Kim Aman - Teacher
Description of Individual or Organization
Kim Aman, aka Farmer Kim, has been growing the school garden movement in North Texas for the past 15 years. She began her journey beside her Grandfather, who taught her about the land, ecosystems and the beauty of a bite from a ripe, red tomato. Kim is an educator by trade and 10 years ago she left the indoor classroom for the outside classroom. She founded Moss Haven Farm, a nationally recognized school garden program in Richardson ISD.
Then she went on to start a school garden support organization, Grow Garden Grow, where she and 5 other garden educators support schools across the region, collaborating with United To Learn, American Heart Association, Whole Kids Foundation, Slow Food USA, Texas Master Gardeners and the USDA. The mission of this organization is Growing a Healthier World, One Garden at a Time. Each month this organization works with over 7,000 students in four different school districts.
Collaborating with school garden leaders in Fort Worth, they have grown the NTx School Garden Network, a non profit that supports educators and school districts, by building a community of people who are doing this work and building the momentum of the school garden movement in North Texas. They strive to be green by educating children, who go home and educate their family on sustainability practices that can be used in everyone’s home. Kids have the power to create change and Kim is the Pied Piper of leading kids and school communities to be environmentally minded to grow a healthier world.
Leadership (Nominee demonstrates leadership through example, knowledge, attitude)
Kim is a born leader and well respected in the communities where she works. She has worked to grow positive change in all that she does. Having been a special education teacher for three decades, she worked tirelessly to teach kids to be the best that they can be. She uses this mindset to create sustainable school gardens in North Texas. She works with kids, teaching them about the environment and the positive impact that they can have on it. She teaches educators and school garden teams how to create beautiful learning spaces to grow healthy kids and a healthier world. She works nationally to build the garden movement through her work with Slow Food USA School Garden Network, growing garden programs that support good, clean, fair food for all. Through this work, she creates equitable opportunities so that every school can have access to school gardens for their students. Additionally Kim is a Texas Master Gardener who contributes to supporting environmental education through their regional programs. Kim was awarded the WFAA Eco Educator Award, the Slow Food USA SnailBlazer Award and the EarthKind Harmony Hero Award for her work with monarch migration and environmental education.
Environmental Impact (Nominee demonstrates a positive impact on the local environment via policy change, product offering, significant volunteer contribution or other achievement)
Everywhere that Kim digs into, creates beautiful spaces for the community and the ecosystem that dwells there. She works to grow the school garden movement in school districts, and individual schools. She believes that every school benefits from having a school garden program and is on her way to do just that. Working with Grow North Texas, Kim has been awarded a grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture, The Seed Project Foundation and two USDA Farm to School grants. These grants have been used to support over 50 schools to build not only school gardens, but to grow sustainable programs for students and their community. On any given day, you will find Kim shoulder to shoulder with students and educators teaching them to love the planet and delicious fruits of their labor.
Community Impact (Nominee demonstrates commitment to DFW green community through involvement with causes, business ventures or organizations)
Locally, Kim has grown three organizations — Moss Haven Farm, Grow Garden Grow and NTx School Garden Network. These organizations have contributed to the growth and sustainability of School Garden programs throughout our region. Her work with the Dallas County Master Gardners supports educating a broader base of people on positive environmental changes they can make in the world. Working with Slow Food DFW, Kim supports equity and justice in the food system by supporting farmers, producers and the community to make environmentally minded decisions about the food that they produce and/or eat. Her collaboration with Grow North Texas has supported the growth and increase of school gardens in our community. Most recently, Kim has collaborated with United to Learn, where she supports the schools within their program to rehab or build new gardens for campuses in DISD. Her commitment and involvement is growing strong roots throughout the DFW green community.
Other reasons for your nomination:
Kim has committed her life to educating children to be the best that they can be. She has taken that commitment and her passion for growing a healthier world to grow school gardens so that our younger generation can understand the positive impact that they can make in building a healthier world. Children are the future and the future looks brighter and healthier with Farmer Kim leading the way.