A Year in Review: Impact from 2024

We’re bursting with gratitude and sending you well wishes for a bright 2025.

If you’ve been following our progress here, you know that participants in the Dirt Girls after-school science club installed a Monarch Waystation at a local school. The donor-initiated focus on monarch conservation and education was a highlight of our year.

At The School Garden Doctor, our mission is to nurture a collective approach to creating and sustaining programs that are rooted in equity and grounded in nature. Monarch education and conservation aligns closely with this mission because it is a collaborative effort focused on an threatened species. Multiple stakeholders were involved in making the Monarch Waystation project a success, including local and national organizations.

To amplify our impact, we paired monarch conservation and education efforts with the Dirt Girls outreach program. Two dozen youth participants engaged in garden science through the spring and fall. They grew their interest in learning new things and expanded their knowledge of science and horticulture. Within the supportive and inclusive program structure Dirt Girls provided, students built cross-age relationships and developed strong social connections as they completed projects as a team.

Dirt Girls is modeled after a vision of more inclusive science opportunity for all. Our target audience is girls, who are underrepresented across all science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. However, we empower any participant who wants to practice agency within a garden-science context. Youth participants benefit from mentorship while the school garden benefits from their loving attention each week. Whether collecting seeds or pulling weeds, youth get to spend time outside and deepen their connection to the natural world.

We have several other accomplishments to highlight in 2024. As an organization, we invited two new members to co-lead The School Garden Doctor. One of our outgoing board members, Nancy Lim, and I participated in the community Western Monarch Count community science effort for the second year in a row. Nancy and I also provided a letter of support to a coalition of local citizens pushing for a Habitat Conservation Plan in Napa County.

In addition to Dirt Girls, our program reach included eight nature journaling sessions in the garden of Stone Bridge School. I also assisted the Napa Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) with hosting a Girl Scout Troop at the Martha Walker Garden in Skyline park. To expand the reach of programs like this, The School Garden Doctor endorsed a Legislative Proposal to reauthorize funding for school gardens and I attended a meeting with a Legislative Aide from District 4 Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry just last month.

One of the most exciting developments of 2025 is the official hiring of a Program Director. It’s me! Since 2018, I’ve led The School Garden Doctor in a volunteer capacity. Starting in 2025, we’ve added both payroll and rent expenses to our budget. We now occupy a corner of the Nonprofit Co-working Space at Napa Valley Community Foundation. These developments are made possible because of our strong board leadership as well as our current and past contract partners. We will continue our contract relationships with with Napa RCD and Pueblo Vista Magnet School while exploring additional partners.

As many of you may know, I worked at Pueblo Vista Magnet School for several years. During my time there, I coached a team of kindergarten teachers to incorporate community science. I am proud to share that an article I wrote based on that work, Community Science for Six-Year-Olds, was published in Science and Children in May of 2024.

Last but not least, we recognized four Erin Soper Awardees and funded our second GlobalGiving project: Dirt Girl Greenhouse. These are entirely donor-funded initiatives made possible by generous community supporters like you and business contributions from B Cellars and Gott’s Roadside.

Watch for opportunities to amplify (y)our impact and help us grow hope for the monarchs and a more inclusive future. Until then, be well and go outside.

A Year in Review