HOW TO START A
CHILDREN'S GARDEN CLUB
COMMUNITY INCLUSION
ASK FOR HELP
We reached out to local hardware stores in the community to donate to our gardening project. After sending out letters and making phone calls we ended up getting seed starting trays and also child size gardening hand tools. We thanked the stores that contributed to the project by attaching a permanent sign on our raised bed acknowledging the stores that contributed as a reminder to our patrons of the generosity of our small business community.
During our first program we asked the kids what seeds we should plant to that they were involved in the process. We also asked them to help design prototypes of a trellis (which we built and installed) and a drip watering system for the garden these we directly installed as well once the kids made them.
GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
We donated our harvests of cabbage, greens, peppers, basil and tomatoes to the local food banks and shelters that provide meals. Giving back to the community by providing healthy food is part of the purpose of a community garden. On the last garden program, we showed the kids how much food we harvested and showed pictures of the food being delivered to the food pantry so they could see the labor they put in to the garden this past spring and summer helped provide food for hungry people.
The Children's Garden Club also gave the children the opportunity to cook the produce we grew, to learn about life science concepts, connect with nature and develop a positive attitude toward healthy eating. The garden itself provided a habitat and food to our local wildlife in the middle of an urban setting.
ASK FOR EXPERTISE
We asked the Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Division to advise us in planning a garden layout. Their 4H Program Division also had gardening resources and curriculum that we were able to use on the topics of composting and insects.
We asked the Piedmont Environmental Center for help and one of their Naturalists brought in earthworms for the kids to touch and then the kids found and identified decomposers in the garden.
A library patron and frequent visitor with a background in environmental education taught us how to catch and release insects properly for observation so that we could pass this on to the children during our garden education sessions.
