Riverside High wins $750 grant for student garden project

Riverside High School will use a $750 grant to build a student garden outside the cafeteria, a small award that is expected to reach science classrooms, agriculture lessons and school meals across the campus. The Gro More Good Grassroots Grant came from KidsGardening.org and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, with the application written and secured by Dr. Amanda Creasy on behalf of Mrs. Vanessa Stephenson.

The district said the garden will give students hands-on experience in science, agriculture, nutrition, environmental stewardship, sustainability, responsibility and teamwork. It is also being framed as a living learning space that can support classroom instruction, not just a patch of ground beside the cafeteria doors. Assistant Principal Amanda Keeton said the project will reinforce healthy living and, when possible, provide produce for the cafeteria. Director of Schools Melinda Thompson said it reflects innovative, hands-on learning that connects science, agriculture and nutrition.

The teacher behind the project brings the kind of background that makes the garden more than a beautification effort. Decatur County Schools lists Vanessa Stephenson as Riverside High School’s biology teacher, and the district previously said she holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and environmental science and a master’s degree in plant and soil science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Riverside staff directory also lists Amanda Keeton as assistant principal and CTE director, and Dustyn Watson as the agriculture teacher, which points to a project that could bridge biology, career technical education and agriculture.

The grant sits at the low end of a broader national program, but in a rural school setting it can still carry real weight. KidsGardening says the Gro More Good Grassroots Grant is supporting youth garden programs across the United States, and 120 programs are receiving awards ranging from $750 to $1,500 in 2026. At Riverside, that funding is enough to launch a dedicated student garden and give students something they can plant, tend and learn from over time. In a county where school resources have to stretch, the project offers a visible example of what a modest outside grant can do when staff leadership and student-centered teaching line up around one small piece of ground.