“I’m surprised by how much I know about planting now. I really love planting, watching them grow, and taking things home to cook with my mom and dad. ”

- Ivy, Weis Middle School

The Young Gardeners Program (YGP) turns schoolyards into living classrooms where curiosity blooms, vegetables grow, and young people discover their power to care for themselves, each other, and the earth.

YGP improves generational health of local children & their families by:

building food-production gardens that grow food directly for students, implement holistic STEAM-based curriculum with place-based TEKS-aligned lessons for PreK-12
and cultivate school cultures that tap into the transformative power of gardens as outdoor classrooms.

Featured

The Young Gardeners Program is at the following GISD schools:

With Galveston Independent School District (GISD) as our primary partner, we are proud to feed the minds, bellies and futures of Galveston youth.

YGP School Day

YGP weaves garden-based learning into the school day across Galveston ISD.
Our Outdoor Education initiative engages students in the YGP garden classroom bell-to-bell with TEKS-aligned lesson plans while teachers receive coaching and curriculum support to bring lessons outdoors with confidence.
Eat Fresh Days are a partnership with Galveston ISD Child Nutrition, feeding students the harvests from their own campus gardens incorporated into the cafeteria lunch menu.
YGP Afterschool

YGP debuted as an afterschool program in 2017; we continue to provide meaningful afterschool learning + care at every GISD elementary & middle school campus.
Since the earliest days of YGP, programming has been rooted in hands-on learning. Students are taught every step of garden stewardship alongside daily curricula rooted in STEAM concepts–all while eating the fruits of their labor!
YGP Beyond

YGP extends beyond the school campuses to enrich quality of life for the Galveston students, teachers and families.
Paid high school SEED Internship (Students for Eco-Empowerment & Diversity). SEED equips marginalized youth with workforce skills, mentorship, and leadership training while connecting them to community networks that endure well past graduation.
‘Diggin’ It’ FREE Community Workshops focus on garden stewardship, nutrition
Outdoor Education Professional Development for faculty of all disciplines

The Garden is Open to Everyone!

You can use the garden, too! YGP gardens are outdoor classrooms, food sources and havens for mindfulness. You can start small, and start today!

Learn more on how you can use the gardens here>

History

YGP was founded in 2017 by Nan Wilson.

Her vision was to combat local health inequity by empowering underserved youth with increased access to fresh produce, improved food literacy and hands-on instruction of gardening and cooking.