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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Tammy Thomas, MSW, MPH, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 221 Parran Hall, 130 Desoto Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, 412-624-8139, tltst26@pitt.edu

Literature on the benefits of community gardens has been emerging in field of Public Health and in other related disciplines, and community gardens have been cropping up throughout urban centers in the United States. While some published research speaks to the advantages of community gardens, this is a relatively new area of inquiry. The intent of this presentation is to expand the body of knowledge by describing a pilot project, The Original Gardeners. This environmental education and urban greening project was implemented in the summer of 2005 and was the result of collaboration between an urban high school and the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC). Ten high school students, residing in an urban at-risk neighborhood, were hired through the CHEC and worked in their own community at an urban farm. As part of the program, students also met with community-based environmental organizations to learn about local environmental issues and the means by which community agencies were responding to the needs. As community service was a strong component of the program, students also worked with the agencies through hands-on learning and service projects. The ultimate goal of the Original Gardeners project was to provide the students with skills to positively impact their own neighborhood. Specific objectives of the project included learning about the environment, empowerment in growing food, developing awareness and a broader understanding of community, and increasing physical activity. The lessons learned from this project can assist others interested in engaging youth in environment education and community activism.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the environmental education and urban greening program and key components to its success
• Identify environmental agencies in their own neighborhoods and consider how they may collaborate in the education of youth
• Apply the lessons learned from this environmental education and urban greening program to youth programs in their own community

Keywords: Environment, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered