Community Resource: Gardening Initiatives
Listed below are information and references to address physical activity and nutrition in specific sites or settings within the community.
Never gardened? The Got Dirt? garden toolkit is designed to provide simple, step-by-step plans for starting a garden. Even better: tips from garden experts and garden success stories from around Wisconsin are also included. Spanish version P-40112s (PDF) is also available.
Got Veggies? is a garden-based nutrition education curriculum created with the goal of getting children to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Got Veggies? features seven full lesson plans that are aligned with Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for Nutrition, Health, Science, and other related subjects. A Spanish version P-00228s (PDF) is also available.
Got Veggies? ECE Edition builds on the lessons and activities in Got Veggies? by adapting them to meet best practices for the early care and education (ECE) setting. Each of the four themes and two à la carte activities are aligned to the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards and offer concepts and tools developmentally appropriate for children aged five and under.
Cultivating Childhood Wellness through Gardening — This online video training was developed by the Wisconsin Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Program and Community GroundWorks in partnership with UW-Extension, Life Lab, Wisconsin Obesity Prevention Network, UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, and UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.
This training has been approved for continuing education hours for child care providers, with 1.5 hours of Registry credit awarded for this training (see final training video for details).
Chapter 1 - Introduction offers a brief introduction and rationale for school gardens (13:13).
Chapter 2 - Planning and Establishing Your Youth Garden leads viewers through the considerations and practical steps needed to plan and build a garden from the ground up (11:48).
Chapter 3 - Growing Food with Kids offers a detailed look at how to actually grow food in your garden during the growing season - from choosing and starting seeds, to transplanting and watering, to managing pests and harvesting your bounty (13:05).
Chapter 4 - Growing Gardens in the Early Care and Education Setting provides special considerations for growing gardens in the Early Care and Education setting (13:27)
Chapter 5 - The Color Harvest: A Comparative Tasting Lesson highlights a lesson plan that considers nutrition and helps students expand their palates (9:59).
Chapter 6 - Roots Lesson Plans describes a lesson plan that gives children a chance to explore plant growth through root (6:45).
Chapter 7 - Garden-Based Activities presents a wide range of garden-based activities you can employ to let students experience the garden space to the fullest, from digging to wheelbarrow races, and from plant braiding to rousing games of “Name that Veggie” (12:52).
Chapter 8 - Culinary Arts in the Garden offers a guide to culinary arts in the garden, describing supplies and recipes that make use of fresh garden produce (6:44).