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Activities
- 1.1 Group Bingo
- 1.2 Community Agreements
- 1.3 The Importance of Land
- 1.4 Raisin Imagination
- 1.5 Growing Microgreens
- 1.6 The World Under Our Feet
In addition to activities:
- Voices in Food Justice Spotlight: Ron Finley
- Food for Thought
- Project SOW Learning Standards
- Youth Action Project
Download S.O.W. Curriculum Print Friendly PDF here
Introduction
In Unit One: Cultivating Community, we hope to establish group familiarity, expectations, and introduce the concept of land. Groups will begin to engage in the growing experience by planting microgreens and start to learn about the place they are gathering in by exploring its soil.
We encourage the facilitator to read over the unit and curriculum in its entirety before use, since many activities are complementary. In this unit, your group will engage in activities to get to know one better and discuss expectations for individual and group behaviors. Whether your group members already know each other or not, this is the first time they will meet for this purpose.
This curriculum may at times lead to uncomfortable conversations. It is important to remember as the facilitator, it is okay if you do not have all of the answers. It is okay to feel uncomfortable. When you start to feel uncomfortable, we invite you to pause, slow down, wonder into the nature of the discomfort, and allow some “room” for it. You may not always need to speak or intervene. In fact, allowing for some space in which to reflect is an important part of engaging with justice.
We introduce the concept of land and its various meanings, since everything starts with the land. We need land for group meeting space and our gardens. By acknowledging the land and its vitality for our existence, we introduce the group to concepts of stewardship and reciprocity. The first step in stewardship is recognition. Continuing with recognition and the centrality of land, the group partakes in a mindful eating exercise. This exercise has youth practice developing an awareness of the present moment and reflecting on our food system.
The unit ends with planting microgreens and investigating soil. Microgreens can a wonderful and reliable first food crop to cultivate as they have relatively quick growing times. Getting to know soil can help us learn the land, piece together some of its the history, and form connection with it. We need our soil to nourish growing fruits and vegetables, sustain our water and vital nutrient cycles, and provide homes for organisms big and small. Youth will explore what soil is and its various properties that support plant growth.
Target Objectives
- Establish explicit expectations of individual and group behaviors.
- Develop a common understanding of what land is and what it provides for us.
- Explore a mindset of paying attention and pausing to allow time for digesting what arises.
- Recognize where our food comes from.
- Practice sowing seeds and plant care.
- Investigate the importance of soil and its various properties.