Conference Offers Youth's Perspective on Gardening Programs

Chanhassen, MN (Sept. 15, 2009) - Put a kid in a garden and watch what grows! A bountiful harvest of self-esteem, responsibility, love of nature and positive work ethic, are just a few of the amazing bumper "crops."   

Youth gardening programs and their effectiveness - from the perspective of the youths themselves - will be the focus of the national Youth Voices Conference on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen.  The conference runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and there also are optional pre-conference activities planned from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2.  

The Youth Voices Conference is being planned entirely by a team of local young adults who together have accrued 66 summers in the Urban Gardens and CityFresh gardening programs coordinated by the Arboretum's education department. 

Typically youth-gardening programs are seen as tools to help build skills, increase knowledge and improve the vitality of the community.  Yet too often, they are designed without consulting the participants themselves. 

This is a unique conference because it turns the tables on us adults.  We are used to getting ideas from each other when designing and planning garden activities for youth, discussing what works and what doesn't and what we think youth like best.  In the case of this conference, it is our job to sit still and listen and let the youth tell us what they think," said Tim Kenny, Arboretum education director and a leader in the youth gardening movement. 

"We adults also make assumptions about what youth will learn from spending time in a garden setting and based on what I've heard from the conference organizers, we are right in some of our assumptions, but there is also learning going on that I had no idea was happening," he continued.    

 "I think the youth presentations at the conference will reveal some valuable lessons that we adults were totally unaware of - from race relations to thinking about future careers to understanding what teamwork means.  Imagine if we adults used this information to plan activities with the intent to teach exactly those lessons. That is the kind of thing that can truly increase the impact of what we do," he continued.

 In addition to youth from the Twin Cities, this first-ever national conference will feature presentations from youngsters involved in gardening programs in Cleveland, New York City and Chicago, as well as several other Twin Cities programs, thanks to presenting sponsor Best Buy's @15 program. 

Also speaking will be national expert Marcia Eames-Sheavly of Cornell University's Garden-Based Learning Institute.

The conference is geared for professionals and laypersons involved in garden-based programs, grant-funding organizations, researchers, educators and school board members, Master Gardeners, extension services, interested youth and more.

Here's just a sampling of perspectives from Youth Voices participants:

"The biggest impact was that my perspective towards gardening, nutrition and plants changed drastically.  I learned it's not just about candy everyday or pulling up anything that's green, but about taking responsibility for your health and maintaining a consistent work ethic to achieve  your goals in life." - Xavier Porter, 21, Minneapolis

"The responsibility I've learned has helped me tackle obstacles in everyday life.  Each summer, I return with the feeling that my participation is important for the team." - Ebony Turner, 20, Minneapolis

"I formed connections to the garden, nature and community, which made me want to return year after year." - Arika Paukner, 25, Minneapolis

New Pricing: Students and teachers/practitioners can register at a special discounted rate of $30 per day or a $15 for Saturday only (if you provide your own lunch).  This special rate is available only on phone orders (call 952-443-1422). 

For other attendees, the registration fee for the Saturday, Oct. 3, conference is $60 for Arboretum members and $70 for others, and for the Friday, Oct. 2, pre-conference activities, $50/$60.  Fee for both days is $110/$130. Register at www.arboretum.umn.edu/youthvoicesconference.aspx.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest and a premier northern arboretum, is part of the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and a community and national resource for horticultural and environmental information, research, and public education. It is located 9 miles west of I-494 on Highway 5 in Chanhassen.

(Editors:  Please contact Barb DeGroot at 952-443-1459 or degro035@umn.edu if you'd like to interview Tim Kenny or any of the youth organizers of this unique event. Thanks!)

 SIDEBAR:  Urban Children's Garden Blooms in Inner-City Neighborhoods

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's summer Urban Children Garden outreach program serves about 200 children ranging from 5-9 years of age at three or four urban garden sites in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

 Youth gardeners meet for one 2-hour session each week to learn from a staff that includes Arboretum instructors, community volunteers and teen-age garden program graduates who serve as mentors for the participants.

Sessions include three learning stations; in the garden, science and nutrition, and garden play/art. This program has been conducted in partnership with sponsoring community agencies for over 20 years, in many locations throughout the Twin Cities metro area.

Program Goals:

• To provide a living laboratory for children to explore nature, utilizing an age-specific curriculum that relates directly to the Minnesota Academic Science Standards.
• To offer children regular interaction with, and support from, caring and encouraging adults who are role models for positive behavior.
• Through hands-on experience, to increase children's knowledge of basic horticultural, plant science, entomology concepts and gardening skills.
• To enhance children's feelings of self-esteem, self-sufficiency, and connection to the neighborhood.
• To increase children's awareness of the interconnectedness of plants with products from everyday life, including food.
• To offer opportunities for eating fresh, nutritious food and expanding personal food choices.

CityFresh Summer Employment Programs

Graduates of the Urban Children's Garden program have the opportunity to apply for summer work experience in the CityFresh garden-based work programs. Four to six work teams (six teen-agers in each team, paired with an adult teacher/leader) are formed each summer. The work project each team takes on depends on the make-up of the group and available teaching staff.  Projects are conducted in partnership with neighborhood sponsor agencies.  CityFresh projects range from selling specialty produce to area restaurants to creating and selling floral arrangements and greeting cards.  

For more details on the Arboretum's Urban Garden program, visit www.arboretum.umn.edu or call 952-443-1422. 

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