Youth Grow

After school garden clubs, summer garden camps, school gardens, teen service, parent/child workshops

Youth Grow programs encourage the next generation of veggie eaters and growers to be healthy. Our programs improve nutrition and decrease the risk of food insecurity by teaching children at risk lessons in where food comes from, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and how to grow food through fun hands-on learning activities.

"I love to try new fresh fruits and vegetables and planting seeds in Garden Club. I like to eat kohlrabi now. I want to grow it in my own garden." - Wattles Garden Club student, Age 9.

At least 75% of Youth Grow after-school students reported liking food from the garden including: collard greens, kohlrabi, beets, asparagus. 80-100% of participating students said they'd like a food garden at home.

Youth Grow Garden Clubs and Summer Garden Camps:
In 2007 Youth Grow reached over 460 elementary aged children through after-school Garden Clubs and Summer Garden Camps for a total of 4,272 learning hours. Our programs also reached over 200 children through one-time special events.

In Garden Club, students learn skills in:

planting seeds
transplanting vegetable starts
watering and water conservation
caring for their gardens
team work, planning and critical thinking

and students learn to:

compost
tend a worm bin
harvest and prepare fresh vegetables for snacks

Students also: make garden art, hunt for bugs, play games and sing garden songs!

Each session is between 6-10 weeks long for 1-2 hours each week and each session’s learning activities correspond with the seasons.

"I love garden club, I wish I could live in the garden" - Alder Garden Club student, age 11.

To encourage families to grow together, Growing Gardens offers Parent/Child Gardening Workshops as a summer series. These workshops are designed to spark interest in children aged 6 to 12 in gardening, and provide fun ways for parents (grandparents, guardians, aunts/uncles, friends) and children to grow gardens together. Workshops topics include: Planning a Dinner Garden, Bugs & Insects, Sensational Gardens, Wondrous Worms, and Munch and Crunch see LEARN & GROW

“The kids program was GREAT! Really kid-friendly. We loved the song and the hands-on coloring/planning activity were great. Also having the kids plant in the container was nice, a great way to get them involved."

- Parent participant at the Planning a Dinner Garden Parent/Child Workshop, May 2006.

Youth Grow In-School:

In 2006-07 Youth Grow began working in-class to help teachers and students link gardens to classrooms. In class topics include Seeds, Plant Life Cycles, Botany and Worms.

- - Provided garden education classes to Ockley Green 6^th grade science students.

-Partnered with Kelly Elementary to create an on-site school vegetable garden. Working with students, teachers, parents, staff and administrators to develop and implement long-lasting garden education. Helped 3rd grade and kindergarten teachers incorporate garden education into science curriculum.

Growing Gardens partners with Portland Public Schools Nutrition Services to support their Harvest of the Month program.

For more information about School Gardens click here

How to get involved :
Caring adults enrich and enhance our Youth Grow Garden Clubs and Summer Garden Camps! If you are interested in working with elementary aged children and can commit to volunteering 1-2 hours once a week for 6-10 weeks, contact Youth Grow Manager Caitlin. Seasonal volunteer educator trainings are held 3 times per year. No gardening experience is necessary. All volunteers are subject to a background check.