Five great places for your kids to go gardening
Posted by Sarah W on July 18, 2012
Veggie garden (Photo credit: RaeAllen)
SA Busy Kids likes the outdoors, playing in the dirt, getting messy. We’ve Dished the Dirt on Dirt before. Now we tackle turning that play time into some constructive and fun learning time.
It’s called gardening. Need a little help developing a green thumb? We’ve got five awesome places in mind where you can go green and go garden.
The Children’s Vegetable Garden Program at the Botanical Gardens
Saturday mornings from 8 am to 12 pm, your child can grow their own vegetables and other pretty plants with help from the Bexar County Master Gardeners and other helpful volunteer organizations. Aimed at children ages 8 – 13, each child gets their own 3.5’ x28’ garden plot to grow in and choose among a variety of seeds to create a unique and personal garden that is all their own. After tending to the garden, there are fun, hands-on activities that can earn your child a Junior Master Gardener Certification. The next program starts August 25 and continues to December 8, 2012. Registration is $40 and space is limited, so apply early. The application form is available online and is due by August 10, 2012.
Green Spaces Alliance Community Gardens
The Green Spaces Alliance develops community gardens around the city for neighborhoods to enjoy, learn, and grow together. Find a community garden near you through their network, and get hands-on with your kids. Attend a gardening workshop or join in building a garden in a neighborhood near you. Contribute to the garden and share what you grow with your children and with others. Green Spaces has events going on year-round, so there’s always a learning opportunity or activity to get your child’s green thumb growing.
The Bexar County Youth Gardens Program
This is a great resource for starting your own garden and educating your kids at home or in school. They’ve got information on everything from soil, to pest control, to water conservation and kid’s activities. Plus, enroll in the Junior Master Gardener Program and you can help supplement your child’s education through an outdoor classroom arena. Students who have participated have improved T.A.K.S scores as well as developed self confidence and technical skill. The program provides supporting curriculum that overlaps with subjects like Science, Literature, and Math, to truly help your child get the most out of this educational play time.
Spurs Community Garden with the San Antonio Food Bank
Part of San Antonio’s Nutrition Education program, this community garden has a special teaching/demo garden for your kids to explore. Volunteer to help keep the garden going and get your family hands-on and in on the action. They have other educational opportunities as well, like Gardening 101, which is free, the fourth Friday of each month. You simply register online.
This is an excellent resource for starting and maintaining a garden in your home, community, or anywhere. They’ve got gardening info for what to plant when, and resources for where to get seeds at no cost. Add recipes and kid’s activities to the mix, and this dinner garden is growing strong. Plus, there are great fundraisers to support.
There are so many benefits to growing a garden. And it never hurts to hone those growing skills, especially if your child loves to dig in the dirt anyway. What would your child want to grow in the garden? That’s a fun question to ask, you might be surprised by the answers you get (…pizza?!)
