❯

Grow Food. Cultivate Community. Protect The PLanet

Nourishing Gardens transforms lawns into beneficial growing spaces. We take lawns of homes, businesses, community organizations, and schools and transform them into gardens that nourish people, our community, and nature.
OUR OFFERINGS​:
School & Community Gardens
Through generous grants from our funders, we have been able to provide and support over 70 teaching gardens (food and pollinator)  across 57 local schools and community spaces. Nourishing Gardens have been installed at 37% of HCPSS schools through educational partnerships with students and teachers, including all Title 1 elementary schools and many of the middle and high schools they feed into.
Home & Business - Garden Education & Support
We help you steward your land through consultation, planning, installation, and limited maintenance support of food and pollinator gardens that replace an area of lawn and nourish our families and communities.
School & Community Education
​CEI’s experienced staff provide educational programming for classes and school events, which has included topics such as garden design, planting for pollinators, from seed to food, seasonal planting, and caring for your garden.
Two Nourishing Gardens are supporting weekly experiential education CEI's Community of Families in Nature (CFIN) is providing to students in the HCPSS BRIDGES after school program.
Community Education & Workforce Development
​CEI provides training for community members to develop their knowledge and hands-on experience in ecologically beneficial gardening practices that can create pathways to green infrastructure jobs.
The Problems We’re Solving
  • Food Insecurity. ​According to Feeding America, nearly 25,000 Howard County residents experience periods of food insecurity.
  • Air Pollution. It’s estimated that the average meal in the U.S. travels up to 1,500 miles before it reaches a family’s table. In addition, millions of gallons of gas are consumed during yard maintenance each year.
  • Resource preservation. Lawns consume trillions of gallons of water each year and produce little in the way of nourishment for the families who tend them.
  • Stormwater runoff. ​Millions of pounds of herbicides and pesticides are applied to lawns and ultimately contribute to the pollution of streams and rivers.
  • Pollinator support. Lawns offer little in the way of habitat for pollinators and wildlife that are necessary for a healthy local ecosystem.
  • ​Employment opportunities. Nearly 12,000 neighbors are struggling to find employment in Howard County.​
  • Community support. Lawns make up as much as 75% of green space in urban areas, but provide little ecological or nutritional benefit to communities.​
Support Our Program:
When you support the Nourishing Gardens program, you are supporting your community with gardens that provide fresh produce, educational space, and ecosystem services. Consider supporting us in the following ways: 
  1. Become a sponsor. Sponsor a new garden, the maintenance or re-planting of an existing garden, or make a general donation toward the important work we do. Sponsors can have their business logo shared in a variety of ways, such as in a garden, on our website, social media, and communications! Interested? Please reach out to [email protected]
  2. Enroll in a training. Nourishing Gardens offers training opportunities for both beginner and intermediate gardeners and those wanting to learn more about agriculture. 
    1. Stay tuned for our next Nourishing Gardens Beginner and Intermediate Trainings. 
    2. ​Learn about Nourishing Gardens Through the Seasons
  3. Follow us on social media and share our content with your networks.
    1. Follow our Facebook page: CEI Nourishing Gardens
    2. Follow CEI's Facebook page: the Community Ecology Institute
  4. Tell your family and friends about us! Word of mouth has been essential to our success as an organization, and we need you to help our network keep growing.
Howard County Changemaker Challenge Pitch - 2021:
Nourishing Gardens in the Community:​

Our Sponsors:

Get involved - CEi's Garden Oriented opportunities

Student Internships
Students between the ages of 14 and 21 years old who are interested in experiential education and work experience across a range of social and ecological themes.
Nourishing Gardens
This program is suitable for adults 21+ who are interested in learning about replacing turf and developing gardens that will nourish their family, community, and nature. Home and community gardeners and those considering a career in gardening are encouraged to apply.
Regenerative Agriculture
CEI aims to offer periodic workshops and trainings in regenerative agriculture as well as volunteer opportunities at Freetown Farm and the Green Farmacy Garden geared toward adults who are interested in regenerative ag and/or farming.