Students design a business plan for a year-round, sustainable school/community garden that generates income and involves local partners.
Developing a business plan takes time, therefore there are two Bricks dedicated to this topic. You can choose to only do the first part. However, the second part adds some more depth to the plan.
If possible, choose a real nearby space students can imagine transforming into a garden.
What is a Business Plan?
Briefly explain that a business plan is a simple guide for a project, and that it helps organising ideas, plan costs and income, find partners, and make the garden sustainable.
Time-Managed Brainstorming. Use a timer (about 10 minutes per step) to keep discussions short and focused.
Purpose & Vision: Define goals (sustainability, community use, learning) on a large sheet.
Guiding question: Why is this garden valuable? Who benefits? What problems does it solve?
Budget: List start-up and yearly costs (tools, soil, seeds, water, maintenance) and compare to expected income.
Guiding question: What do we need? What repeats yearly? How can we reduce costs?
Resources & Income: Brainstorm funding, donations, reuse/recycling options.
Guiding question: What resources do we already have? Who might donate?
Didactic tips
- Motivate students to use the Business Plan: Sustainable Community Garden – Part 1 method throughout the whole process.
- The method of Business Plan: Sustainable Community Garden – Part 1 also fits this activity well.
- The Business Plan: Sustainable Community Garden – Part 1 method can serve as an inspiring and supporting method for sharing and improving ideas.
- Assign roles: Give each student a role (e.g. budget manager, sustainability expert, community coordinator) to ensure everyone contributes.
- Think–Pair–Share: Let students first think individually, then discuss in pairs before sharing with the group. This increases participation and idea quality.
- Add a realistic challenge: Give each group one constraint (e.g. limited budget, water shortage, small space) to encourage creative problem-solving and critical thinking.