Washington Youth Garden Looking for More Families to Garden
May 8th, 2010 · No Comments · Posted in garden, kids
Even little kids love to garden
Here’s a great opportunity to get your family outside gardening and grow your own food. The Washington Youth Garden at the National Arboretum is one of prettiest food gardens in the city and a great place to learn how to grow your own food. I recently received a notice saying the garden still has opening for families to join the summer gardening program. You get your own plot to grow vegetables, plus great advice on how to improve your gardening skills and regular demonstrations on how the role gardening plays in good nutrition.
Here’s the text I received from Kacie Warner, the gardens education coordinator:
We are still accepting applicants for our summer family program. Information about the program and how to apply below. The program officially starts this Saturday, but we will still be adding new participants over the next couple of weeks.
For the last eight years, the Washington Youth Garden has hosted a gaggle of families every Saturday morning from early spring until the end of the summer. The program, called Growing Food…Growing Together, brings twenty five to thirty families together to grow and prepare their own organic food. Each week, families work together to tend our communal vegetable area, herb garden, and fruit section. We see community build over the weeks as we all bend down to weed the row of peas or transplant tomato seedlings together.
In addition to gardening, guest presenters – from nutritionists and chefs to beekeepers and agricultural historians – fill in the dots that connect our health, environment, and communities. Throughout the course of the summer, families also participate in a local farmer’s market to sell some of the summer bounty.
At the end of the morning, we gather up the harvested produce and divide it up among the program participants CSA-style. A major focus of this program is on providing access to fresh healthy food, as well as learning how to grow and prepare it.
This program is intended for first-time gardening families who are seeking to gain healthy living skills. Prospective participants should fill out a family questionnaire. If you can help spread the word about this program, download a flyer.
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