2024 National Children & Youth Garden Symposium
Cultivating Garden Educators Who Inspire Today’s Youth to Become Tomorrow’s Gardeners

The American Horticultural Society’s 32^nd annual National Children and Youth Garden Symposium was held on Chicago’s North Shore from Monday, July 8 to Thursday, July 11, 2024, in partnership with the Chicago Botanic Garden. 

Our main message was for participants to “reinvigorate your passion to educate a new generation about the importance of gardening. Network, engage, collaborate, and learn from like-minded peers across the country. Explore the vibrant Chicago North Shore with its numerous green spaces and innovative, citizen-driven gardening projects.”

Find out why NCYGS is one of the country’s longest-running, most prestigious gardening conferences for youth educators!

Learn more about the 2024 NCYGS:
– Travel Accommodations
– Keynote Speaker
– Field Experiences
– Educational Sessions
– Scholarships
– Julia Rappaport Growing Gardeners Fund
– Sponsorship Opportunities

Registration for NCYGS 2024 is now closed. 

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.

2024 Symposium Theme: Stories in the Garden

This year, the American Horticultural Society’s National Children & Youth Garden Symposium explored relationships between gardens and stories. From July 8-11 on Chicago’s North Shore, hundreds of educators from around the country united to share how youth can express and shape their narratives through gardening, how gardens can grow stories of personal and community success, and how gardens and literacy efforts can support each other.

Our 2024 symposium offered 26 interactive learning sessions, from basic building blocks to advanced topics, addressing pre-K-12 learning. Personalized visits to the area’s impressive and relevant gardens offered opportunities to apply new concepts and connect with fellow youth garden educators from a diversity of communities. Come for the fun and learn skills, ideas, contacts, and resources to bring back to your own community!