow healthy, safe, and nutritious vegetables year-round,
and discuss resources and techniques to integrate gardening in a school curriculum or youth program.

Course Topics:

This course includes six modules:

Module 1: Small Gardens, Big Ideas
Module 2: Healthy Soil and Raised Bed Gardening
Module 3: What's Growing On? Vegetable Gardening Basics
Module 4: Food Safety and Integrated Pest Management
Module 5: Developing Community Resources
Module 6: Worm Composting and Resource Round-Up

Course Requirements:

To successfully complete the course, you will need to complete all module quizzes with a score of 80%. You will also need to submit all module discussions and earn a score of "complete" on these assignments. All activities must be submitted by the final date of the course on August 1, 2025.

Technical Requirements:

To participate fully in this course, you will need:

An active email address for the individual participating in the course.
A desktop computer or laptop (recommended): Canvas is available on mobile devices, but some content may appear differently.
Access to a high-speed internet connection.
A web browser compatible with Canvas: Chrome and Firefox are recommended.
Headphones or speakers (closed captioning also available).
Computer skills including Internet browsing, using email, typing, downloading files, and basic troubleshooting.

Need Help?

If you need help accessing or registering for a course, please contact Clemson Online at onlineplus@clemson.edu.
Our support email is monitored Monday-Friday from 8:00-4:30. If you contact us in the evening or on the weekend, we will help you during the next business day.
Please do not contact CCIT regarding CPE courses. Please reach out to Clemson Online so that we can assist you.
Using Bulk Purchase? Please inform those you purchase seats for. They will receive an email invitation immediately upon enrollment. For more help, read about bulk enrollments in Catalog.

Enroll inSchool Gardening for SC Educators (June 1, 2025)