Plant the Seed

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710 Porter Road, Nashville, TN 37206, USA

EIN Number: 45-3599292

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Hours: No Set Business Hours - Call to Inquire

Website: https://planttheseed.org/

Email: info@planttheseed.org

NTEE Code: O52: Youth Development - Agricultural

MISSION - WHAT WE DO

Plant the Seed is a nonprofit program that inspires and empowers young-people through garden-based learning - connecting them to the land, their education and one another.

SERVICES - HOW WE DO IT

Garden-based Facilitation within a School When we partner with a school to provide garden-based education, we: -work with their leadership to plan and build out the garden space that is age and use appropriate, -provide outdoor classroom facilitation that connects to specific grade-level standards within the curriculum, -furnish the related lesson from our toolkit, -host periodic teacher trainings and family engagement activities, -file bi-weekly reports on number of students engaged, new vocabulary introduced, any noteworthy comments or connections from students and pictures of the students engaged in a lesson in action. Garden-based Facilitation within the Community When we partner with a youth-serving community organization to provide garden-based educational workshops, we: -conduct a community needs assessment to work with community members to identify an approach that will work best to meet their needs/desires, -work with their leadership to plan and build out the garden space that is age and use appropriate, -provide food and garden-related workshops based on the community needs assessment, which may include seed starting, building, planting and tending raised garden beds, harvesting and cooking workshops, related arts and crafts, seed saving and food preservation classes, etc. -furnish the related lesson from our toolkit, where relevant, -host periodic family engagement activities, -file mis and summary reports on number of students engaged, new vocabulary introduced, any noteworthy comments or connections from students and pictures of the students engaged in a lesson in action. Teacher Training We develop orientation and training to help teachers use the garden independently as an effective teaching tool. This includes meeting the teachers were they are in their experience and willingness to be outside, get cold, hot or dirty and be around insects, as well as addressing some pre-conceived motions that they only kill plants. We host an introduction on the key elements of our space and our lessons, field questions from the teachers, model the lesson in the garden weekly and ask them to oversee aspects of the lesson with graduated autonomy each time. We are always available to consult and advise and welcome the back and forth between the classroom and the garden. Teacher Training We develop orientation and training to help teachers use the garden independently as an effective teaching tool. This includes meeting the teachers were they are in their experience and willingness to be outside, get cold, hot or dirty and be around insects, as well as addressing some pre-conceived motions that they only kill plants. We host an introduction on the key elements of our space and our lessons, field questions from the teachers, model the lesson in the garden weekly and ask them to oversee aspects of the lesson with graduated autonomy each time. We are always available to consult and advise and welcome the back and forth between the classroom and the garden. Resource Development Plant the Seed has developed a 138-page, 27-lesson toolkit that connects seasonal needs and tasks in the garden with standards from the MNPS pre-k Creative Curriculum. The toolkit addresses: -Designing the Pre-K Garden -Program Practices and Routines -Growing a Great Garden: Tips and Methods -Recommended Literature -Local Resources for Starting your School Garden -Seasonal Pacing Guide -Learning Objectives -27 field-tested Lessons -Printables (including word cards for the emerging reader and writer and recipe cards) Our plan is to relate this to each grade level standards, as we grow the programming up from pre-k through 4th grade. We also believe this has the potential to be a national resource and are developing ways in which we can share the knowledge we have gained. Evaluation Tool Development Plant the Seed is poised to be a model for the nation with its innovative garden-based learning for low-income, public school pre-kindergarten students. This kind of work has not been studied well to determine the exact benefits. While we believe it has the potential to inspire learning and increase academic engagement; build communities; engage young people to be change agents in their lives, their families and their communities; improve health habits related to food choices and activity levels; the list goes on and on, there have not been conclusive studies. PtS has worked with an educational survey team to develop a tool to evaluate our programming, identifying benefits to students, families and communities, as well as creating clear guideposts for our work and our growth as an organization.

Causes

Services Offered

  • Agriculture Programs
  • Youth Development Programs

Populations Served

  • Children & Youth

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