By Alicia Holloway
Alicia Holloway is a Farm to School Contractor at Georgia Organics.
Registration is open through April 18, 2024, for this summer course that teaches educators to grow successful school garden programs!
Photo courtesy of University of Georgia.
Grow It Know It (GIKI) immerses educators in three days of hands-on learning centered around garden skills, cooking in the classroom, and school garden best practices. "This training is designed for P-12 educators. All subject areas and grade levels are welcome.” (Office of Service Learning, UGA). The only requirement is that participants already utilize school gardens as a teaching tool, or are working to develop a garden program at their school.
Entering its 7th year of equipping P-12 educators this program teaches educators how to garden and cook with their students rather than focusing on a specific garden curriculum or learning activities. From when, what, and how to plant to preparing garden fresh recipes for taste tests (and lunch), participants learn by doing.
““I wish all teacher professional learning (PL) was this enriching and practical.”
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In addition, each day educators reflect, brainstorm, and collaborate with peers and the GIKI it team to connect garden-based learning to their curriculum, whether that is 2nd grade science, middle school math, or even high school art.
Grow It Know It (GIKI) is led by an enthusiastic team of UGA faculty and staff with years of school garden experience and a passion for teaching and community outreach. This year’s program will be held at UGArden, a student community farm that is home to a variety of college courses, research, community outreach, and is a frequent field-trip destination for local schools.
““I learned so much! My confidence has increased based on the information that I learned in the workshop.””
This year the GIKI course will take place June 10-12 in Athens.
For more information on UGA’s Grow It Know It program and the registration page for this summer’s cohort, tap the button below!
To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.