Last week, the SFPUC hosted a Haunted Halloween Garden for families at the College Hill Learning Garden on Halloween. The event was designed for the local community to explore the garden, participate in ghoulish family-friendly activities and enjoy Halloween and garden-themed treats. Festivities included a screening of San Francisco Department of the Environment’s LED giveaway, the SFPUC’s educational animated video designed to teach elementary school students about San Francisco wastewater system.

Over 100 attendees and 11 volunteers came out to the event. Volunteers included seven teen volunteers from the Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens (BEETS) program through the nonprofit, Community Grows.

“It was nice to see people of all ages, abilities and families at the garden on Halloween learning and having fun,” said Danny Palmer, SFPUC College Hill Learning Garden Manager. “All of our programs and field trips foster a deeper understanding and appreciation for the natural systems on which we all rely.”

Constructed on SFPUC land, the College Hill Learning Garden is an education and demonstration garden created to teach students about water, food, energy and waste systems. The garden offers free field trips for third through fifth-grade students in San Francisco. Each year, about 4,000 children take field trips to the garden where they learn key concepts from Big Ideas, the SFPUC’s eco-literacy guidebook, which connects water, power and wastewater systems to state educational standards for kindergarten through grade 12. 

This was the second Haunted Garden Party at College Hill Learning Garden in two years.

Palmer shared, “At the Learning Garden we aim to connect students, teachers, parents, and community members to our unique urban environment through engaging hands-on and place-based activities that also equip them with the skills, resources, and confidence needed to practice sustainability and stewardship beyond the garden.”