Denver Urban Gardens

Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) envisions a thriving and connected network of deeply-rooted community gardens, conceived of, cultivated and supported by local residents and institutions throughout the urban neighborhoods of Metro Denver. DUG comes alongside residents, and together, we “grow community - one urban garden at a time.” DUG offers neighborhoods the essential resources for community gardens, including on-going technical expertise with: (1) securing sustainable land for gardens; (2) designing and building gardens; (3) supporting garden organization, leadership, outreach and maintenance; (4) utilizing gardens as extraordinary places for learning and healthy living; and (5) linking gardens with related local food system projects and policy.

As of 2009, DUG raises funds, builds, and provides education programs for over 90 active gardens, one community farm and 8 parks and playgrounds. DUG has 10 new sites on the drawing board, 35 local youth and family programs engaged in our work and we serve over 32,000 residents annually. More than 20 of the gardens are located on the grounds of Denver Public Elementary Schools, with 1-3 new school gardens in various stages of planning each year. DUG is committed to supporting each community garden in ways appropriate to that garden’s particular needs, including developing a partnership between the school community and surrounding neighbors to strengthen garden sustainability.

We believe the effectiveness of our work in school gardens is enhanced when it is supported by a committed group of volunteers, which might include on-site community gardeners, parents, grandparents or neighbors. In partnership with the University of Colorado School of Public Health, DUG initiated the Connecting Generations program by adapting the Experience Corps© model for intergenerational mentorship to bring older adult volunteers into schools to support and expand DUG’s school garden programming. The broad goals of the Connecting Generations program are to: strengthen school-based programming around gardens; support teachers and increase use of gardens year-round; support school science curriculum and improve academic achievement; improve the health and well-being of both the children and older adults; increase fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity; and strengthen social networks in  the school community.

Bradley International School 

From Dirt Fields to Green Fields:

Transforming Bradley International School to a Learning Landscape and an Intergenerational Community Lighthouse

  Bradley Elementary School, part of the Denver Public School system (DPS), was completed in 1952. The building houses twenty-nine classrooms, a library, gymnasium, auditorium and cafeteria and currently provides for the educational needs of over 500 students from early childhood education thru 5^th grade.

In 2008, Bradley earned the International Baccalaureate for the Primary Years Programme designation, the first DPS elementary school to provide an international curriculum that focuses on the student’s social, physical, emotional, and cultural development in addition to academic growth. Sitting on a city block of land that was literally a dirt field, Bradley International School was transformed into a green Learning Landscape by a joint partnership with DPS the University of Colorado Denver, Denver Urban Gardens and other community partners that connect the design and construction of urban public spaces with healthy initiatives. 

A foundation stone of the Learning Landscape is the School and Community Gardens, the laboratory for learning for students and the catalyst for building intergenerational relationships and a stronger, healthier community in the University Hills neighborhood where the school resides. The gardens feature five universally-designed raised-beds and ten in-ground beds for classroom use and eighteen garden beds available to members of the community.  Key to sustaining classroom and outdoor activities, is the Connecting Generations program, a joint partnership between DPS, Denver Urban Gardens, Colorado Health Sciences Center and the Healthy Neighborhoods Network to recruit and train adults 55 and older from the community to volunteer at Bradley to mentor children in the garden and classroom, particularly in the areas of math, science and cultural arts.