Growing Healthy Kids with Gallatin Valley Farm to School’s Seed to Snack Camp
Summer in Bozeman is a wonderful time of year: long, sunny days, vibrant natural colors popping up on every hillside, buzzing bees visiting fragrant flowers—and best of all—gardens bursting with fresh food. A garden is a powerful place that provides sustenance and offers many benefits for every age, especially our youngest community members. In a garden, children transform into scientists, artists or mathematicians when concepts they learn indoors suddenly become real. Gardens provide the ideal space for experiential learning, engaging all five senses in discovering the wonders of plants, cycles and ecosystems. When children help cultivate a garden, they form an intimate connection with healthy food and the natural world, and they develop a sense of responsibility to the place and the living things within it.
There is an anecdotal saying in the farm to school community that is becoming increasingly well documented in numerous research settings: ‘kids that grow broccoli, eat broccoli.’ As stated by the National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Child Nutrition Program Operations Study, ‘research shows that innovative, hands-on, and behaviorally-focused teaching strategies, that incorporate school gardens into the curriculum, enhance healthful eating.’ As parents and teachers alike can attest, getting kids outside, digging in the dirt, hunting for bugs and worms is an unparalleled means of inspiring adventurous eaters. According to Sam Blomquist, a Registered Dietitian in Bozeman, ‘I can spend countless hours on Pinterest searching for new beautiful ways to prepare vegetables….but in our house, the best recipe for vegetable consumption is dirt! Fresh from the garden – I can barely get my kids to wait until the veggies make it in the house!’
In addition to inspiring healthy eating behaviors, garden-based education fosters an understanding and appreciation of the natural world that turns kids into environmental stewards. After an activity introducing healthy soils, students turn the compost pile and let out excited squeals when they spot worms they have unearthed. They are able to see the full life cycle of a plant as it is returned to the soil and gain first-hand awareness of the importance of composting. Kids compare textures of leafy greens, observe the pollination process in real-time, and search for ants as they clean up the garden floor. Through these experiences, they discover the crucial role of every living thing in the garden and apply these same concepts to wild and backyard ecosystems.
Gardens also provide tremendous benefits to children’s social and emotional well-being. Kids tend to regard gardens as safe, calm spaces where they are able to move slowly and take time to observe their surroundings. Cultivating a healthy garden can be a lot of work, so it promotes teamwork, cooperation and group problem-solving skills. In a garden, every kid contributes their skills and perspective, fostering empowerment, confidence and inclusion. Gardens also teach kids about the importance of valuing all members of a community, as they learn first-hand the time and effort needed to produce fresh foods. In addition, gardening provides an outdoor activity that engages young minds at a time when kids are spending more and more time indoors behind screens.
Summer in Bozeman is the perfect time to be outside, and what better place to be than in a garden? Gallatin Valley Farm to School’s Seed to Snack Garden Explorer Summer Camp is the ideal way for kids to dig into the wonders of the garden! Youth in grades 3-5 will learn how to grow and tend a garden and harvest fresh, healthy foods to use to cook delicious snacks every day. Students will create garden art, unleash their inner scientist as they observe and dissect flowers and insects, and examine our food system through a field trip to a local farm. Camp sessions I and II take place July 11-15 and July 25-29 at the Hyalite Elementary School gardens, and session III is hosted at the Irving Elementary School gardens August 1-5. For more information about our camps or to register, visit gvfarmtoschool.org/camps. Gardening is an amazing way for kids to get dirty and have fun, which is exactly what summer is for!
By:
Erin Jackson, Gallatin Valley Farm to School’s Education Coordinator and
Meghan Montgomery, FoodCorps service member with Gallatin Valley Farm to School
