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Foundation for Youth
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FFY Garden Area and Gazebo
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2022 Foundation for Youth Garden Program Information for SCIMGA Volunteers
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If you have questions or need more information about this program, please contact SCIMGA EMG Jan Bruner via Email at brunerjane@comcast.net.
More information about Foundation for Youth, located at 405 Hope Avenue, Columbus, IN, can be found on their website at https://www.foundationforyouth.com/
More information about Foundation for Youth, located at 405 Hope Avenue, Columbus, IN, can be found on their website at https://www.foundationforyouth.com/
While there are many ways Extension Master Gardeners “Help Others Grow”, there’s hardly anything more rewarding than helping kids learn what gardening is all about than the "Gardening for Kids" program at FFY!
The Columbus Foundation for Youth (FFY) provides all the gardening tools and one staff person to assist with the program. Several of our SCIMGA Extension Master Gardeners volunteer to make this an exciting learning program for the kids who come to the FFY. About 25-32 kids per day typically participate in the program! Extension Master Gardener volunteers work directly with kids in small groups of 3-5, depending on the number of kids and volunteers.
The program begins in early May. The garden season starts off by having the kids plant early crops such as radishes, lettuce, sugar snap peas, kohlrabi, carrots, onions, kale and popcorn. When the kids can’t get in the garden because of rain, they can make signs for the garden and mobiles they can take home. Later in the season, the kids plant tomatoes and bell peppers. The kids love to consume the produce they’ve grown. This includes strawberries, cherries, apples or whatever is ready from the garden. Leftover produce, is placed in the front lobby for parents to take home.
During the school year, Extension Master Gardeners volunteer from 4 – 6 PM. After school is out for the summer, the hours switch to 9-11 AM. The kids look forward to welcoming a guest speakers who might talk about bees, plants, nature or other garden topics. And as the season goes on, the kids learn how to mulch, weed, and harvest the gardens.
The Columbus Foundation for Youth (FFY) provides all the gardening tools and one staff person to assist with the program. Several of our SCIMGA Extension Master Gardeners volunteer to make this an exciting learning program for the kids who come to the FFY. About 25-32 kids per day typically participate in the program! Extension Master Gardener volunteers work directly with kids in small groups of 3-5, depending on the number of kids and volunteers.
The program begins in early May. The garden season starts off by having the kids plant early crops such as radishes, lettuce, sugar snap peas, kohlrabi, carrots, onions, kale and popcorn. When the kids can’t get in the garden because of rain, they can make signs for the garden and mobiles they can take home. Later in the season, the kids plant tomatoes and bell peppers. The kids love to consume the produce they’ve grown. This includes strawberries, cherries, apples or whatever is ready from the garden. Leftover produce, is placed in the front lobby for parents to take home.
During the school year, Extension Master Gardeners volunteer from 4 – 6 PM. After school is out for the summer, the hours switch to 9-11 AM. The kids look forward to welcoming a guest speakers who might talk about bees, plants, nature or other garden topics. And as the season goes on, the kids learn how to mulch, weed, and harvest the gardens.