Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Ramirez.
Hi Liz, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Earth Heart Growers began in 2015 while I was completing my Montessori certification at Hursey Montessori School. The school’s garden classroom had lost its funding, and while the program seem coming to an end, I saw an opportunity to create something new.
My own childhood in Colombia deeply shaped this vision. I grew up on a farm surrounded by nature, animals, fresh food, family, and community. I also experienced the effects of Colombia’s internal conflict as a child, and my family was displaced by violence. When I later immigrated to the United States, in 2007, I didn’t realize at first how much those experiences had stayed with me and shaped my understanding of safety, belonging, and community.
At Hursey, I began seeing similar challenges affecting children in a very different context. At the time, North Charleston was not generally considered a safe place, and some of my students came to school carrying stories of violence, family conflict, and guns. I also saw how limited access to healthy food and green spaces affected children and families. There were few grocery stores nearby, while convenience stores and gas stations were much more accessible.
I began thinking about what children need beyond the classroom. I wanted to create a space where they could grow food, get their hands in the soil, explore nature, and learn how to take good care of themselves and one another. My hope was that they would take those lessons home and eventually become part of creating positive change in their own families and communities.
I also wanted the garden to be recognized as a meaningful part of education, not simply an extra activity. I worked to connect Montessori principles and the garden curriculum with South Carolina academic standards, particularly through science and hands-on learning. Gerrita Postlewait, who was superintendent at the time, guided and supported me throughout this process, along with the Charleston County School District Science Department. Their support helped validate the garden as a living classroom where children could learn science, nutrition, responsibility, problem-solving, and collaboration while developing a deeper connection to the natural world. As the garden program grew, we also expanded the experience for older students through field trips to Joseph Fields Farm, where adolescents could explore a working farm, learn about food and agriculture, and see how their learning connected to the land and their community.
Creating Earth Heart Growers became, in many ways, part of my own healing. What began as a small garden project grew into a nonprofit connecting children and communities to the earth. Along the way, teachers, families, students, farmers, volunteers, schools, and community partners have all helped it grow.
For me, Earth Heart Growers is about building community, learning academic concepts in real life situations, is about planting seeds—both in the earth and in children—and creating the conditions for them to grow into healthy, connected, and empowered members of their communities.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Building a nonprofit from the ground up while being an educator, a mother, an immigrant, and learning how to navigate fundraising and nonprofit management has required a lot of persistence.
One of our biggest challenges has always been sustainability. Educational programs can have a tremendous impact, but funding is often temporary. We’ve had years of growth and many active programs, and other seasons when funding changed, programs slowed down, or we had to rethink what came next. I’ve had to learn that growth isn’t always linear.
Another challenge has been wearing so many hats. For many years I was not only developing and teaching the programs, but also fundraising, writing grants, building partnerships, managing the organization, and doing much of the behind-the-scenes work. There were times when that was overwhelming.
But those challenges have also taught me that Earth Heart Growers was never meant to depend on one person. Some of our strongest relationships—with schools, Joseph Fields Farm, our funders, volunteers, families, and community partners—came from learning to ask for help and allowing other people to become part of the mission.
Eleven years later, I’m learning that sustainability sometimes means allowing something to evolve rather than trying to hold onto every version of what it has been. That has probably been one of my biggest lessons as a founder.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work is rooted in education, connection, creativity, and healing. I began my career in education long before earning my degree, and in 2023 I graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Education, formalizing a path I had already been devoted to for many years.
I am a Montessori educator and the founder of Earth Heart Growers, a nonprofit that connects children and communities with the earth through gardening, farms, food, environmental education, and hands-on learning. I am also a sound practitioner and yoga teacher, and I recently created Little Sprouts, a Spanish immersion Montessori learning community for young children.
For many years, I loved teaching but also felt that the traditional education system limited me. I knew I had much more to offer and wanted the freedom to explore education in a broader and more creative way. Following that feeling led me to create my own programs and eventually build a career that brings together education, nature, wellness, creativity, and community.
Although these may seem like different paths, I see them as deeply connected. Whether I am working with children in a garden, creating a Montessori environment, facilitating sound, or developing a new program, I am interested in creating spaces where people feel safe, curious, capable, and connected.
As an immigrant and a single mother, I have had to create much of my own path. I am proud that I have built a life that gives me the freedom to follow my calling rather than fit myself into one traditional career.
What sets me apart is the way I bring different worlds together. I don’t see education, nature, wellness, creativity, and community as separate things. I see them as pieces of the same picture—and I believe there is still so much more for me to create.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
There are many ways to work with and support this work.
Through Earth Heart Growers, schools, educators, farms, community organizations, volunteers, sponsors, and individuals can collaborate with us through school gardening, environmental education, farm-to-table experiences, workshops, and hands-on learning opportunities. We also welcome organizations and individuals who want to sponsor programs or help us expand access to these experiences for more children.
The best way to connect is through the website, www.earth-heartgrowers.com, or by reaching out directly.
Sometimes the most meaningful collaborations begin simply with a conversation and a shared idea.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.earth-heartgrowers.com
- Instagram: @earth.heartgrowers
- Facebook: Earth Heart Growers
- Youtube: Earth Heart Growers
