Symposium Theme: Youth Gardening as a Gateway to Unity
How does the practice of gardening support youth to build connection and understanding? As we gather in St. Louis, the gateway to the American West, garden educators from all parts of the country will share ways that plants can inspire youth to bridge differences. Together, we will experience how unique paths are valuable and can unify our communities.
CALL FOR SESSIONS
The American Horticultural Society is now accepting session proposals for the 35th Annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium, to be held in St. Louis, MO from Monday, July 19 to Thursday, July 22, 2027. We encourage garden educators of youth from across the fields to apply! Please review the proposal guidance below before submitting your proposal and then submit your session proposals by January 3, 2027.
Session Formats
There are two options for session formats:
• Talks: 60 minutes, discussing a specific idea, model, or project
• Workshops: 90 minutes, providing participants with a framework and actively engaging them with hands-on activities
Session Tracks:
Sessions may be submitted in the following subject areas and may address more than one subject area:
• In the Classroom: sessions focus on design and implementation of garden-related curriculum and learning standards for K-12 students
• In the School Garden: sessions focus on how to build and maintain a school garden, including plant selection, landscape design and care, and financial support
• In the Public Garden: sessions focus on children’s spaces and programming at botanic gardens, nature centers, and similar environments
• In the Community Garden: sessions focus on how to support youth gardening in broader social and geographic contexts, addressing access and inclusion for physical community gardens or engagement in digital gardening communities
• Youth Gardening in Research: sessions focus on scholarly research on child development and the outdoors or on educator best practices
• Youth Gardening for the Future: sessions focus on pathways for youth to careers in horticulture
How Sessions Will Be Selected
Each proposal will be considered according to the following criteria:
• Practical value to practitioners
• Originality
• Quality
• Significance to youth gardening
Sessions will be selected to create a balanced set of offerings for symposium participants. This includes a range of topics, ages of youth discussed, and speaker representation (such as geographic and organizational representation).
Recommendations for Writing Proposals
• Make session titles descriptive and specific.
• Articulate the learning objectives of your session, how they will be achieved, and their relevance and import to your intended audience.
• The proposal should describe not only your topic – it should also describe the ways you will address your materials and how attendees will participate in the session.
Additional Tips
• This symposium draws hundreds of youth garden educators from around the United States, from all kinds of workplaces and youth audiences. Please keep this diversity in mind when creating your proposal.
• Sessions need not be limited to sharing about projects – they can explore models, frameworks, sample activities, and other structures and items that would be of use to youth garden educators.
• Session proposals should reflect your own experience and/or research in the youth gardening field.
Email programs@ahsgardening.org with any questions.