# Schools, Churches & Nonprofits > Gardens that serve a mission: outdoor classrooms, pollinator plantings, welcoming entrances and lower grounds costs for schools, churches and nonprofits. **Summary:** Gardens that serve a mission: outdoor classrooms, pollinator plantings, welcoming entrances and lower grounds costs for schools, churches and nonprofits. ![Volunteers planting a new bed along a sidewalk](https://healingearthdesignbysarah.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6Mzg4LCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--ca5e8d6cc5931d3815c487b1f293b9e68f396961/IMG_8938.webp) ## Green grounds are a place to learn, gather and save money. **Intro:** Schools with more green cover scored better in math, and classes held outdoors came back to the classroom more focused. For a church or nonprofit, the grounds are how the neighborhood first meets you. And for any organization with a tight budget, swapping lawn for native planting cuts mowing costs year after year. - Outdoor classrooms — Pollinator and vegetable gardens students can plant, watch and study through the school year. - A welcoming front door — Entrances and signs planted to say "you're welcome here" to visitors and neighbors. - Lower grounds costs — Natives in place of mown lawn save on mowing and upkeep, money better spent on your mission. - Volunteer planting days — We can plan a planting day your members, families or students can take part in. - 318 — Chicago public schools studied: more tree cover predicted better math test scores, after controlling for disadvantage. — - Almost half — fewer times a teacher had to redirect students after a lesson held outdoors in nature. — - $3,950–$4,683 — saved per acre each year, on average over ten years, by native plantings over mown turf. — **What we'd plant:** - Pollinator gardens and outdoor classrooms - Entrance and sign plantings - Native plantings in place of little-used lawn - Memorial and prayer gardens - Community and vegetable gardens - Volunteer planting days **Calculator: label for that figure:** Property value **Calculator: uplift, low (%):** 0.25 **Calculator: uplift, high (%):** 1 **Calculator: where the uplift comes from:** A one-time gain of 0.25% to 1% of property value, well below the 5–11% perceived-value result for homes (Behe, 2005), since no study measures it for schools or churches. For these grounds the hard savings usually come from lawn turned to planting, so enter the square feet. **Planner choice:** School, church or nonprofit - Can students or volunteers help plant? — Yes. We plan the work so a group can plant with us safely, and we show everyone how to care for it afterward. - We have a small budget. Where should we start? — Usually with the entrance and one garden people will use, planned so it can grow in phases as funds allow. - Do you build patios, walls or walkways? — No. Everything we do is plants: design, soil, planting, mulch and care. If your project needs hardscape, we can plan the planting around it and work alongside your contractor. --- Source: https://healingearthdesignbysarah.com/industries/schools-churches-nonprofits Updated: 2026-10-13