Education
Education

Nearly 100 learning gardens planned for Atlanta-area schools

By Mark Niesse
Oct 28, 2013

Vegetable gardens that will help students learn about healthy foods and fresh produce are going up in 40 Atlanta public schools, with one of the first opened at Centennial Place Elementary on Friday.

Foods grown in the gardens are incorporated into daily meals, and the gardens also can be used to teach lessons about math, science, social studies, health and language arts.

The Captain Planet Foundation plans to install a total of nearly 100 such gardens in elementary and middle schools across metro Atlanta, including in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

Follow Mark Niesse on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Uta Thomas picks up her son, Jax, during a public hearing in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. She implored the school board not to close Dunbar Elementary. "You would centralize education to decentralized families," she said. "You would break apart a community hub." (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

Atlanta parents, residents object to plans to close some schools

Due to lower enrollment and climbing costs, 16 school buildings would be repurposed under the plan, with several schools closing and their students rezoned for other schools.

Judge overturns expulsion of Cobb student who warned friends of school threat

A Cobb County judge said the school system did not prove that a student who warned friends about a perceived threat intentionally disrupted the school day.

Three Atlanta school board races appear headed to runoffs

The Latest

Uta Thomas picks up her son, Jax, during a public hearing in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. She implored the school board not to close Dunbar Elementary. "You would centralize education to decentralized families," she said. "You would break apart a community hub." (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

Atlanta parents, residents object to plans to close some schools

Three Atlanta school board races appear headed to runoffs

Judge overturns expulsion of Cobb student who warned friends of school threat

Featured

Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Prolonged shutdown could force 20% flight cuts, U.S. officials warn

The Federal Aviation Administration started reducing flights Friday at 40 major airports, which includes Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

With SNAP benefits in limbo, Atlanta residents step up to help

With SNAP benefits in limbo after a late-Friday Supreme Court decision, many metro Atlanta residents are putting their own money toward supporting those affected.

Study: Rents for low-wage Atlantans rose 9 times faster than for high earners

Rents for suburban workforce housing in the metro Atlanta region increased by almost 20%, while rents for luxury units increased by 2%, a study said.