Volunteer to Train Teachers

I  will be hosting one Got Dirt? training session in early 2012. Would you like to give a training session too? All the materials and presentation PowerPoints are already created. Having more than one session in the area would be great. Details from the Got Dirt? office are listed below. ~Erin LaFaive

Call for Got Dirt? Trainers

 

As Master Gardener Volunteers fielding community questions, I imagine you are reminded regularly of what a process it was to gain all the knowledge you have about successful growing. Personally, it took me by surprise to meet an adult who honestly didn’t understand that her carrot was the plant’s root (no, it was not going to “grow back” after picking!), or why she was not likely to get a bumper crop of watermelons out of her 2’ x 2’ x 34” standing planter.

 

Our work never stops being vital and in-demand. As the next academic year fast approaches, Got Dirt? is asking you to consider dedicating a few of your volunteer hours to reach out to the next generation – a generation in dire need of a slice of your hard-earned wisdom! I say “dire” after reading about a recent study from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, which found that a leading fast-food chain’s websites get 365,000 unique child visitors ages 2-11 and 294,000 unique teen visitors ages 12-17 each month. Targeted marketing for fast food starts as young as age 2! ¹

In other words … the “competition” is working hard to capture the habits of kids. No, we can’t blame any one entity for the increasing childhood obesity and its health related consequences in Wisconsin’s youth. However, if kids aren’t hearing about truly delicious alternatives to fast and fried, aren’t exposed to incredible taste and texture of fresh … how can we expect them to ever know? Somewhere along the line, we all needed a teacher.

That brings us back to you! We’re now scheduling Master Gardeners and other volunteers with horticultural knowledge to pick a date and a place to present the Got Dirt? PowerPoint and materials to teachers, childcare providers, and after-school program providers in your communities.

We’ll take care of advertising and enrolling your audience. For individuals as well-versed in garden skills as you, your overall time commitment is really just a few hours.

Many thanks go out to everyone who has participated in the last few years. We’ve done some evaluations, including asking parents of the children who attended classrooms that gardened about what their kids had to say about it and if they saw any changes in behavior. Many of the responses were extremely encouraging, but this one blew me away:

“She asked for lettuce as a snack--and ate it plain”.

Wow! Now, we didn’t spend millions on TV spots with fun music, characters, and promises of a toy surprise. Instead, you taught a teacher how to involve kids in growing lettuce in a bucket, the kids were excited about the harvest because they planted the seeds and kept it watered … and low and behold, she asked for lettuce instead of fries.

Here are just a few more findings from the program evaluation done for the 2009/2010 academic year:

• A total of 122 garden sites were established after the Got Dirt? Workshops and the majority of gardens engaged up to 30 children.
• 89% of respondents answered that they were planning on continuing their youth garden. 71% plan to expand - increasing the variety of plants and/or size of the garden.
• 76% of respondents answered that the youth gardens were either very effective or extremely effective in increasing children’s interest in fruits and vegetables.
• Although it was difficult reaching the workshop attendees who did NOT start a garden, from the feedback we did get, two of the barriers were lack of time and lack of space. We’ve got solutions!

 

Got Dirt? Garden Initiative Training Basics

 

Target audience for training: Teachers, childcare providers, and after school coordinators

Objective of training: To give participants the skills, confidence, and information to start a garden at their facility. Gardens can range in size from a traditional in-ground garden to container gardens or growing in the classroom.

Cost to attend training: No charge

 

Trainer’s Responsibility -Set date and time for class (Usually 2-3 hours) -Determine site for the class -Decide hands-on activity (makes presentation more dynamic) -Obtain materials (potting soil, transplants, etc) for hands-on portion of training (trainer will be reimbursed) -Conduct class using Got Dirt? PowerPoint and related materials -Distribute and collect evaluation surveys

Got Dirt?’s Responsibility -Provide publicity for the class / recruit attendees (input from trainers is very welcome!) -Handle registration -Provide Got Dirt? Power Point -Provide Got Dirt? training manuals for all participants -Reimburse trainers for supplies purchased

A copy of the Got Dirt? Manual and many more resources can be found at www.gotdirtwisconsin.org

¹ Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. Fast Food F.A.C.T.S. Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score. Downloaded from http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org. Accessed August 1, 2011.