The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly digitized our society – from classrooms to Zoom-rooms – and today, our children are spending even more time in the digital world. The Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency Head Start Garden Program aims to inspire local children to head outdoors and create deeper connections with the natural world while honing valuable life skills.
Called Garden-Based Learning, the program is made possible through the collaboration of Wayne Metro and its Head Start locations, Keep Growing Detroit, the National Kidney Foundation, and Parker Village, as well as generous donors including Blue Cross Complete of Michigan. A donation of indoor grow beds and garden lighting from Blue Cross Complete has enabled this program the unique opportunity to grow all year round!
Additional updates will expand the program this Fall, including the installation of new garden- based learning areas at two more of our Head Start locations, bringing the total to 14.
Students learn best through play! Gardening with young children:
To learn more, explore Keep Growing Detroit’s Garden Resource Program, which provides seeds, transplants, compost, technical assistance and special event support. Download their shareable – Garden Based Learning Guide or tune into their YouTube channel, where a Detroit farmer reads a children’s garden book each month, and play the videos for your children or students.