Be a friend of the Friendship Garden!

Over the last year, we transformed 2000 square-feet of muddy, under-utilized lawn at Eucalyptus Elementary School into a native plants, art + learning garden for 800+ elementary students who attend school there. It is, in fact, the very first school garden featuring all native plants in the city of Hawthone, CA! 

This new "Friendship Garden" is aptly named by the students of Eucalyptus Elementary school and we’re so proud to see the space beginning to bloom! It was created to foster artmaking and nature education and now we need your help to take the next step! 

Our goal in 2024 is to activate this new campus garden by providing the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes with educational arts and ecology programming. 

We’re asking for your support today to help fund that programming.  

RuckusRoots and Eucalyptus Elementary School have been partners since 2018, when we began offering Wild Art as the only arts programming 5th graders received that year, due to district-wide budget cuts. In 2020, however, the pandemic put a pause on our partnership, as it halted opportunities for so many. Building this garden was our way of continuing to provide opportunities for Eucalyptus students, even when we couldn't be in the classroom with them. We are thrilled that we now have an outdoor, nature-filled space for students to enjoy for many years to come!

• Artistic signage to mark special plants
• Seating or benches made from recycled materials with student designs
• Botanical drawings and nature observation classes
• Artworks themed on wildlife and ecology found in the garden.

Sadly, in 2024, the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at Eucalyptus Elementary will once again be without arts education due to district budget constraints. 

Your support can change that and will help us bring the benefits of both art and nature to as many students as possible this year!