GRO.UND Learning Gardens

GRO.UND strives to connect students to the natural world by engaging in place-based and experiential garden education.

GRO.UND (pronounced “grow UND”) is a nature-based learning initiative at the College of Education and Human Development that emphasizes learner-led, inquiry-based exploration and hands-on discovery through a deep connection to the natural world. We accomplish this goal through smallscale gardens and natural areas as living classrooms where learners of all ages engage with nature through seasonal cycles, ecological stewardship, and community collaboration. The program is rooted in sustainability and environmental literacy, offering immersive experiences that support holistic development. We have dedicated nature-walks that involve sensory, ecological and reading literacy (Storywalk) and follow ecologically minded design principles that encourage awareness and love of the natural world. 

2025 Annual Impact Report

Mission

GRO.UND's mission is to foster environmental and community values of sustainability, engagement and stewardship through regenerative garden education. 

Project Goals

• Provide a community space for learning ecological literacy and a sense of place through the values and practices of regenerative permaculture.
• Create a model of education that provokes action, builds direct relationships between learner and nature, and validates personal experience. 
• Provide food and well-being through experiential garden education that addresses the ecological, social and economic needs of our local community.

Why It Matters

Gro.UND helps learners:

• Build confidence through healthy risk-taking and hands-on learning.
• Develop empathy and environmental awareness.
• Experience joy, wonder, and a sense of belonging in nature.
• Share outdoor experiences with others in a nature-oriented community.
• Gain competency in teaching others about natural dynamics and our interdependence with nature.  

Three Intertwined Pillars of Sustainability Education

Sprouts

Head Start preschoolers, or Sprouts, are GRO.UND's youngest learners. They plant sunflowers to learn about germination and seed growth. They also grow radishes in their classrooms to learn about growing food in small spaces.

 

Storywalk & Learning Gardens

GRO.UND brought the very first StoryWalk to Grand Forks in June 2024. It is 100% free and open to the public. Children can experience reading a book, one page post at a time, while walking through a garden and learning more about nature.

The StoryWalk and Learning Gardens is located on UND's campus at University Ave. and Harvard St., just north of the Chester Fritz Library.

 

GRO.UND Support

Helping Students

GRO.UND Learning Gardens help UND students. At the end of the summer growing period, produce is harvested and donated to UND Food for Thought.

Get Involved

GRO.UND welcomes students, educators, families, and community members to participate, volunteer, or donate. The gardens nourish both body and spirit—cultivating lifelong connections to the earth.  

Core Values

• All people should have equal access to nature-based experiences
  
• People learn best through direct experience outdoors 
  
• Curiosity should drive learning and unstructured time leads to deeper understanding 
  
• Nature-based experiences are fundamental to happy healthy social and emotional learning
• Humans are a part of an interdependent natural world
  
• A thriving and vibrant natural world requires people who care, are aware of our interdependence and are willing to protect natural systems

Nature-Inspired Activites 

Our pedagogical approach is grounded in Provocative Pedagogy (Hunter, 2024). Learners participating in GRO.UND programs engage in a wide variety of nature-based activities that mirror the best practices of outdoor early learning: 

• Exploration & Wo(a)ndering: Children have time to freely explore and follow their own curiosity and wonderment, interacting directly with nature.  
• Nature-based Teaching: University students gain essential skills working with children and adults in experiential, hands-on and nature-based education.  
• Professional Development: Educators gain continuing education and professional development in nature-based learning environments and instruction. 
  
• Ecological Design Principles: Educators gain competency in developing ecologically centered design principles for outdoor play and learning. 

Volunteer

Become a volunteer and get involved in the success of the GRO.UND Learning Gardens project.

Volunteer Sign-Up Form

Donate

Consider helping support the work of the GRO.UND Learning Gardens through a financial donation. The Learning Gardens have helped feed members of the UND student community and have helped educate countless members of the UND and greater Grand Forks communities. Your gift would be processed through the UND Alumni Association & Foundation and applied to areas of need.

DONATE Now

GRO.UND Team