Connecting Generations
through School-Based Gardens
Who is Involved?
This project
will test the feasibility of an intervention to create opportunities for healthy
eating, active living, and social engagement through a volunteer-based mentoring
program centered on school-based gardens. This program aims to bridge generations
and give older adults an opportunity to take an active role in instructing,
guiding and supporting young people. It is designed to build on an ongoing research
initiative, Gardens for Growing Healthy Communities (GGHC), the educational
and social programming of Denver Urban Gardens (DUG), and the work of a community
network of gardeners, the Healthy Neighborhood Network (HNN). This highly collaborative
project will bring together partners from the University of Colorado at Denver
and Health Sciences Center, DUG, the HNN, Denver Public Schools, the Retired
and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Volunteers of America, Civic Ventures,
Inc, Making Connections, and other community-based organizations.
Specifically,
Connecting Generations will adapt the successful approach of Experience Corps©
- a nation-wide project that has engaged over 2,000 members in 21 cities across
the country to mentor elementary school students. Connecting Generations will
also draw on research of the GGHC project on how community gardens can benefit
community health and the surrounding environment, and will build upon the vast
experience of our community partners – including the practice of garden-community
building from DUG and the HNN, and recruitment and training models from the
RSVP program.
What are Our Goals?
We will assess the feasibility
of the following overarching goals of this project:
- Strengthen school-based
programming around gardens
- Increase use of gardens
in the spring, summer and fall
- Increase fruit and vegetable
intake
- Increase leisure-time
physical activity
- Strengthen social networks
between schools and the surrounding community
- Improve cognitive function
(older adults)
- Improve school performance
(youth)
Why Gardens and Older Adults?
Connecting
Generations will address several gaps and opportunities identified in recent
research including the following:
- Support the establishment
of consistent social connections made through mentorship. Such relationships
can, among a myriad of other benefits, improve the health status of older
adults and academic performance of youth, and help schools and youth-serving
organizations become more successful.
- Develop innovative solutions
to enhance healthy eating and active living opportunities to address the obesity
and diabetes epidemics.
- Enhance garden-to-neighborhood
connections throughout Denver, a need identified through the work of the Healthy
Neighborhood Network.
- Cultivate year-round
support for school gardens and gardening-related activities which have been
shown to have a tremendous positive influence on the children and teachers
involved.
- Promote garden-based
curricula, which can provide direct support for academic standards (see “School
Gardens Grow Science Achievement Scores” from the National Science Teachers
Association, www.nsta.org).
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For information
about Gardens for Growing Healthy Communities,
contact Jill Litt
jill.litt@ucdenver.edu
