KidsGardening is excited to announce our newest e-course, "Growing Together: Developing Enduring Youth Garden Programs!" It’s a great place to start your youth gardening journey and is designed to help participants learn the basic steps to plan and implement a sustainable youth garden program that will last.

The course is available to start asynchronously anytime!

About Growing Together: Developing Enduring Youth Garden Programs

Youth gardens are an incredible teaching tool. They provide a living laboratory for kids to explore, learn, and play. However, these benefits are not realized merely by installing a kid-friendly garden. An effective and sustainable youth garden must be built on a strong foundation that includes a carefully planned garden educational program and the design of the growing spaces.

In this course, we will introduce participants to the basic steps for creating a sustainable youth garden program. The goal is to share the tips we have gleaned over the years on planning and implementing your garden initiative for success. Creating a garden is a significant investment of time and money for schools and educational organizations. Through the course, we hope to help you match your needs with the resources available to you so that you can maximize the returns on your investment.

Course Objectives

Through this course, participants will explore each of the following topics and their importance in creating a strong and sustainable youth garden program:

• Designing garden programs that meet the existing goals and needs of your project.
• Building and motivating teams of educators, caregivers and community volunteers to support your efforts.
• Adopting gardening practices that will ease maintenance and allow you to focus on gardening with your students.
• Investigating diverse funding options for long-term success.
• Exploring professional development and networking opportunities for continued support and inspiration.

Course Structure

This course includes eight pre-recorded classes so students can pace their learning over a period of 12 weeks. Each class module also includes a collection of recommended readings and resources and an optional assignment. A community discussion board is available for students to interact with each other and the course instructor. At the end of each class, students are asked to complete an evaluation survey, and a customized certificate is downloadable upon completion.