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Topics on this page:
- Introduction
- Curriculum Overview
- Guidelines for Belonging
- Acknowledging our History
- Food Gardening Resources
- Nutrition in the Garden
- Book Resources
- Connections to 4-H Thriving Model
- Project Acknowledgements
*To access curriculum content, you have two options. You can view the Project S.O.W. curriculum on these webpages on your preferred device (desktop, tablet, or phone). In addition, Project S.O.W. is available in its entirety in print friendly pdf form. Download S.O.W. Curriculum Print Friendly PDF here
Introduction
Welcome to Project S.O.W. (Seeds of Wonder): Food Gardening with Justice in Mind, a food gardening curriculum for educators who work with young people ages 13-19, centering personal growth, community connection, and equity.
In Project S.O.W., youth work together to investigate how to grow food, explore their relationship with the land and food system, and practice leadership in their communities. Youth discover the power of food gardening to provide their families and communities with fresh and affordable food, and experience firsthand the resilience, confidence, and connection that this time-honored practice brings.
Many people agree that our current food system is not sustainable with respect to how it currently functions. Research shows that people involved in our food system are struggling and these struggles are disproportionately felt by people of color and people with low incomes. Many people are hungry, and many are suffering from diet-related illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Food and farm workers are more likely to encounter unsafe working conditions, lack employee benefits such as health insurance, and tend to be underpaid compared to workers in other industries. Grappling with low prices for their crops and competition from large-scale agribusiness corporations, family and small-scale farmers struggle to maintain viable livelihoods. All these challenges are only intensified by our changing climate. These challenges in our society are not unnoticed, youth are becoming increasingly aware of food insecurity, climate change, and racism impacts.
It is common for young people to feel anxious and overwhelmed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been estimated that more than half of our youth experienced these feelings. We do not want to contribute to feelings of anxiety with all that there needs to be done, and there is a lot that needs to be done. Rather, it is our hope and intention that youth come away from Project S.O.W. with the understanding that we do not have to “do it all” to make a difference. When we do engage in activity, it is often so much more enjoyable when it is inspired by our strengths, gifts, and interests – and we’re more likely to follow through with it, too. In Project S.O.W., our aim is to center youth voice, encourage youth belonging, and uplift joy and stories of the good being done in our communities to meet the challenges of our world today. We know that connecting with this meaning and purpose fosters positive youth development.
Project S.O.W. complements and integrates well with Cornell Garden-Based Learning’s Seed to Supper program, a program for adult gardeners. Seed to Supper is an accessible gardening course that gives beginner gardeners the tools they need to connect with others in community, grow in confidence, and successfully grow a portion of their food on a limited budget. Many educators in New York State requested a similar curriculum for youth, which is how this curriculum came to be.
Curriculum Overview
The curriculum has four units, each having three types of group activities: Introductory (shorter length activities that focus on trust, community building, and seeing what the group already knows on a particular topic), Digging In (lengthier activities that explore a topic more deeply and add new information), and Gardening (activities that focus on growing food and garden care). In each unit, we connect activities to New York State Learning Standards and 4-H Life Skills. This curriculum has been created for groups of 6 to 20 participants, yet is adaptable to smaller and larger groups, and can be used in a wide variety of school, afterschool, and community settings. All youth engaged in Project S.O.W. are encouraged to have a food gardening experience. The curriculum has been designed with flexibility to support youth having diverse growing experiences- indoors or outdoors; in containers or the ground. We define a garden as any space that you intentionally cultivate plants.
Curriculum Units:
- Unit 1: Cultivating Community
- Unit 2: Gardening with Gratitude
- Unit 3: Sowing Seeds of Curiosity
- Unit 4: Rooting Resilience
Unit Components (in addition to group activities):
- Voices in Food Justice – spotlighting stories of people championing food sovereignty in their communities with a particular emphasis on voices of Indigenous, Black, and other People of Color. Each story contains a video and discussion questions.
- Food for Thought – youth guide with activity and reflection prompts for youth to do on their own to revisit ideas discussed in the unit.
- Project SOW Learning Standards – activity connections to New York State Learning Standards.
- Youth Action Project – opportunity for youth to practice leadership and further explore their interests on a particular food gardening topic.
- Project S.O.W. Youth Handouts and Facilitator Templates PDF: this is a print friendly PDF of compiled youth handouts and facilitator template tools you will find in the curriculum activities. Individual print friendly PDFS of youth handouts and facilitator templates can also be found in the activity webpages.
Guidelines for Belonging
It is our hope for facilitators to bring curiosity, empathy, patience, and humility to the program. Recognizing our identities and unique experiences shape how each of us views the world and this view impacts our individual perspective, practicing cultural mindfulness, make caring visible, practice both/and thinking, and acting as a leader and a learner are important strategies for a facilitator connecting with their group. Serving as a vulnerable facilitator willing to “not know” and learn alongside young people is preferable to the need to be an expert on the topic of food justice. It’s a complex subject with many doorways in, and we hope you enjoy the learning as much as the youth.
Acknowledging our History
As Project S.O.W. strives to champion justice, we must acknowledge our history. Cooperative Extension, 4-H, and land-grant universities historically have contributed to systemic barriers making it more difficult for people of color, indigenous people, women, immigrants, and people of low income to access land, to define their own food and agricultural systems, and to access healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food.
As a facilitator of this curriculum, we invite you to learn more about these histories and center a culture of belonging. Below are some resources for learning:
- Belonging Resources Cornell Cooperative Extension Staff Site (this link is within CCE staff firewall and requires Cornell net id login)
- Black Lives Matter Library Guide Cornell University
- Commitment to the Deconstruction of Systemic Racism New York State 4-H
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion eXtension Organizing Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion New York State 4-H
- 4-H and Black History Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County
- Land-Grant But Unequal Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
- The Complicated Growth of 4-H Smithsonian Magazine
- The Untold Story Behind the Brick and Ivy: Cornell University, the Morrill Land Grant Act, and Native American Tribal Cessions
Food Gardening Resources
The curriculum incorporates activities to explore food gardening basics. To support your gardens and content not directly covered such as pest management and caring for pollinators, the New York State (NYS) Seed to Supper handbook is available for NYS educators to use. Please contact Ashley Helmholdt alm443@cornell.edu if you are interested in receiving a copy of the handbook.
We also encourage contacting your local Cooperative Extension office for garden and plant-related questions: Cornell Cooperative Extension Offices (NY State) and USDA Land-Grant University Website Directory.
In addition to the above, below are excellent gardening resources and curricula:
- Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix National Agriculture in the Classroom
- Educator Resources American Horticultural Society
- Educator Resources KidsGardening
- Gardening Resources American Horticultural Society
- Junior Master Gardener Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Nutrition in the Garden
Project S.O.W. does not directly focus on nutrition in the garden. There are many wonderful opportunities to bring in nutrition and cooking with your harvest into your garden space, we encourage you to collaborate with nutrition educators in your programs. Here are some resources supporting incorporating nutrition into the garden:
- Food! How Do We Ensure Good Nutrition for All? Smithsonian Science Education Center
- Gardening and Healthy Nutrition is Interwoven Michigan State University Extension
- Integrating Gardening, Nutrition and 4-H Positive Youth Development Washington State University Extension
- Let it Grow Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Mi Plato Para Ti Extension Foundation
- Nutrition to Grow On Curriculum California Department of Education
- Plant Parts Salad Recipe Food Hero, Oregon State University
- SNAP-Ed Gardening Resources U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Teaching Nutrition in the Garden KidsGardening
Book Resources
Curriculum activities contain additional resources for learning. In addition to resources provided, below are a list of books that have provided tremendous inspiration and guidance for the creators of this curriculum.
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman
- Mindful thoughts for Gardeners: Sowing Seeds of Awareness by Clea Danaan
- My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
- Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
- The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias by Dolly Chugh
- The Savvy Ally by Jeannie Gainsburg
- Unlocking the Magic of Facilitation by Sam Killermann and Meg Bolger
Connections to 4-H Thriving Model
Project S.O.W. is grounded in positive youth development and incorporates processes to nurture positive youth development as outlined in the 4-H Thriving Model. Activities are designed to promote youth engagement and are aligned with the seven indicators of thriving. Throughout the curriculum, activities promote the importance of maintaining a growth mindset and an openness to challenge and discovery. Youth are challenged in supportive ways, encouraged to take positive risks, and learn new skills. Uplifting youth voice and interests, centering identity formation, and encouraging goal setting contribute to youth developing a sense of hopeful purpose.
Helping youth develop prosocial orientation and positive emotionality, curriculum activities center collaborative learning in groups, offer expectations for group interactions, promote supporting each other and the local community, and present experiences to practice taking perspective of others. Activities encourage processing experiences with reflection, and support expressing and managing emotions affirming youth they matter and that their feelings are valid. Developing transcendent awareness, activities encourage youth to slow down and offer opportunities to connect with the natural world and practice mindful attention. The group practices learning to see others and the land through a new lens encouraging gratitude and generosity. Promoting goal setting and management, planning and caring for a garden offer youth the opportunity to make choices and act with a goal in mind.
In addition to above, we encourage any group taking part in Project S.O.W. to create and sustain a nurturing developmental context incorporating youth program quality principles, encouraging belonging, and cultivating developmental relationships. Learn more about the Thriving Model:
- 4-H Thriving Model National 4-H
- Exploring the 4-H Thriving Model: A Commentary Through an Equity Lens by Dr. Nia Imani Fields in Journal of Youth Development
- The 4-H Thriving Model New York State 4-H
Project Acknowledgements
The creation of Project S.O.W. has been a collaborative effort. We are deeply grateful for the support and expertise of many individuals and organizations.
Lori Koenick: Author, Editor, Website
Marcia Eames-Sheavly: Advisor, Editor
Susan Ndiaye: Editor
Martha Williams: Author
Q. Cassetti: Logo Design
Campus Support
Craig Cramer
Ashley Helmholdt
Alexa Maille
Mingla Charoenmuang
Jamila Walida Simon
Eduardo González, Jr.
Pilot 2021 CCE Educators and Counties
Sara Jablonski
Sharon Bachman
Jesse Meeder
Carrie Busekist
Cindy Albro
Jingjing Yin
Elaine Noble
Helanna Bratman
Anna Harrod-McGrew
Counties: CCE Erie, CCE Onondaga, CCE Dutchess, CCE Rensselaer, CCE Chemung, CCE Cattaraugus, CCE Columbia and Greene, CCE Monroe, CCE Nassau
Rematriation Magazine & Media
Smith – Lever funding support
Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal for the Mobius Strip video inspiration
Photo Acknowledgements
We share deep gratitude for the photos throughout the curriculum that help bring it to life. Unless otherwise noted, any youth in action photos were taken during our 2021 pilot season. Photos provided by Lori Koenick, Helanna Bratman, Sara Jablonski, Sharon Bachman, Jesse Meeder, Carrie Busekist, Cindy Albro, Jingjing Yin, and Anna Harrod-McGrew.
Other photos have been sourced from the Cornell Photos Image Library, Unsplash, Pixabay, and Wikimedia Commons.