Week 2 of the CitySprouts middle school program brings the interns and their program staff out into the fields of Gaining Ground Farm in Concord, MA for a morning full of weeding and potato hunting. Gaining Ground, a nonprofit, organic farm which donates 100% of its produce to meal programs and food pantries in the greater Boston area, relies on the people power energy of groups of volunteers to grow their crops and welcomed the energy of the CitySprouts youth on the farm.
Read MoreThis summer, I want to grow down. That is, I want to reconnect with my roots in childhood, inquiry, and natural curiosity. I want to reach deep, deep into the nutrients of the soil and bring them up to the surface; turning my ideas about environmental education into vibrant flowers, fresh leaves, and veggies & maybe even okra, my personal favorite!
Read MoreThis year CitySprouts has designated Bina Venkataraman as our Environmental & Community Impact Award Honoree. Bina is a climate and public health policy leader and writer who has served as Senior Advisor for Climate Change Innovation in the Obama Administration. She currently works as Director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and is a Fellow at New America.
Read MoreBrielle and Jamie, our current program interns for Spring 2017, share the same passions for holistic wellbeing and the natural environment. They are very eager to start co-teaching in the school gardens and would like to share with us some of the reasons why they love being a part of the CitySprouts team.
Read MoreLast month, we were thrilled to share that CitySprouts was heading to Massachusetts Horticultural Society's School Garden Conference: Beyond Education. Executive Director Jane Hirschi gave the keynote, while Garden Coordinators Shay Chess and Jack Leng led a workshop, Art, Math, Science & Native Pollinators!?
Read MoreNearly everyone at CitySprouts recently went to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s School Garden Conference: Beyond Education on February 23rd. In its third year, the conference featured workshops that explored regional best practices for planning and running a school garden.
Read MoreWhat does it take to turn a pile of dirt into a schoolyard garden? What goes into the creation of a program that unites kids, teachers, parents and community members to provide children with unique opportunities for growth? At a time when children?s health needs more attention than ever, how do we make sure that urban kids get to taste new grains, help vegetables grow, and have fun along the way?
Read MoreWe are excited to update the CitySprouts community that we are so close to reaching our end-of-year goal of $25,000. Thank you! We have received donations from many longtime supporters and have welcomed new donors to the mix. These gifts have come in all shapes and sizes and we love them all just the same - even $25 can help us achieve our goal of making garden-based learning a reality for every child.
Read MoreNothing quite like the squeal of excitement when riding your bike through the overspray of a water sprinkler on a hot summer’s day!
Read More