Last Saturday, WYG staff and volunteers joined local urban garden enthusiasts at Coolidge HS for DC Field to Fork’s 4th annual urban gardening forum, Rooting DC. We started off the day with some guerrilla gardening, getting DC youth prepared with seed balls packed with wild flower seeds to beautify the city. Seed balls are fun and easy to make by combining nutrient-rich compost with clay and seeds. When the balls dry and the weather warms up, these nuggets of mini-garden potential will be ready to go!
Kacie, Chris and Kaifa all contributed to panels on youth gardening. Kacie and Chris kicked it off, collaborating with City Blossoms staff to give some useful “tips of the trade.” Chris went over the top 10 plants for gardening with youth and Kacie discussed the value of meeting children where they’re at and asking questions to support their natural curiosity. Kaifa presented on the successes and challenges of the WYG school garden installations as part of a panel examining school garden case studies in DC. Along with other panelists, Kaifa discussed the essential steps to establishing and maintaining effective school and community partnerships.
Finally, the info fair was a great opportunity to tell folks about the Washington Youth Garden, connect with potential volunteers, and get the word out about upcoming WYG programs including SPROUTS and Growing Food…Growing Together. Both programs are still accepting applications, so if you know of any school groups or families who may be interested, please pass the word.
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