Growing with the Community: A Hands-on Training Design for Agricultural Educators, Farmers and Community Leaders

Growing with the Community: A Hands-on Training Design for Agricultural Educators, Farmers and Community Leaders

Summary

Trained sixty community members, extension agents in Florida about building community gardens in January 2004;
Trained thirty community gardens at the annual American Community Garden Association 2004 conference in developing community based changed.

Objectives/Performance Targets

• Train trainers in Florida and Louisiana to develop community garden skills including leadership, knowledge about healthy eating, composting/recycling materials, entrepreneurship and marketing and garden evaluation.

  Form ten partnerships in each state between farmer, private and public groups interested in community gardens.

  Develop website for community resources.

  Coordinate Internet communication among trainees.

  Develop training manual for community garden resources.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Sixty people attended the Florida statewide community garden training on January 22 from 12:30PM to 5PM in Gainesville, Florida. The conference was scheduled the day before the regional Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Annual Conference to maximize convenience for participation in the training and a the larger conference.
Workshop trainers included:
Ashley Atkinson and Doris Elam, Flint Urban Gardening and Land Use Corporation (MI),
Eva Worden, UF State Extension Specialist (FL), and
Hollis Watkins, Southern ECHO (MS).

Collaborators: