Washington Youth Garden, Friends of the National Arboretum
WISH LIST: $100: organic fertilizer for a Garden Science class; $250: plant material for children to use in the garden; $1000: gardening supplies for 1 classroom of inner-city children to experience food sources first-hand
Washington Youth Garden connects urban elementary school children to the natural world and teaches them to use the earth as a resource. Garden science is the medium, and horticultural and life skills are the message: cooperation, personal responsibility, self-confidence, and environmental stewardship grow together. Founded by Parks and Recreation in 1971 but later threatened by budget cuts, WYG was adopted by Friends of the National Arboretum in 1996. It now provides an 11-week, hands-on, interactive program where students learn about plant, environmental, earth, and life sciences during the winter, and then garden in WYG’s communal plots during the spring. In the summer, 35 children take part in Seed to Supper (eight weeks), and 25 families take part in Growing Food...Growing Together (twenty weeks), intensive programs that provide participants with the opportunity to grow, harvest, and eat their own food. Instruction in cooking and nutrition, and knowledge about cultural traditions, combines nature and culture in a healthy mix. Plant a seed in this garden, and watch it grow.
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