Youth and Gardening

What inspires youth and children to garden? In today's show we speak with a 15-year-old on a mission to inspire other teens to garden, and find out about an organization helping people garden with children.
We speak with 15-year-old gardener Vivien Wong in New York State, who fills her small suburban yard with fruit and vegetables. She has been documenting her gardening journey with the goal of inspiring other teens to grow their own food. Along the way, she won a prize at the fair!
In the second half of the show we chat with Em Shipman, Executive Director of Kids Gardening, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to get kids gardening.
“It’s our job and our passion to support those people that we know are working really hard to provide important, meaningful education opportunities for kids,” says Shipman.
The Kids Gardening website (https://kidsgardening.org)has lesson plans, ideas for activities, and information about grants for community and school gardens.

Show Notes

What inspires youth and children to garden? In today's show we speak with a 15-year-old on a mission to inspire other teens to garden, and find out about an organization helping people garden with children.

We speak with 15-year-old gardener Vivien Wong in New York State, who fills her small suburban yard with fruit and vegetables. She has been documenting her gardening journey with the goal of inspiring other teens to grow their own food. Along the way, she won a prize at the fair!

In the second half of the show we chat with Em Shipman, Executive Director of Kids Gardening, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to get kids gardening.

“It’s our job and our passion to support those people that we know are working really hard to provide important, meaningful education opportunities for kids,” says Shipman.

The Kids Gardening website has lesson plans, ideas for activities, and information about grants for community and school gardens.

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• Join the 5,000+ gardeners in The Food Garden Gang who stay on top of home food-growing ideas with our weekly e-mail. We’re making the world a better place one garden at a time!
• Grab the free e-book: Small-Space Food-Gardening Hacks.
• Find out more about the Canada Gardener’s Journal: It’s a gardening journal, gardening log, and garden planner—with an all-Canadian sources list.

What is Food Garden Life Show: Helping You Harvest More from Your Edible Garden, Vegetable Garden, and Edible Landscaping?

Want to grow your own food but need creative ideas so you can get the most from your space and your growing zone? Our passion is the edible garden.

We help people grow food on balconies, in backyards, and beyond—whether it’s edible landscaping, a vegetable garden, container gardens, or a home orchard.

There are many ways to approach edible landscaping. Find out how to harvest enough fruit, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Get top tips for exotic crops. And learn how to garden in a way that suits any situation.

Host Steven Biggs was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in Canadian horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. He's a horticulturist, award-winning broadcaster and author, and former horticulture instructor with George Brown and Durham Colleges in Ontario, Canada.

Get started with one of our fan favourites. Season 6, Episode 10: Big Harvests from a Small Space with a Vertical Vegetable Garden.