Students at West End IB World School started down the garden path in 2008 with the introduction of a rain garden. Benefitting 431 students through integrated lessons across the curriculum, the garden grew in 2010 to include native plants. The addition of a vegetable garden in 2011 will allow West End IB World School to complete its outdoor classroom, serve freshly harvested vegetables in the school cafeteria and donate the surplus to local food banks.

Impacted by the economic downturn due to the automotive industry reorganization, Detroit-area Waterford School District has experienced a growing need for food assistance. This start-up garden will be located at the Waterford Alternative High School and will benefit 219 students. Working side-by-side with school and administrative staff, along with members of the Waterford Senior Center, students will maintain and harvest the garden, providing vegetables to the Open Door Outreach Center and Forgotten Harvest food banks for families in need.

For many students at Robles Elementary School, discovering food growing on a plant is a new experience. To help students at this urban, high-poverty school learn about new foods and understand the value of healthy eating, this school located near Tampa, Fla. participates in the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program to provide 630 students with an assortment of fresh produce weekly. In partnership with Southwest Florida Water Management, Robles Elementary School will use its new garden as a tool for teaching science and conservation.

Washington D.C.’s Kid Power is expanding its VeggieTime program with the addition of a vegetable garden at Harriet Tubman Elementary School to better support its students in underserved communities. This well developed environmental science and nutrition program allows youth to participate in the local farmers markets, service learning projects, cooking classes, field trips and guest lectures.

The Salem Hills Community Garden Plots, managed by the Inver Grove Heights Parks and Recreation and Salem Elementary School, provide 140 community youth with a service learning opportunity to engage in gardening and the environment. Established in May 2010, several plots are designated multi-generational gardens where grandparents, parents and grandchildren garden together, sharing the tradition of gardening. Youth gardeners are taught by Dakota County Master Gardeners and donate 20 percent of harvested food to local food banks.

George Ball Jr. is the President of W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the most trusted name in home vegetable gardening. Burpee produces the highest possible quality products with conscientious service, and an enormous quantity of seed selections. Burpee's creative innovation can be seen in the latest catalogue and will be seen for years to come.

Joe Lamp’l, founder of The joe gardener^® Company, now brings his expertise to viewers through his own show on public television, "Growing a Greener World". A gardening and sustainability communicator through all forms of media and sought-after speaker, Joe shares his knowledge in books, on his blog Compost Confidential, his syndicated column “The Gardener Within”, appearances on the "Today Show", "Good Morning America", "The Victory Garden" and as host of two previous television shows, "Fresh from the Garden" on the DIYNetwork and
"GardenSmart" on PBS. His new show, "Growing a Greener World", is all about the people, places and organizations doing good things for the planet with an emphasis on gardening.

Theresa Loe is the Associate Producer of Growing A Greener World TV and the resident canning expert, blogging about preserving tips and techniques. Theresa is also the owner of Living Homegrown Fresh, a website dedicated to living locally and sustainably through gardening and canning. She specializes in small space gardening, urban homesteading, educational school gardens and is trained as a Master Food Preserver. Theresa gardens on less than 1/10th of an acre in Los Angeles and is able to raise chickens, grow enough food to feed her family of four and preserve the harvest. She has shared this gardening knowledge as a columnist, book author, radio correspondent, video host and video/TV producer.

Chef Nathan Lyon is known across the country for his simple, innovative cuisine featuring fresh, local ingredients. Each week, Chef Lyon shows "Growing a Greener World" viewers how to prepare great meals with home grown vegetables and locally purchased produce, and also offers tips on how to stretch your menu, and your dollar. Among the final four on the second season of "The Next Food Network Star", Lyon is the chef and host of "A Lyon in the Kitchen" (Discovery Health and Fit TV) and has appeared as a guest chef / expert on "Home Made Simple" (TLC) and "Real Simple Real Life" (TLC). A stained glass artist and a trained EMT, Nathan holds a BS in Health Science from James Madison University as well as a Culinary Arts Degree from Le Cordon Bleu. Blending grassroots and gourmet, Nathan believes great meals make great neighbors.

Marci lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and puppy, Lily. She writes a daily healthy living blog and enjoys trying new recipes, experimenting with ingredients and techniques, and especially likes to bake. Marci has never been a gardener and knows nothing about keeping plants alive, but looks forward to figuring it out through the hot Texas summer. You can also view Marci’s personal blog at www.marcigilbert.com or follow her on Twitter® @marcigilbert.

Susan is the food and mommy blogger behind the award-winning site She's Becoming DoughMessTic, where she chronicles her life in the kitchen and beyond. Behind her Virginia home, she and husband Jon have a small garden of raised beds, a grape arbor and thriving berry bushes, despite being novice gardeners. Follow along as she waters and waits, picks and prunes, and hopefully preserves everything her garden grows! Keep up with all the juicy details (and desserts!) at www.doughmesstic.com and on Twitter® @doughmesstic.

Chad lives in Black Earth, Wisconsin and is excited to start his first garden. Since he loves hockey and coaches his son's hockey team, his garden will resemble a hockey rink. No word on if there will be a Zamboni. When he's not mentoring young minds, Chad's ranting and rambling about advertising and the creative process on his blog: http://chadschomber.com. You can also follow him on Twitter® @chadschomber.

Erin Etheridge discovered her interest in gardening when she moved from Chicago to North Carolina, joined a CSA and realized she had no idea how to grow anything. So far, her greatest gardening achievement is getting over the smell of organic fish emulsion fertilizer. After losing her very first container garden of tomatoes to last year's late blight, she hopes to move beyond the grief and successfully grow some vegetables this season. Erin writes about being a mom, a grad student in publishing and the wife of a police officer at www.fiercebeagle.com. You can also follow her on Twitter® @fiercebeagle.

Shawna Lee Coronado is a spokesperson, author, newspaper columnist, blogger, and speaker centered on teaching and living a green lifestyle. She has been featured on multiple news television shows such as ABC News and WGN 9 News. Shawna’s critically acclaimed simple living guide, Gardening Nude, inspires readers to help community and get healthy. Shawna’s unique approach includes teaching people how to feed-the-hungry, build community, and live more sustainably with gardening and green living. Learn more about Shawna’s videos, blogs, and eco-adventures at www.thecasualgardener.com.

Los Angeles-based Shirley Bovshow is a nationally recognized garden designer and the producer / host of the weekly, online garden TV entertainment show, Garden World Report. The Garden World Report features the "who's who" of the gardening world as well as passionate gardeners from all over the world as contributors to the show. Hallmarks of Shirley's designs include edible landscapes that integrate edible plants with ornamentals to extend the use of yards for both food production and entertaining, double-duty landscape features, and sustainable gardens. Known as Eden Maker on the web, her style is creative, accessible and fun!

Meet Megan, a wife, a mother of three children ages 6, 7 & 9, and a full-time tax firm manager. “I’m looking to improve our food choices, experience new challenges, and embrace opportunities with my children,” she says. Megan shares snippets of her life at her personal blog, www.AllABunchOfMomsense.com.

Hallie, 25, lives in Dallas, Texas, with her fiancé Chase and border collie mix Paisley. The couple are new residents of Dallas, moving from Oklahoma City at the end of last year. Hallie works as an Account Executive for a web design and development firm in Dallas. Hallie loves being outside-going to the park, walking Paisley, riding bikes, and yes gardening. Hallie and Chase are new homeowners and are enjoying working on their new house together and exploring the Dallas Metroplex. Hallie also writes a blog detailing her and Chase's life, their new adventures in Dallas, and their upcoming wedding. You can visit Hallie's daily blog at www.penniesaremoneytoo.com.

Amanda Green is a freelance writer and editor living in New York City. Originally from a small town in Texas, she grew up with green-thumbed parents, homegrown vegetables, and the tallest sunflowers for miles. Central Park has been Amanda’s closest connection to nature for the last few years, but no longer! She (and her neighbors) are excited to see her garden grow on her third-story apartment fire escape. You can learn more about Amanda's daily NYC adventures in life, love, and public transit at www.noisiestpassenger.com.

Greg currently lives in Milwaukee, WI and is an area sports radio personality at AM620, WTMJ. “I’ve owned my house for 5 years, but the only thing I’ve grown is crabgrass ... and that stuff doesn't taste good in scrambled eggs,” he says. Greg is excited to try his hand at growing something more useful. He loves sports, landscaping, 78 degrees and three green lights in a row, but does he have a green thumb? We'll find out soon enough. “I’m trying to dispel the myth that a male college athlete, sports nut, and beer drinker, can’t also dig gardening,” he adds. Follow Greg and his first passion, sports, at www.620wtmj.com/sports/gregmatzek.

Gary Oppenheimer is the founder of the AmpleHarvest.org Campaign, a nationwide effort to educate, encourage and enable gardeners with extra extra produce to easily donate to a local food pantry. AmpleHarvest.org gives food pantries the opportunity to be listed in a central nationwide directory so that gardeners can share their fresh produce and, garden-by-garden, help diminish hunger in America.

Anne Marie Van Nest is an Austin-area garden writer and president of the Garden Writers Association Foundation.

The Burpee Home Gardens Team is ready to share their knowledge with you!

Jessie Atchison was the brand manager of Burpee Home Gardens from 2008 to 2010. An avid gardener herself, Jessie started her first vegetable garden at age 8. Since then, through experimentation, practice, practical conversations with fellow gardeners and professional instruction, she has learned how to make gardens sweet, delicious and successful. As a busy 30-something juggling professional life and family, Jessie gardens to escape but also for taste, satisfaction, savings and fun (and, secretly, also to keep up with “the garden lady” down the block). She has tips, tricks and confidence-inspiring advice for vegetable gardeners at all levels. Her motto: Grow as a gardener. It’s okay to fail as long as you learn.