Page 131 - School Garden Development Guide - 4th Edition

• Lumber used to frame garden beds may be used within 60
feet of a building as it is in contact with wet earth and will not
become a significant fire hazard.
• “Old” lumber may contain wood preservatives which have
been banned and therefore is not permitted for use.
• Wood that is harvested sustainably will have Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) certification and will be
stamped as such.
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certified wood is a less
rigorous certification, and may be easier to find in the
stores if FSC is unavailable.
• FSC is the “gold standard” in terms of responsible forest
management and is fairly comparable in cost to non-
certified wood.
• For more information about wood preservatives, visit:
Dangerous-Wood-Preservatives.pdf

Plant Species
Although some plants may be approved for a school garden, they
may not be allowed elsewhere on the campus. What is planted in
the garden, should stay in the garden.

Fountains
While fountains are beautiful and definitely enhance garden
spaces, due to the arrival of Zika in the South Florida area, standing
water, which includes fountains and bird baths, may NOT appear
in school gardens.

Building Clearances
When choosing a location for your school garden and the design
for the garden, consideration must be given to the placement of
plants, trees and bushes.

When planting, it is important to maintain the following
mandatory separation between the building and the following
plants. The reason is because we want to make sure that trees,
rooting systems and animals do not interfere with the building
structure.

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