Gardening And Learning

Terra Rose Ganem, executive director for Sustainable Arizona.

Since she was three years old, TERRA ROSE GANEM can remember being involved with growing plants. That was when her mother gave her two seeds to plant and she watched them grow into sunflowers. She credits that direct experience with fostering her lifelong interest in organic gardening. She also realizes how much you can learn from planting seeds and watching them grow into something much bigger.

Although her life now as an adult is more varied, in the sense that she is an author, holistic nutritionist and runs Body Brilliance programs, she shuns public relations hype and promotes herself as a regular person, flaws and all. She very much enjoys sharing her experiences with others and that led to her developing GROW ORGANIC KIDS.



The program started in four schools in Arizona and utilized common core standards; help from educators, teachers, and gardening experts; and became part of the curriculum. The program incorporates hands-on learning, doing what Terra did when she was a child, watching the plants grow. But there is also the formal education of knowing what the growing is about, utilizing organic methods, free of chemicals, making it safe for the youngest students.

In the third year and third phase of the program, which is where the original four schools are in the process, the surrounding community, including parents and teachers, become invested in the long-term growth, maintenance, and success of this gardening/educational experience. That ensures that the program remains a permanent part of the schools' curriculum.

The program shares a newsletter, so parents and their kids can enjoy some of the participation in the program, including what's happening in the schools, kid-friendly recipes, and information about starting your own organic garden. By the way, the program has now served over 1100 students.

Some of the young participants in Grow Organic Kids.

Thanks to this article by Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/terra-rose-ganem-grow-organic-kids/, and information from the above links.

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