Meeting the Needs of Children & Youth through
Garden-Based Learning Experiences
The past several years have seen some dramatic changes in the way that we approach garden-based learning. True, we still get really excited about a child's opportunity to witness a marigold growing from a seed they've planted, or hearing from a young person who planted a sunflower house. But we've expanded our notion of what constitutes an ideal experience for young people, and have looked increasingly toward the four themes of positive youth development, provided several years ago to the CCE system by Dr. Cathann Kress. They have become a backbone of how we talk about garden-based learning, how we conduct our workshops, and ultimately, how we view our successes.
Mastery
Long the backbone of garden-based activity, it isn't difficult to create a long list of all the ways in which a child or youth can gain skills by interacting with the plant world. Hands-on activity, experiential learning, group investigation, and discovery are the very stuff of gardening. We also try to encourage educators working with young gardeners to focus on the long-term goals of learning and to provide prompt feedback.
Several years ago, at an in-service for educators and volunteers interested in garden-based learning, we brought in a panel of 4-H youth to answer questions posed by our attendees. When asked what drives them crazy about the adults in their lives, one teen unexpectedly responded, "You're all so terrified to see us fail. We can handle it! Let us work it out!" It's one of the hardest lessons in life, but in gardening as with everything else, plants die, our goals sometimes aren't realized, and the beautiful gardens of our dreams occasionally sport nothing but weeds. We try very hard to model and teach that failure and frustration are learning experiences, too.
Belonging
In this busy culture of scheduled children, youth and families, it's easy to forget that more than ever, hanging out with each other has tremendous value. Rainy days and other occasions can be a wonderful chance for hang time. Older adults often have tremendous knowledge about gardening; talking with them can be a way to promote relationships outside the usual scope of young people's affiliations. And it's not difficult to promote ties with family and community, since gardening is our nation's favorite hobby.
Because of all the activity that revolves around the garden, it also isn't hard to build in small group time to allow for the development of close relationships. Many of the crops we grow have come from all over the world; exploring where our food comes from, and celebrating different ways of sharing and preparing food from the garden, can be an exciting way to show respect for the value of diverse cultures. Perhaps most importantly, although plants need to be watered, and the weeds are ever present, the most critical aspect of our program is remembering to have fun, and to enjoy each other.
Generosity
When we say the word generosity, frequently what comes to mind is the giving away of "things." No question, there is often a lot of produce or flowers to be shared when you're in the thick of a terrific gardening experience, and many people in our communities can benefit from shared food and beauty. But generosity can include much more. A skilled garden-based learning educator reinforces gestures of thoughtfulness, and asks young people to take responsibility for others. Critical reflection, as a part of a service learning experience, can be an important pursuit that leads to compassion, a broader scope, and life-long interest in the community.
Power
The area that we believe we most need to address in the garden-based learning arena is power and independence. Often, the people who are the most enthusiastic about gardens and gardening are adults. Nation-wide, these adults are calling the shots, designing gardens for children, developing educational programs for children, instead of thinking in terms of partnering with. A major thrust of our recent research-extension focus has been identifying children's level of genuine participation in community garden-based projects, and exploring ways to better engage children and youth in decision-making aspects of projects.
When it comes to gardening, there are myriad decisions to make, and before making any, we should consider whether children could or should make the decision. We should include children in discussions, encourage their input, and give them responsibility. There are many obstacles in gardening, from deer and other pests, to weather and site concerns; however, we shouldn't deprive children of the thrill of overcoming a barrier. Their ideas are often more creative and less burdened with "shoulds" and "the way things are" than ours. The challenging thing can be sharing power with young people, through self-governance, with respect to garden planning, design, implementation and maintenance. It might mean revising our notion of committees, meeting structures, timing, and our whole approach to how our project is organized.
All these four themes - mastery, belonging, power, and generosity - are relatively easy to work into any garden-based learning effort. It just requires us to see the forest for the trees, and remember that the ultimate goal isn't just raising crops; instead it's growing competent, committed, reflective, and caring young people. Instead of thinking solely of our subject matter expertise, and the important "content" to be gained from learning about horticulture, it is equally important to consider program factors such as "non-scheduled" time, opportunities for friends to join in, chances to make a difference in the community, and avenues through which our young participants can voice an opinion.
Learning Development Walk-Around
Want to work in more opportunities for mastery, belonging, power, and generosity into your garden-based learning effort? Try the learning development walk-around.
Consider an activity: planting pumpkins, planning a new garden, or hosting a harvest festival. How might you expand it? Use the planning sheet to stretch your activity and get the most out of meeting the needs of children and youth in the process.
© Copyright Cornell University.
The past several years have seen some dramatic changes in the way that we approach garden-based learning. True, we still get really excited about a child's opportunity to witness a marigold growing from a seed they've planted, or hearing from a young person who planted a sunflower house. But we've expanded our notion of what constitutes an ideal experience for young people, and have looked increasingly toward the four themes of positive youth development, provided several years ago to the CCE system by Dr. Cathann Kress. They have become a backbone of how we talk about garden-based learning, how we conduct our workshops, and ultimately, how we view our successes.
Mastery
Long the backbone of garden-based activity, it isn't difficult to create a long list of all the ways in which a child or youth can gain skills by interacting with the plant world. Hands-on activity, experiential learning, group investigation, and discovery are the very stuff of gardening. We also try to encourage educators working with young gardeners to focus on the long-term goals of learning and to provide prompt feedback.
Several years ago, at an in-service for educators and volunteers interested in garden-based learning, we brought in a panel of 4-H youth to answer questions posed by our attendees. When asked what drives them crazy about the adults in their lives, one teen unexpectedly responded, "You're all so terrified to see us fail. We can handle it! Let us work it out!" It's one of the hardest lessons in life, but in gardening as with everything else, plants die, our goals sometimes aren't realized, and the beautiful gardens of our dreams occasionally sport nothing but weeds. We try very hard to model and teach that failure and frustration are learning experiences, too.
Belonging
In this busy culture of scheduled children, youth and families, it's easy to forget that more than ever, hanging out with each other has tremendous value. Rainy days and other occasions can be a wonderful chance for hang time. Older adults often have tremendous knowledge about gardening; talking with them can be a way to promote relationships outside the usual scope of young people's affiliations. And it's not difficult to promote ties with family and community, since gardening is our nation's favorite hobby.
Because of all the activity that revolves around the garden, it also isn't hard to build in small group time to allow for the development of close relationships. Many of the crops we grow have come from all over the world; exploring where our food comes from, and celebrating different ways of sharing and preparing food from the garden, can be an exciting way to show respect for the value of diverse cultures. Perhaps most importantly, although plants need to be watered, and the weeds are ever present, the most critical aspect of our program is remembering to have fun, and to enjoy each other.
Generosity
When we say the word generosity, frequently what comes to mind is the giving away of "things." No question, there is often a lot of produce or flowers to be shared when you're in the thick of a terrific gardening experience, and many people in our communities can benefit from shared food and beauty. But generosity can include much more. A skilled garden-based learning educator reinforces gestures of thoughtfulness, and asks young people to take responsibility for others. Critical reflection, as a part of a service learning experience, can be an important pursuit that leads to compassion, a broader scope, and life-long interest in the community.
Power
The area that we believe we most need to address in the garden-based learning arena is power and independence. Often, the people who are the most enthusiastic about gardens and gardening are adults. Nation-wide, these adults are calling the shots, designing gardens for children, developing educational programs for children, instead of thinking in terms of partnering with. A major thrust of our recent research-extension focus has been identifying children's level of genuine participation in community garden-based projects, and exploring ways to better engage children and youth in decision-making aspects of projects.
When it comes to gardening, there are myriad decisions to make, and before making any, we should consider whether children could or should make the decision. We should include children in discussions, encourage their input, and give them responsibility. There are many obstacles in gardening, from deer and other pests, to weather and site concerns; however, we shouldn't deprive children of the thrill of overcoming a barrier. Their ideas are often more creative and less burdened with "shoulds" and "the way things are" than ours. The challenging thing can be sharing power with young people, through self-governance, with respect to garden planning, design, implementation and maintenance. It might mean revising our notion of committees, meeting structures, timing, and our whole approach to how our project is organized.
All these four themes - mastery, belonging, power, and generosity - are relatively easy to work into any garden-based learning effort. It just requires us to see the forest for the trees, and remember that the ultimate goal isn't just raising crops; instead it's growing competent, committed, reflective, and caring young people. Instead of thinking solely of our subject matter expertise, and the important "content" to be gained from learning about horticulture, it is equally important to consider program factors such as "non-scheduled" time, opportunities for friends to join in, chances to make a difference in the community, and avenues through which our young participants can voice an opinion.
Learning Development Walk-Around
Want to work in more opportunities for mastery, belonging, power, and generosity into your garden-based learning effort? Try the learning development walk-around.
Consider an activity: planting pumpkins, planning a new garden, or hosting a harvest festival. How might you expand it? Use the planning sheet to stretch your activity and get the most out of meeting the needs of children and youth in the process.