News & Press

Call for Sessions for NCYGS 2024

Call for Sessions for the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium (NCYGS) is Now Open!

The American Horticultural Society, in collaboration with Chicago Botanic Garden, has issued a Call for Sessions for the annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium (NCYGS) taking place on Chicago’s North Shore, July 8-11, 2024. Started over 30 years ago, NCYGS is an annual professional development conference for garden educators who want to help children develop social skills, enhance school curricula, bring families together, and create an awareness of the link between nature and our food, clothing and shelter.

Interested in leading a session at the conference? Review the session subject areas below, read the proposal guidelines, and submit your session proposals by Sunday, December 31, 2023. All submissions will be notified in January 2024. We encourage youth garden educators from across the fields to apply!

 

Session Subject Areas:

Sessions may be submitted in the following subject areas and may address more than one subject area:

  • Career Development: sessions focus on pathways for youth to careers in horticulture/sustainability
  • Curriculum: sessions focus on the design and implementation of curriculum and learning standards in youth gardening
  • DEAI: sessions focus on youth gardening through lenses of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (such as universal learning, horticultural therapy, and racial and economic equity)
  • Funding: sessions focus on building and maintaining financial support for youth gardening and tracking financial metrics
  • Horticulture: sessions focus on plant selection, landscape design, and landscape care for children’s gardens
  • Programming: sessions focus on engagement models and activities for youth with gardens (including play-based learning and social-emotional learning)

Submit your session proposals by Sunday, December 31, 2023. For more information about the Symposium, contact Director of National Programs Courtney Allen at programs@ahsgardening.org or call (703) 768-5700 ext. 121. You can also join our email list to receive periodic updates about NCYGS.

News & Press

Growing Good Kids Book Awards Announced!

The Junior Master Gardener Program and the American Horticultural Society honor engaging, inspiring works of plant, garden and ecology-themed children’s literature through the “Growing Good Kids – Excellence in Children’s Literature Awards” Program. 

From growing strawberries to poetry for a greener world and mysterious neighborhood garden adventures, the 2023 awardees inspired our imaginations! Check out this year’s winners below, who were announced at the 2023 National Children & Youth Gardening Symposium in Knoxville, TN:

 

Rooftop Garden by Danna Smith 
Illustrated by Pati Aguilera
(Barefoot Books)

 

Sun in My Tummy by Laura Alary
Illustrated by Andrea Blinick
(Pajama Press)

 

I Love Strawberries! By Shannon Anderson
Illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett
(Feeding Minds Press)

 

 

Maybe You Might By Imogen Foxell
Illustrated by Anna Cunha
(Lantana)

 

The Garden Next Door by Collin Pine
Illustrated by Tiffany Everett
(River Horse Books)

 

 

 

 

 

News & Press

2023 Junior Master Gardener National Leader Training Conference

Join Junior Master Gardener for their Virtual 2023 National Leader Training, February 21-22.  This is a great opportunity for teachers, administrators, and program leaders to learn how to implement best practices, how to involve parents and students into programming, and how to build sustainability.  

Keynote speakers: 

  • Chris Field, founder and CEO of Mercy Project, non-profit that rescues children from human trafficking in Ghana 
  • Kjell N. Lindgren, M.D., NASA astronaut, Texas Master Naturalist 

To learn more about the JMG National Leader Training, visit www.jmgkids.us 

JGM partners with AHS on the “Growing Good Kids – Excellence in Children’s Literature” award that honors best new children’s books about gardening and nature. Winners are announced at the AHS National Children & Youth Symposium. Learn more about the Growing Good Kids Book Awards.   

News & Press

NCYGS Call for Submissions Deadline Extended to January 13

Deadline to submit presentation proposals for the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium has been extended to Friday, January 13.  

In partnership with University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and UT Gardens, NCYGS 2023 will be held in Knoxville, July 12 – 15. NCYGS is the longest running national event where garden educators (pre-K through 12th) convene to learn about current trends in nature-based education and share resources, best practices, and inspiring stories with peers across the country.   

Presentations should be adapted for a diverse audience of classroom teachers, “informal” educators from a variety of organizations, botanical gardens staff, landscape architects, program coordinators, and more. Sessions may be presented in either a lecture or workshop format. Additional guidelines and proposal writing tips can be found on our website, as well as last year’s sessions.

Notifications regarding the status of each proposal will be sent out in February, and selected presenters will receive a discounted rate to attend the Symposium.  

We are excited to review your proposals! You are the frontline of gardening trends, challenges, solutions, research and best practices in youth education. Your participation shapes the future of gardening and its impact on the earth.

If you have just an idea, a question, or need any type of support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to education@ahsgardening.org.

Read more about NCYGS 2023 and submit your presentation proposal by January 13!

News & Press

Call for Sessions for NYCGS 2023

The American Horticultural Society, in collaboration with UT Gardens, Knoxville, has issued a Call for Sessions for the annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium (NCYGS) taking place in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 12-15, 2023. NCYGS is an annual professional development conference for garden educators who inspire today’s youth to become tomorrow’s gardeners.

Interested in leading a session at the conference? We are accepting session proposals through January 6, 2023. These peer-led sessions will focus on thought-provoking topics, provide practical knowledge and skills, and appeal to a variety of experience levels and educational settings. Presenters will be informed by January 31 and will receive discounted registration to the Symposium.

For questions, please email education@ahsgardening.org with questions. Join our mailing list to receive periodic updates about the NCYGS.

Learn More and submit proposal

News & Press

Exciting Announcement about NCYGS 2023!

We are excited to announce that the AHS National Children & Youth Garden Symposium will be held in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 12-15, 2023! NCYGS is an annual professional development conference for garden educators who inspire today’s youth to become tomorrow’s gardeners. Registration and additional details will be available early next year.

 

FUN FACTS ABOUT KNOXVILLE:

  • The soft drink Mountain Dew had its beginnings with Hartman Beverages in Knoxville in the late 1940’s.
  • Knoxville Zoo is the Red Panda Capital of the world, having the greatest success in breeding and survival of baby Red Pandas.
  • During the 1991 bicentennial celebration of Knoxville, lighting totaling 455,000 was added to Henley Bridge.
  • Actor/Director Quentin Tarantino (“Pulp Fiction”) was born in Knoxville.
  • Country singer Kenny Chesney grew up in Knoxville.

News & Press

2021 Growing Good Kids Book Award Winners

The Junior Master Gardener Program and the American Horticultural Society honor engaging, inspiring works of plant, garden and ecology-themed children’s literature through the “Growing Good Kids – Excellence in Children’s Literature Awards” Program. Each year, book winners are announced at the AHS’s annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium  (NCYGS).
Join us in congratulating the 2021 Growing Good Kids Book Award Winners!

  • One Little Lot: The 1-2-3s of an Urban Garden

    By Diane C. Mullen
    Illustrated by Oriol Vidal
    Published by Charlesbridge

  • Mae the Mayfly

    By Denise Brennan-Nelson
    illustrated by Florence Weiser
    Published by Sleeping Bear Press

  • Butterflies Belong Here 

    By Deborah Hopkinson
    illustrated by Meilo So
    Published by Chronicle Books
Learn more about each of the winners at https://jmgkids.us/bookawards.
#NCGYS21

News & Press

AHS Issues Call for Sessions for NCYGS 2020

NCYGS 2020 logo

The American Horticultural Society has issued a Call for Sessions for the annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium (NCYGS) taking place in Santa Cruz, California from July 7-10, 2020. NCYGS is a national professional development event aimed at cultivating tomorrow’s gardeners by energizing, inspiring, and training today’s garden educators.

We’re looking for peer-led educational sessions that focus on relevant, thought-provoking topics, provide attendees with practical knowledge and skills, and appeal to attendees representing a variety of experience levels, educational settings, and youth audiences.  Session presenters receive a discounted registration rate to attend the symposium.

Learn more and submit a session proposal by January 8, 2020.

 

News & Press

2019 Growing Good Kids Book Award Winners Named

This morning at the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium, Randy Seagraves of the Junior Master Gardener Program announced the three winners of the 2019 Growing Good Kids book awards:

* Errol’s Garden by Joan Hibbs; published by Child’s Play

* Up in the Leaves by Shira Boss; illustrations by Jamey Christoph; published by Sterling Children’s Books

* Seed School – Growing Up Amazing by Joan Holab; illustrations by Sakshi Mangal; published by Seagrass Press

The Growing Good Kids book awards program honors engaging and inspiring works of plant, garden and ecology-themed children literature.

Learn more

News & Press

AHS President/CEO Talks School Gardening on Wisconsin Public Radio

During our 2019 National Children & Youth Garden Symposium in Madison, Wisconsin, AHS president & CEO Beth Tuttle chatted with WPR Morning Show host Kate Archer Kent about school gardens. Listen here.