BUGS (baltimore urban gardening for students)

***In April 2024, Living Classrooms Foundation will be submitting a funding application to the Maryland State Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program. If funded, this grant will support the 2025 Baltimore Urban Gardening With Students (BUGS) Summer Program that operates at The Crossroads School. A copy of the proposal will be available for public review after the submission date of April 25, 2024, by request. We are very grateful for the opportunity to apply for this important state funding.

What is BUGS?

BUGS (Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students) is an outdoor environmental education program that focuses on the urban environment. Students at The Crossroads School learn about gardening, urban ecology, the watershed, environmental and social justice issues, sustainability, and cooking and nutrition through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) style learning. BUGS complements the school day and gives students the opportunity to develop and apply new knowledge and skills to real-world situations relating to the environment around them through hands-on activities and project-based learning.

As part of the Living Classrooms Foundation, BUGS students are “Learning by Doing”, and using the manmade, natural, and maritime environments as "living classrooms." BUGS provides students with meaningful opportunities to apply academic and social skills and allows time and space for students to grow as individuals and as a community influenced by the world around them.

BUGS Mission

The mission of the BUGS Program is to provide purposeful, nature-based education to youth in their local environment, encouraging them to understand, respect, connect to, and enjoy the natural world around them.

BUGS Vision

The BUGS Program will be a model of exceptional educational enrichment during and after school time, promoting environmental education, connected to our community school, Crossroads. BUGS will create a more diverse population of environmental leaders and stewards that care about the world around them.

BUGS Program Values

• Stewardship: Each member of the BUGS community is encouraged to set an example for others by serving as an active steward of our environment. We advocate for urban nature, biodiversity, and responsible behavior in the environment of our campus and beyond.

• Community: We are building a community in which people understand and celebrate the ecosystems they are part of. Our community sees themselves as belonging in outdoor spaces and responsible for protecting them. We have a connection to each other, to Baltimore, and to the environment.

• Diversity and Inclusion: We advocate for a greater diversity of people who are environmentally literate. We respect and empower all people to engage with and benefit from nature.

• Wellness: We strive to improve our community’s physical, social/emotional, and mental health and well-being through access to nature.