Growing Into Year Two: An October Update from S.E.E.D Chattanooga

Hardy Elementary students celebrate their harvest in S.E.E.D Chattanooga’s Community Learning Garden.

October is here, and S.E.E.D Chattanooga is beginning our second year with gratitude, purpose, and new opportunities to grow together.

September gave us a chance to celebrate how far we have come. As we move into fall, we are carrying that energy into hands-on learning, meaningful connections, and continued care for the Community Learning Gardens that bring our mission to life.

Celebrating One Year of Growing Together

Thank you to everyone who supported our September 22 Mellow Mushroom Giveback Day and our September 25 anniversary gathering at The Landing Social House. Whether you attended, donated, shared our events, or encouraged us along the way, you helped us celebrate a meaningful milestone.

Throughout our first year, harvesting days, seasonal planting days, garden maintenance, hands-on lessons, and a cooking demonstration brought our mission to life at Hardy Elementary and Jessie Igou Community Center. Together, 100 volunteers contributed more than 255 service hours to help care for 14 raised garden beds. That work produced fresh food, gave students and neighbors opportunities to develop practical skills, and connected what we grow with how we prepare and share it. Our two Community Learning Gardens became places where consistent care led to visible results.

Behind those numbers are students, neighbors, educators, volunteers, donors, and partners who helped turn an idea into something our community can experience. Every person who planted, watered, harvested, taught, or showed up helped build this first year.

We are grateful for the foundation we have created together.

Bringing Garden Learning to STEAM Career Day

On October 2, S.E.E.D Chattanooga participated in Chattanooga STEAM Career Day at Miller Park, bringing a hands-on seed starter activity to students in grades 9 through 12.

The activity connected growing food with science, experimentation, and practical learning. Starting with a seed gives students an opportunity to explore how soil, water, growing conditions, and care influence what happens next.

It also creates a starting point for conversations about careers connected to food and the environment, including agriculture, culinary arts, education, and environmental science.

Experiences like this reflect what we want students to discover through S.E.E.D: learning can be practical, engaging, and connected to opportunities beyond the classroom.

S.E.E.D Chattanooga’s booth at STEAM Career Day at Miller Park on October 2, 2026.

A Weather Pause at Stove Works

Our October 3 Fall Planting Volunteer Day with Stove Works was canceled because of all-day rain. The weather prevented us from preparing and planting the garden as planned.

Thank you to everyone who planned to join us and to our partners at Stove Works. We appreciate your willingness to give your time and care to this community garden.

Support That Helps Us Keep Growing

As we begin our second year, we are thankful for the support helping us move our work forward.

We recently received a $3,000 award from the Boys & Girls Club and $2,000 through ArtsBuild’s Community Cultural Connections program for our Growing Together public art project at Hardy Elementary.

We also extend a heartfelt thank-you to the Johnny Majors Foundation for its $2,000 contribution supporting our Harvest and Planting Days. That generosity helped create opportunities for volunteers and community members to work together in our gardens.

Every grant, donation, and contribution of supplies or time helps us care for these spaces and create meaningful learning experiences.

Growing Together Through Art at Hardy Elementary

This fall, our Community Learning Garden at Hardy Elementary will become a space for another kind of growth.

Through the Growing Together public art project, artist Karla Bivens will work with students and staff to connect gardening with creativity, nature, healthy food, pollinators, and community. Six raised garden beds will become part of a lasting outdoor art installation.

Student and staff sessions are planned for October and November, followed by painting later in November and completion in December. An unveiling is planned for January 2027.

We look forward to seeing students’ ideas become part of a garden where they can learn, create, and take pride in what they help shape.

Coming October 9: Seeds of Sisterhood

Seeds of Sisterhood • October 9, 2026 • 6–8 p.m. • The Kitchen Collection

This Friday, October 9, S.E.E.D Chattanooga and Brown Girls Can will present Seeds of Sisterhood at The Kitchen Collection from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Seeds of Sisterhood is an intimate, women-centered and inclusive evening created for guests to slow down, connect, reflect, and grow together. Through planting lemon basil seeds, guided reflection, conversation, and fellowship, we are connecting the work we do in the garden with our own lives.

Just as a seed needs intention, care, and the right environment to grow, so do we.

Together, we will consider what we are planting in this season of our lives, what we are pouring into, and what we want to grow.

The evening includes mocktails, small bites, and a keepsake planting experience. Tickets are $30, guests must be age 18 or older, and capacity is limited to 30 guests. Proceeds benefit S.E.E.D Chattanooga.

Plant. Pour. Grow. Together.

Visit our Seeds of Sisterhood ticket page for tickets and event information.

Help Us Grow Into Year Two

As we look ahead, our focus is on strengthening the work at Hardy Elementary and Jessie Igou Community Center, developing educational experiences, and building partnerships that support our students and neighborhoods.

Our Help Us Grow Into Year Two campaign supports the everyday needs that make this possible, including soil, tools, educational supplies, and ongoing garden care.

You can be part of this next chapter by volunteering, donating, sharing our work, or inviting someone to learn more about S.E.E.D Chattanooga.

Visit www.seedchatt.org to connect with us or make a donation.

Thank you for helping us care for what has taken root and for being part of what grows next.

Teaching Soil. Growing Food. Building Futures.