Garden Time
Education for Youth in the Garden
Connecting youth of all ages to hands-on garden experiences that translate to life enrichment is the goal of our Garden Time programming. Garden Time gives kids the opportunity to gain valuable life-skills, social skills, pre-vocational skills, and coping skills through garden engagement. Nutrition education and social responsibility are also woven into garden sessions from week to week.
We experience the joy of caring for plants that care for us in return. We learn to identify native edibles, remove unhelpful plants and bugs, create pollinator friendly places, and harvest many different raw veggies during the season. We learn that when people are involved in producing food, they are exponentially more likely to eat it and share it with others. Working with soil and seeds and living plant material, we are learning about life - in the world as well as in ourselves. And by promoting curiosity and adventurous eating, we offer our participants a broader framework for comprehensive health.
The Growing Project partners with quality organizations in the Fort Collins community who are serving youth identified to be at-risk or disadvantaged in some way. At these sites, kids help set up weekly donation-based farmers markets to share their labors and help get quality, nutrient-dense food out into our community. Currently, we offer our Garden Time programming to The Boys and Girls Club and La Familia/The Family Center during the spring, summer, and fall seasons to allow our participants to experience an entire growing season under the Colorado sun.
Education for Youth in the Garden
Connecting youth of all ages to hands-on garden experiences that translate to life enrichment is the goal of our Garden Time programming. Garden Time gives kids the opportunity to gain valuable life-skills, social skills, pre-vocational skills, and coping skills through garden engagement. Nutrition education and social responsibility are also woven into garden sessions from week to week.
We experience the joy of caring for plants that care for us in return. We learn to identify native edibles, remove unhelpful plants and bugs, create pollinator friendly places, and harvest many different raw veggies during the season. We learn that when people are involved in producing food, they are exponentially more likely to eat it and share it with others. Working with soil and seeds and living plant material, we are learning about life - in the world as well as in ourselves. And by promoting curiosity and adventurous eating, we offer our participants a broader framework for comprehensive health.
The Growing Project partners with quality organizations in the Fort Collins community who are serving youth identified to be at-risk or disadvantaged in some way. At these sites, kids help set up weekly donation-based farmers markets to share their labors and help get quality, nutrient-dense food out into our community. Currently, we offer our Garden Time programming to The Boys and Girls Club and La Familia/The Family Center during the spring, summer, and fall seasons to allow our participants to experience an entire growing season under the Colorado sun.
