Partners for Education Agriculture & Sustainability (PEAS)
about us
Mission & Impact
Our Mission
Our mission is to cultivate joyful connections with the natural world
through outdoor learning and edible education!
PEAS cultivates joyful connections with the natural world through outdoor learning and edible education.
PEAS fosters exploration and awakens a sense of wonder through its educational programs. The organization recognizes and values the individual learning styles and unique experiences of each child, and seeks to nurture their curiosity through interactive, hands-on learning activities conducted outdoors and in kitchen settings.
A Letter from our Executive Director
Dear PEAS Community,
What an incredible year it has been for PEAS! We are thrilled to report that in the past year, we provided 44 interactive outdoor and edible education programs across 34 Austin area campuses, reaching over 5,500 students and community members with our unique brand of hands-on learning.
In addition to expanding our school partnerships, we were honored to have hosted over 22 volunteer days to provide maintenance at our community farm and in school gardens and outdoor learning spaces. We were also enthusiastic to participate in over a dozen beautiful community events, including
coordinating our joyful Earth Day Farm Fest celebration. Throughout it all, we have been supported by the tireless efforts of more than 200 dedicated volunteers. We are so grateful for your time and energy!
This incredible growth and momentum is a testament to the deep value the Austin community and our supporters place on environmental education, culinary arts, and cultivating joyful connections to the natural world. Our 215 partner classes are a clear indication that the demand for PEAS' programming continues to grow. Community is at the heart of our mission, and we are committed to nurturing these vital connections through our hands-on educational experiences. Looking ahead, we are excited to be able to more than double the kitchen portion of our programming in 2024-25 school, inspiring students to explore the origins of their food and develop essential life skills. This rich community programming is only possible with the generous support
of our partners, sponsors, and individual donors. Your contributions, both financial and in-kind, have been instrumental in allowing us to broaden our reach and deepen our impact. Going forward, we know we will need your continued support to sustain this growth and serve an even larger segment ofour community.
Peace & Community
Lauren & The PEAS Team
Click on the names to connect with our 2024-25 sponsors:
ABC Home & Commercial Services, AISD Stem Department, Austin FC, Austin Parks Foundation, City of Austin Development Services Urban Forestry Grant, City of Austin Office of Sustainability, City of Austin Watershed Protection, Eastside Lumber & Decking, Eldorado Cafe, Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Fruitful Commons, Funk & Associates, HEB Foundation, James Avery, Organics By Gosh, Snooze Eatery, Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, Subaru of Georgetown, USDA, Whole Kids Foundation
Events & Workshops
Farm Volunteer Days
Farm Volunteer Days are a chance to learn, harvest, and help a community farm grow! Farm Days are a free, fun way to get some fresh air, ask questions, and connect with your community. No task is too small to help our farm flourish!
Media
PEAS in the Media
- PEAS Receives Largest Urban Forest Grant Ever Awarded by the City of Austin! urban_forest_gran_press_release_final.pdf Download File
- PEAS is featured on KXAN for National Gardening Day (April 2022)
- PEAS was a Regions Philanthropitch award winner! This article details the event with a highlight on PEAS!
Wildflower Center Feature- COMING SOON
PEAS was awarded the John Ahrns award for Environmental Education - This award goes to an organization that has innovated curriculum and integrated the natural world, and perhaps the schoolyard, into their lessons so that their students are inspired to become explorers of the natural world on their own time.
- Texas Children in Nature Network's Partner Highlight
- Executive Director, Lauren Zappone Maples, spotlight from Pease Park Conservancy for Women's History Month
- PEAS featured on Spectrum News for partnership with the City of Austin's Bright Green Futures Grant at Rodriguez Elementary
- PEAS is featured in the May 2022 Food Issue of Tribeza Magazine!
PEAS is celebrated 10 years since we broke ground on our community farm in Nov 2021! Watch this video to see what we do and hear our story of how we've evolved over the years! This was filmed at our flagship farm during summer camp which we safely and successfully ran during a pandemic! (Our student numbers during the school year are much higher.)
PEAS was featured in the Austin American Statesman's Photos of the Day for our work on our Resiliency Gardens project.
Executive Director and Founder, Lauren Zappone Maples was interviewed for the article Gardening Restores Control To Lockdown Life by Alexa Hart with The Texas Standard.
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