URBAN FARM STEM PROGRAM

View the project final report

Commodities

• Miscellaneous: mushrooms

Practices

• Education and Training: networking, youth education
• Farm Business Management: farmers' markets/farm stands
• Sustainable Communities: food access and security, local and regional food systems, urban agriculture

The Garden Club Project aimed to educate youth on sustainable agriculture by providing hands-on experiences in urban farming, gardening, and composting. Through interactive lessons, students learned ecologically sound practices such as soil health, water conservation, and sustainable crop growth. The program also introduced financial literacy and entrepreneurship, highlighting economically viable pathways in agriculture. Youth explored careers in farming, environmental stewardship, and food systems, emphasizing socially responsible practices that benefit their communities. The project fostered practical skills, environmental awareness, and career readiness in the next generation of agricultural leaders.

1) What we taught youth about sustainable agriculture

The Garden Club Project educated youth on sustainable agriculture through hands-on urban farming, gardening, and composting. Students learned ecologically sound practices including soil health, water conservation and sustainable crop growth . The program also introduced financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Participants were introduced to budgeting, pricing, and simple cost-of-goods. Students recognized economically viable pathways in agriculture. Career awareness covered farming, environmental stewardship, and food systems roles, emphasizing socially responsible practices that benefit local communities.

2) Educational approach used and youth learning outcomes

• Experiential learning in garden plots and a high tunnel, reinforced by short mini-lessons and reflection journals.
  
• Inquiry-based investigations (soil and water tests) tied to real farm decisions.
  
• Team roles (grower, data lead, marketing lead) to practice collaboration and accountability.
• “Grow–Cook–Sell” cycle linking science, nutrition, and entrepreneurship.
  
  

Learning outcomes:

• Knowledge: Students explained soil health, composting stages, and irrigation
• Skills: Youth demonstrated safe tool use, transplanted and harvested produce, created basic budgets, and pitched products.
• Dispositions: Participants reported increased environmental awareness, confidence speaking to customers, and interest in ag/STEM careers.
• Community: Teams applied food-safety basics and donated or sold produce through local farmers markets.

3) Succinct statement of conclusions

The program built practical growing skills, scientific literacy, and early entrepreneurship readiness. Pairing fieldwork with data, reflection, and real sales/donations increased relevance and retention. Youth left more confident, more career-aware, and more committed to environmentally responsible practices that strengthen local food systems.

4) Adoption actions by youth, educators, and parents

Youth:

• Established watering schedules and created crop plans for the next season.
  
• Formed a student garden committee to maintain beds and lead peer tours.
  
  

Educators:

• Integrated garden journaling and NGSS/Ohio science-aligned investigations.
• Planned monthly taste-test tied to harvests.
  
  

Parents/Caregivers:

• Built at-home container gardens; reported reduced produce costs.
  
• Volunteered for harvest days and market tables

The major sustainable agriculture education goals we plan to accomplish during the project are:

1. Develop Agricultural Skills: Use hands-on gardening, hydroponics, and mushroom growing to teach ecologically sound farming techniques, showing how to maintain soil health and conserve water.
2. Promote Environmental Stewardship: Engage youth in sustainable practices like composting and waste reduction, helping them understand the ecological impact of their actions and making farming economically viable.
3. Encourage Entrepreneurship: Teach financial literacy through farm-to-market projects, emphasizing how small-scale agriculture can be both economically viable and socially responsible by supporting local communities.