Grandview Heights Schools will open its Garden Club to students in kindergarten through second grade in the 2026-27 school year. The program drew 36 third-graders away from recess during the 2025-26 school year.

The expansion was first reported by Lucy Lawler in Tri-Village Magazine's September/October 2026 issue. The program teaches students about native plants and the pollinators that depend on them.

Jessica Fields, a 21st-century learning coach at Grandview Heights Schools and a key organizer of the club, said the program first took root at the middle and high school levels. A donation from Grandview Heights High School alumni Warren Klink and Carolyn Guggenaster Wyman helped fund the third-grade expansion during the 2025-26 school year. The dollar amount was not disclosed.

All 36 third-graders who signed up chose to work in the elementary school garden instead of going to recess.

"Starting this momentum in the third grade is going to exponentially impact our Middle School Garden Club and, eventually, our Environmental Club at the high school level," Fields said in the magazine's September/October issue. "We are planting seeds in more ways than one."

To guide students' research into plants that support local wildlife, the teaching staff brought in Jared Goodykoontz, an Ohio school naturalist. Club members also took a walking field trip to Boulevard Presbyterian Church's pollinator garden.

Elizabeth Page, a fourth-grade teacher at Larson Middle School and Garden Club advisor, said the experiences give students a sense of belonging and motivate them to share what they have learned. One experiment did not go as planned: a winter sowing technique using seeds planted in recycled milk jugs failed to produce results. Separately, the club plans to partner with Sustainable Grandview, a grassroots community action group founded in 2007 with about 300 members, for a pollinator plant giveaway during the 2026-27 school year.

Fields said the program's long-term goals include building an outdoor science lab for high school students. The K-2 expansion is set for the school year beginning in fall 2026.