It’s Garden Love Month here in Lane County, a time to show your affection for rosy radishes and leafy greens. And there’s hardly a better way to share your love for all things vegetable than to volunteer for the School Garden Project, a local nonprofit dedicated to bringing the joy of gardening to kids in 16 schools spread through the Eugene 4J, Bethel, Springfield and Crow-Applegate-Lorane school districts.

“We’re doing a lot of work in terms of recognizing the health implications of gardens,” says John Moriarty, School Garden Project’s executive director. “There’s so much attention being paid to preventative health measures, and school gardens are recognized as a way kids can learn to develop a preference for vegetables early on.”

Moriarty says that when kids work together on gardens at their schools, it not only brings an active educational component to their day but also gives them the chance to see where their food comes from.

On March 7, you can join the School Garden Project from 9 to 11 am at César E. Chávez Elementary School for a work party, where volunteers can help prepare the school’s garden for spring lessons. A week later, on March 14, another work party takes place at the Arts and Technology Academy (ATA).

If gardening isn’t quite your thing but you still want to support the veggie endeavor, head to Ninkasi on March 19, when the brewery will host Pints for a Cause and donate a portion of beer sales to the School Garden Project. Gardening and beer — it doesn’t get much more Eugene than that.

For more information about volunteering, email info@schoolgardenproject.org or call 284-1001.