One of DUG’s primary goals as an organization is to provide students opportunities for hands on learning in gardening, healthy eating, and science, and access to healthy food for children and their families. As demand for DUG’s services and support increases each year, we are continually looking for ways to expand our capacity and empower communities without compromising the quality of our programs.
Offering trainings to educators and volunteers allows our Education Team to support a greater number of school communities by giving them the tools they need to faciliate their own programs in gardening and nurition. In these train-the-trainer workshops, participants learn the basics of teaching gardening and healthy eating to their elementary-age students, using the DUG’s standard-based Gardening and Nutrition Curriculum as a foundation. Two lessons appropriate for the upcoming season are modeled at each workshop.
Each workshop is hosted at Mitchell Elementary School in Denver, a central location that enables attendance by educators throughout the metro area. Mitchell is also home to a DUG community garden, which allows for hands-on lessons for educators, right in an active community garden.
Past workshops have covered seed starting in the classroom, plot planning and planting for school gardens, with accompanying nutrition lessons centered on kid-friendly, classroom-room healthy snacks, and incorporating fruits and veggies into each child’s everyday meals.
The next Helping Kids Get Healthy Workshop is on Thursday, August 2nd, and will focus on transforming the mature garden into a learning tool. To learn more, or to register, click here.
DUG Education and Community Empowerment Coordinator Judy Ellliott teaching youth educators and volunteers about fall gardening for youth, and using the summer garden as a learning tool.
Click here to return to the Spring 2012 edition of The Underground News.
