Grow Eat Learn
Where gardens grow, communities thrive, and climate action takes root.
Gardens and growing spaces provide opportunities for youth to build social connections and are linked to nutritional, mental, physical and emotional health. They are also fertile grounds for learning about the environment and acting on climate change in your community.
The Grow Eat Learn Program provides support, mentorship and tools for building youth-centered gardens and growing spaces on school and community grounds in Nova Scotia. Growing projects range from food forests, to garden beds, to indoor hydroponics, and more.
By engaging in garden programs, young people learn essential skills related to the life cycle of plants, growing and harvesting food, and caring for the environment. They also experience the power of people coming together to act on important global crises, like climate change.
In connection to Grow Eat Learn, we are building a provincial network of growers, educators and youth to share knowledge and cultivate youth engagement in the garden. The network is supported by Regional Garden Mentors (located in Halifax, Cape Breton, and Northern Mainland) who are providing support and mentorship for growing projects across Nova Scotia, and focused engagement with Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian Communities.
Virtual School Garden Support Drop-Ins
We’ll be hosting a themed monthly drop-in space on Zoom for educators & faculty working in school gardens. Bring your questions & learn!
Come with questions about your own school garden work, learn from peers and our mentor team about topics like putting the garden to bed, microgreens in the classroom and gardening as climate action. We will start with 15 minutes of knowledge sharing then open the floor for your questions and stories about youth gardens across the province. Get to know fellow school gardeners and learn about what is working and not working among the 100+ school gardens growing across the province.
Tuesdays once a month from 3:15-4:15 pm
Dates:
- October 28th (Putting the Garden to Bed)
- November 18th (Microgreens)
- December 9th (Hydroponics)
Get Involved
Fill in the Grow Eat Learn Form
Fill in our form to share your questions, find support, or express your interest in connecting to the Grow Eat Learn network.
Get in Touch
Reach out directly to one of our Regional Garden Mentors or our School-Community Gardens Project Lead.
Stay Tuned for Trailer Activities
Our newly designed Grow Eat Learn trailer will help support on-the-ground community projects and youth-focused activities.
"Youth are so different in a garden setting, I am not sure if it is from working so close to the earth. But I find so many children that normally struggle with behaviors or big emotions thrive when they are in a garden. I also love teaching kids to cook and prep, so being able to make a meal that you started from seed provides a sense of pride like no other."
–Emily Hammond from SchoolsPlus
Featured Resources
- Grow Eat Learn
Garden Infrastructure Design Library
- Grow Eat Learn
Foraging with Kids in Mi’kma’ki
- Grow Eat Learn