Keter North America, a prominent manufacturer of outdoor storage and furniture products, has collaborated with the nonprofit FoodCorps to help schools across the United States establish and maintain garden spaces. This aligns with FoodCorps’ mission to connect children with healthy foods and Keter’s sustainability-focused “Green Spaces” initiative.
The partnership provides schools with resources like storage sheds, raised garden beds, seating, and organization tools to create hands-on garden classrooms. Students can gain firsthand knowledge of agriculture, nutrition, environmental science, and life skills like leadership through caring for the gardens. Beyond academic lessons, these green spaces offer mental and emotional benefits by fostering students’ sense of community and interdependence with nature.
As a leader in eco-friendly outdoor product design, Keter strives to integrate sustainable practices. Their products are engineered to minimize waste in production and enable full recyclability after use. The company’s CEO, Alejandro Peña, has championed sustainability as a core of Keter’s identity. The Green Spaces collaboration exhibits their commitment to environmental consciousness and community enrichment on both local and global levels.
The inaugural Green Spaces project took form at a Miami elementary school. Keter donated furniture and materials to create an “outdoor classroom” garden to honor teachers during Appreciation Week. Students can explore plant biology and agriculture’s role in the food cycle while gaining a reverence for nature. Beyond Miami, Keter seeks to spread its message of sustainability and community interconnectedness through many such school gardens.
Keter put its recycling knowledge into educational action last Global Recycling Day. Company representatives taught French elementary students about incorporating recycled materials into Keter products. They explained common sustainability symbols found on packaging in France. Keter aims to derive 55% of its products’ content from recycled sources by 2025, up from 40% in 2020. Instilling recycling values in the next generation advances their ambitious sustainability targets.
To qualify for Keter’s Green Spaces school garden program, applicants must submit details on their educational aspirations, available space, community involvement plans, and long-term sustainability vision. Schools commit to assembling donated products like raised garden beds onsite and allowing Keter to showcase resulting garden projects publically. Selected schools gain fully furnished outdoor classrooms where students can reap the developmental and health rewards of caring for nature.
Through pragmatic charity efforts like the Green Spaces collaboration, Keter propagates its environmental consciousness and collective welfare ideals. Students receive vibrant green spaces conducive to academic growth and emotional enrichment. In return, Keter earns public goodwill while advancing its eco-friendly mission. The company thus takes a creative approach to embodying sustainability across business and philanthropic efforts.
