Lahontan Elementary School was among 40 sites across four Nevada counties to receive a $200,000 grant award to support growing new gardens on campus, according to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
The NDA has set aside up to $5,000 in funding for each qualifying Title I campus in the 2018-19 school year, thanks to Senate Bill 167, signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval on June 8, 2017, as an initiative to promote healthy living and learning for students.
Lahontan was the only Churchill County school to receive the award.
“School gardens as an educational tool allow teachers to provide a course of study addressing multiple subject areas in a hands-on setting as an extension of the classroom” Amber Smyer, NDA agriculture literacy coordinator for the NDA, said in a release. “We hope this funding will encourage Title I schools to establish and maintain school gardens, where students can learn applied sciences and healthy eating.”
The $200,000 amount is the second year of a two-year grant dedicated to school gardens. The first year provided up to $10,000 each to 48 schools in five Nevada counties for beginning new gardens.
The other recipient counties include Clark, Douglas and Lyon.