Frank Wertheim, Extension Educator at UMaine Cooperative Extension’s York County Office, will share his insights on the development of Kids Can Grow, an experiential youth gardening program, on Wednesday, November 9th at 6:30 p.m.:
Kids Can Grow: The Journey from York County, Maine, to National Program
Frank Wertheim, York County Cooperative Extension
Anderson Learning Center, 21 Bradeen Street, Springvale, ME
Wednesday, November 9, 2001 at 6:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public
The public is invited to attend the event at the Anderson Learning Center, 21 Bradeen Street in Springvale, where Frank Wertheim will give a presentation titled: “Kids Can Grow, the Journey from York County, Maine to National Program.”
With humble beginnings in Sanford, Maine in 1999, the Kids Can Grow Experiential Youth Gardening program model has expanded across Maine, into New Hampshire and is preparing to become a national program model. Kids Can Grow is a 6-month-long gardening program, in which youth learn to grow, prepare and consume fresh vegetables they grow at home in their own 3’ x 5 ‘ raised bed gardens. Through the program children also learn about good nutrition, food safety and food preparation; experience a healthy adult-child mentor relationship; learn community service by donating some of the food they grow to area food pantries; and get outside to breathe fresh air and engage in physical activity. Wertheim will share how the program works and his work to develop it into a state and nation-wide youth gardening program model.
The evening’s program is free and open to the public. It includes a dessert social at 6:30, followed by a brief annual meeting of the York County Extension Association. Wertheim’s talk is sponsored by UMaine Cooperative Extension, in keeping with its mission to share research-based programs in Maine communities.
For more information or directions to the Anderson Learning Center in Springvale, call the Cooperative Extension office at 207-324-2814 or 1-800-287-1535 (in Maine) or email: [email protected].