Civic Garden Center
2715 Reading Road
Cincinnati, OH 45206
Youth Education Programs
CGC will continue to provide our traditional hands-on learning through seasonal garden lessons, classroom instruction aligned with Ohio Revised Science Standards, a variety of environmental education field trips, and seeds and other garden supplies. Our 8-week Summer Sprouts program serves children ages 6 to 12 and focuses on the plant cycle and where our food comes from.
Due to restrictions on time, resources, training, and compensation, teachers lack the knowledge, support, and motivation to take their lessons into the outdoors, a proven “classroom” for successful learning. Instead, those who have access to resources rely on field trips or educator visits from nature based organizations, often the most memorable learning experiences in a school year.
Teachers need support. The CGC, in collaboration with the Greater Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council, will develop and provide virtual and hands-on, experiential teacher education to engage, inspire, and empower educators and build fluency in outdoor, garden-based education.
Goals/Objectives:
While it’s difficult at this time to estimate the number of students and teachers we’ll be able to serve in the 2021-22 school year, we’re basing our estimate on a return to 2/3 the number served pre-pandemic in 2019. Therefore, we estimate:
School gardens served: 5
Students served through classroom instruction: 3,360
Field trips: 14 field trips serving 350 students
Summer Sprouts: 75 summer camp participants
CPS teacher training: beginning with a cohort of 10 teachers in 2021-22
Grant Evaluation Report:
Since the 2021-22 school marked the return to in-person classes after the disruptions brought on by COVID-19, we were very pleased with the success of our youth education and Growing Our Teachers programs. We definitely noticed some student behavior issues and teachers seemed to be more stressed than usual - all the more reason to get everyone outside in the garden and in nature!
Our revamped field trip structure, which includes a station on native plants and pollinators, worked well and feedback from teachers was quite positive.
We had a great Summer Sprouts camp in 2022. Our partnerships with Peaslee Neighborhood Center and with 3CDC/Ziegler Park remain strong and the cookbook we create and give each participant that includes the recipes and photos of the kids from the summer is a big hit!
School Garden Programs: Supported 3 school garden programs and offered a total of 203 classes with 3640 student contacts and 338 adult contacts
Summer Sprouts: 36 sessions, 62 students and 9 adults served
Compost Kids Field Trips: 12 field trips, 367 students and 45 adults served
Scout Programs: 4 programs, 38 students and 9 adults served
Growing Our Teachers: 10 workshops, 24 adults served
Website:
http://www.civicgardencenter.org Amount: $25000
Date: June 2022
