News
For many of you who work with children, do you sometimes notice that they are lacking that connection with the natural world that you may have experienced as a kid? It's not often that you hear them telling stories about playing down at the creek or making forts out in their backyard.
I don't think it's because they don't want to. It may be because they just don't have those same opportunities. Youth have an inner curiosity about nature, but as parents or adults who care for youth, how often do we give them that opportunity to explore the outside world? It may be because of our concern over safety. This is one reason why I am so passionate about gardening with youth. Children's gardens provide that safe, structured exploration of the natural world that rarely occurs in today's era of TVs and video games.
That is why the Douglas County OSU 4-H Program, in partnership with Eastside Community Garden, is offering the 4-H Summer Garden Adventures Program to introduce youth to the joys and benefits of gardening. This is an educational program to teach children how to grow their own food and what to do with it after they grow it. The participants will be given the opportunity to learn about plants, insects, ecology, cooking, nutrition and food safety.
The OSU Extension Service and 4-H are long-standing education providers to the community and have a commitment to healthy youth. Garden-based education programs have been proven to connect children with nature and healthful foods through fun, hands-on activities. Educational gardens offer unique opportunities to teach youth about where their food comes from, the importance of community, and issues of environmental sustainability. Educational garden programs boost achievement, cultivate life skills, contribute to healthy lifestyles, create dynamic environments for learning core subjects and connect kids with nature through hands-on learning.
The 4-H Summer Garden Adventures Program will run each Wednesday from June 23 through August 25. Students in grades 1 through 3 are welcome from 9 to 10:20 a.m. and youth in grades 4 through 6 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The Eastside Community Garden is at 132 N.E. Rifle Range Road, Roseburg.
The program costs $15 per participant for the 10-week summer program. Space is limited and youth must register by June 11 through the OSU Extension Office by returning a completed registration form. Contact the Extension Service at 541-672-4461 for more information or for a registration form.
This gardening program is a healthy, inexpensive activity for youth that can bring them closer to nature and allow them to interact with each other in a socially meaningful and physically productive way. Please join us.
Tracy Martz is the 4-H youth development agent for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. She can be reached at tracy.martz@oregonstate.edu or at 541-672-4461.
I don't think it's because they don't want to. It may be because they just don't have those same opportunities. Youth have an inner curiosity about nature, but as parents or adults who care for youth, how often do we give them that opportunity to explore the outside world? It may be because of our concern over safety. This is one reason why I am so passionate about gardening with youth. Children's gardens provide that safe, structured exploration of the natural world that rarely occurs in today's era of TVs and video games.
That is why the Douglas County OSU 4-H Program, in partnership with Eastside Community Garden, is offering the 4-H Summer Garden Adventures Program to introduce youth to the joys and benefits of gardening. This is an educational program to teach children how to grow their own food and what to do with it after they grow it. The participants will be given the opportunity to learn about plants, insects, ecology, cooking, nutrition and food safety.
The OSU Extension Service and 4-H are long-standing education providers to the community and have a commitment to healthy youth. Garden-based education programs have been proven to connect children with nature and healthful foods through fun, hands-on activities. Educational gardens offer unique opportunities to teach youth about where their food comes from, the importance of community, and issues of environmental sustainability. Educational garden programs boost achievement, cultivate life skills, contribute to healthy lifestyles, create dynamic environments for learning core subjects and connect kids with nature through hands-on learning.
The 4-H Summer Garden Adventures Program will run each Wednesday from June 23 through August 25. Students in grades 1 through 3 are welcome from 9 to 10:20 a.m. and youth in grades 4 through 6 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The Eastside Community Garden is at 132 N.E. Rifle Range Road, Roseburg.
The program costs $15 per participant for the 10-week summer program. Space is limited and youth must register by June 11 through the OSU Extension Office by returning a completed registration form. Contact the Extension Service at 541-672-4461 for more information or for a registration form.
This gardening program is a healthy, inexpensive activity for youth that can bring them closer to nature and allow them to interact with each other in a socially meaningful and physically productive way. Please join us.
Tracy Martz is the 4-H youth development agent for OSU Extension Service of Douglas County. She can be reached at tracy.martz@oregonstate.edu or at 541-672-4461.
