PROGRAM REPORT:
EDUCATION & OUTREACH in ATLANTA
2017
YOUTH PROGRAMS BY THE NUMBERS
In 2017 the Wylde Center expanded our outreach in Atlanta Public Schools by offering farm to school and other programming to 11 schools and early childhood education centers, of which all but one are classified as Title I. In addition to the numbers seen here, over 500 pounds of fresh produce were grown in the garden and donated to residents of the Edgewood community through a free weekly farm stand.
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YEARS OF SERVICE
Since 1997, the Wylde Center has served the residents of Decatur, Atlanta, and greater Dekalb County with a mission to educate, cultivate greenspaces and build community. We accomplish this mission by providing the communities we work in with vibrant greenspaces, holding several annual events, and by working with schools and school districts to bring hands-on farm to school and environmental education programs to their students.
In-School Programming In 2017, we delivered over 100 school garden lessons to students in Title I schools in Atlanta. Our programs use school gardens to deliver hands-on, standards-based curriculum that expands on knowledge gained in the classroom. During a Wylde Center school garden lesson, you may find students investigating worms, tracing the intersecting food webs present in their school garden, starting seeds and monitoring plant growth, testing the soil for vital nutrients, or planting a pollinator garden to provide a food source for some of our world's most important organisms. Our in-school programming also includes school-wide taste tests, during which every student in the school is given the chance to taste a seasonal vegetable. In the spring of 2017, students tasted a raw kale salad prepared with kale grown at the Edgewood Garden with a vinaigrette made with honey from the garden's bees. At both schools where this recipe was tested, students overwhelmingly voted in favor of the recipe! Students are always given a recipe so they can prepare the vegetable with their families. A survey conducted among first graders at Parkside Elementary in fall 2017 found that nearly 25% of students surveyed made a three bean salad at home after tasting it during a Wylde Center taste test.
This project is made possible by:
Our programming was offered to these schools in 2017: Fred A. Toomer Elementary Burgess-Peterson Academy Benteen Elementary Parkside Elementary Barack and Michelle Obama Academy Dunbar Elementary Whitefoord Early Learning Academy Garden Hills Elementary Beecher Hills Elementary The Kindezi School West Morningside Elementary
In 2017, we were able to expand our work in Atlanta through the Edgewood Community Learning Garden and through a comprehensive education and community outreach program that included no cost in-school programming, field trips to the garden, after school clubs, school break camps, and a free farm stand. Our program engaged students and families in their health and their environment while giving them the tools and resources needed to put what they learned into action in their daily lives. After School Clubs & Summer Camps In 2017 we offered two free after school clubs a week at our Edgewood Garden. Children learned to grow food during the Tuesday garden club, and how to use that food to make a snack or meal during the Thursday cooking club, oftentimes alongside a parent or sibling. All of the food grown in the Edgewood Garden was used in programming or donated to the community. This program reached 20 children and their families at our garden and kitchen classroom, which is within walking distance of many of our participants' homes.
AddEvery Thursday, Edgewood Site Coordinator During the summeraofdonation-based 2017 we offered a free week longstand camp thatfull gaveof Derek holds farm children a safe environment to spend their last week of summer break, fresh, seasonal produce garden with when other area summer camps hadgrown adjournedin forthe the season. The camp open to 15 participants who were able to tend the garden, care for the thewashelp of his after school garden club. 500 lbs of chickens, make garden crafts, and prepare garden snacks each day. produce was donated in 2017! a little bit of body Field Trips text In 2017, over 1000 students in 51 classes from 8 Title I schools visited the
Edgewood Garden on a free field trip. These field trips were offered to schools in the Jackson Cluster at no cost, including the cost of buses.
New in 2017: FoodCorps We are a proud FoodCorps service site! Thanks to our FoodCorps service member, we were able to reach an additional 620 students during 43 classroom or school garden visits, 9 field trips to our garden, and 2 schoolbased after school garden clubs. Our service member was a valuable addition to our program because she allowed us to provide a consistent weekly presence in 3 schools: Fred A. Toomer Elementary, Beecher Hills Elementary, and Garden Hills Elementary.
AddEvery Thursday, Edgewood Site Coordinator Derek holds a donation-based farm stand full of fresh, seasonal produce grown in the garden with the help of his after school garden club. 500 lbs of Want to support these programs or find out more about the Wylde Center? Visit us online at wyldecenter.org, on Instagram produce was donated in 2017! a little bit of body (@wyldecenter), on Facebook (Wylde Center), and on Twitter Stay in touch (@wylde_center). text
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DAYS OF AFTER SCHOOL GARDEN AND COOKING CLUBS
STUDENTS WELCOMED ON FIELD TRIPS
1000
STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN TASTE TESTS
500
POUNDS OF LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCE DONATED THROUGH THE FREE FARM STAND
1
WEEK OF SUMMER FARM CAMP
108
SCHOOL GARDEN LESSONS DELIVERED