Cultivating Ownership

Cultivating people is as much a requirement for sustaining youth gardens as building the soil. It’s about more than just coordinating and directing activities – people, whatever their age or level of involvement, have to feel that they themselves somehow grow in the garden. This may take the form of being attracted and attached in some way to the physical space, the plants they help install, the children they guide there, the relationships they build with other team members, or the community that a garden helps brighten. Here are some ideas for how to build this spirit of ownership.

Communicate!
If you remember only one thing, let it be this: Communicate clearly and frequently with your garden team, including the students. Participants who stay informed about the plans and progress of the garden possess the strongest sense of ownership. In contrast, poor communication leads to frustration and a quick decrease in support.

How should you maintain good lines of communication?

Wisdom from the Field "A sense of pride and accomplishment and the reward of beholding beauty and harvesting a crop arises from those who have planned, weeded, hauled, planted, and watered the emerging garden. The process of establishing a garden fosters ownership as the students and key players grow in friendship, in knowledge, in enthusiasm, and in wonder." Aleta Patrick, Garden Coordinator Krause Children's Residential Treatment Center Katy, Texas

Make a list of the people you need to communicate with, evaluate the options and resources available to you (including time), and let that guide your communication plan. Make sure everyone is aware of how you plan to communicate with them and then stick with it. This is very important. Communicate!

Expand and Grow
Add a new element to your youth garden each year. It keeps your garden dynamic and gives the current year's participants opportunities to be part of the planning process. People love to be involved on the ground floor of a project. It gives them a special opportunity to contribute ideas and join in without feeling like an outsider. This doesn’t mean starting over from scratch each year, rather to add to or improve the existing garden. Additions can be as small as a bench where students can sit and read, or as large as adding a new garden space.

Host an Annual Planning Event
At the beginning of each year (be it the school year or the growing season) plan a brainstorming meeting. Invite everyone you think might have an interest in your youth garden: students, parents, teachers, school administrators and custodians, and community members (e.g., neighbors, business owners).

New gardens probably attract the most interest, but each year you can brainstorm ideas for additions to the garden and/or new programs/projects for the garden. Although you’ll need a smaller team to handle the details, a large brainstorming session builds a foundation of ownership. Even if the planning session participants do not continue to be actively involved, when they see the garden, they will know they helped contribute to its creation. Activity 1 outlines the process of facilitating this kind of planning event.

Schedule Regular Workdays
Holding regularly scheduled events such as workdays or open garden days helps establish a routine, giving participants a comfortable way to be involved. Because they know what to expect after attending the first event, they will approach future events with a sense of familiarity and belonging.

Invovling Key Players It's about the kids. Let them work through every aspect of the project. In preparing the Youth Garden Grant application, I told them from the beginning that I was applying for a grant and shared a little about what I had to do. They immediately took an interest in the grant writing process. At every step they wanted to be updated and involved. Take lots of pictures. It makes kids proud of their accomplishments. They especially love it when pictures are shared with others. Involve as many people as you can with the project. People love to help but need to be asked! It’s good for the kids to know that they are valued and that someone wants to spend some time with them. Give back! Write thank you letters, give gifts of the fruit of your labors, or just invite other classes to spend time in your garden. Barbara Delaney, Teacher Eisenhower Middle School Succasunna, NJ

Engage the Kids
Kids are the impetus and energy behind every youth garden. Adult volunteers and educators work with youth gardening programs because they enjoy the fascination and excitement of the children involved. By ensuring youth feel a strong sense of ownership, you also motivate and cultivate feelings of ownership in adult participants. To make sure youth are engaged, use inquiry- based learning techniques and make sure kids have a say in what is grown and how the garden is used. Keep the garden accessible for exploration outside of class hours. Involve them in all aspects of the garden including planning, installation, maintenance, and harvest. And don't spend all your time weeding!

Julie Dale Carr of Butterfly Hope, winner of a 2006 Youth Garden Grant, shares this advice about building ownership: "Empower youth as much as you can. Teach and instruct them, but let them make decisions and decide what will be done. At Butterfly Hope, each student takes ownership over each plot of land they tend to. It gives them a heightened sense of pride, purpose, and self-worth."

Say “Thank You!”
Recognizing participants for their work acknowledges their importance to the garden. Use a variety of ways to show appreciation, including verbal praise, written notes, and formal events. (National Volunteer Week is later this month – the Points of Light Foundation Web site has a host of recommendations for celebrating your garden volunteers.

Personalize the Garden
Think of activities and garden features that give youth participants a chance to add a personal touch to the garden. Kids love to point out “their plants” by putting a name label next to them. Kids’ art objects are another expression of connecting to the garden. Activity 2 offers a variety of suggestions.

Promote the Garden to the Community
Most of the ideas above apply to regular garden participants, but to keep the rest of the neighborhood engaged and fresh energy flowing in, you need to reach beyond the core group. Send updates about the garden program to local print and broadcast media. Invite municipal officials and community members to events or to just stop by and see the garden. This way you cast a wider net of ownership, which in turn can boost donations and financial support for the garden, decrease vandalism, and help you recruit additional active volunteers. Your garden is a youth program that everyone in the community should be proud of — so make sure they know about it!

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