Grow veggies and minds in the garden: Susan Carrara explains that a hands-on learning opportunity lies right out your back door

New Life Journal, August, 2008 by Susan Carrara

This spring, while chatter and gossip distracted the young girls in my gardening group, I harvested the season's first ripe strawberries. Dramatically, I drew them into a circle and encouraged them to close their eyes and hold out their hands. Placing a plump strawberry in their palms, I asked the girls to take a deep sniff of the fruit. After inhaling their berry's sweet, sunny fragrance, the girls immediately ate them. And with the first taste, I saw it: the understanding and excitement in their eyes that they helped to create this delicious, garden-grown treat.

The garden is an ideal venue to learn by doing, in a way that accommodates alternative learning styles. It's also a satisfying physical activity that gives a child something to show for their effort and creates opportunities for them to learn safe ways to interact with insects, reptiles and other creatures found in garden environments. Through gardening, children can learn practical skills related to growing food. Involvement in the growing process also increases a child's awareness of where their food comes from, whether from the garden or the grocery. They may even become more aware of how food secure their community is, or the extent to which they and their families have access to fresh, affordable and culturally appropriate foods. With this knowledge, a child can help make their community more food secure in the future. And, as an activity, gardening can build bridges between generations, as children, adults and elders strengthen their relationships through time spent together.

So, where should you start to get your child or children involved? The following suggestions are based on my experience working with groups of children in a community garden, but they can be used in a home garden environment as well. (Also see the sidebar below for references on gardening activities adults and children can do together).

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The most important thing is to teach by example. Demonstrate each activity before asking children to do anything. Some children focus on details, while others look for the bigger picture before becoming involved. Because of this, explain what you're going to do and why you're going to do it. Teaching by example is not just for garden work but can also be helpful when encouraging children to try new foods. For example, as long as I taste the garden bounty first to prove I'm not pulling something over on them, my garden group members are eager to take a bite!

Use scaled-down tools for children whenever possible, as they're easier and safer for them to handle. Also create space for children to test their abilities and limits. For example, let them try to push a wheelbarrow on their own or carry a full watering can.

Gardening can be hard work, and developing a sense of ownership in the garden can be a good motivator to get through a tough job. Let children make choices about the garden, and let them have responsibility for some aspects of cultivation. For example, in my summer garden group, each child has their own plot. We go through a process of deciding what each child will grow and then work out the best time of year to plant and harvest their selections. Each child is responsible for planting and weeding their plot, and, in turn, they keep the produce grown.

Gardening with children is a grand experiment; even common vegetable varieties can be surprising and new when seen through young, excited eyes. So, try growing a common variety side by side with a more unusual one to really pique their interest. Try growing lemon and Armenian cucumbers in addition to a standard type, for example.

Finally, come full circle and prepare food with produce from the garden, giving children (and us adults) a concrete reward for all their gardening efforts. Children are more willing to try new fruits and vegetables they've helped to grow or have seen growing. Likewise, when they help to prepare an unfamiliar dish, they're more willing to taste it.

Whether you're starting a garden with your children or interested in volunteering to lead children in a community or school garden, learning to grow food, incorporating it into meals, and making that home grown food an integral part of the diet is a powerful experience for children and adults alike. As you move into the garden with your children, be prepared to learn as well as teach, and know that your garden space can become a catalyst for experiences and lessons that will stay with your child forever.

RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN'S GARDENING ACTIVITIES

Young Gardener by Stefan Buczacki and Beverley Buczacki

Roots, Shoots, Butters and Boors: Activities to Do in the Garden by Sharon Lovejoy

Garden Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Reasons to Get Your Hands Dirty by Diane Rhoades

Dinner From Dirt: Ten Meals Kids can Grow and Cook by Emily Scott and Catherine Duffy

Susan Carrara is a volunteer with the Bountiful Cities Project (www.bountifulcitiesproject.org). She coordinates the Strong Roots Youth Garden Program, a collaboration between the Bountiful Cities Project and the Shiloh Community Association.