DISCOVER WAYS TO SUPPORT FONA

THANK YOU! We have tremendous gratitude to all the volunteers and seasonal staff who helped in Washington Youth Garden this year. Our dedicated volunteers provided critical help from pulling weeds, to creating new garden beds, to harvesting over 7,200 pounds of produce for donation, and so much more. Thank you for all you helped us accomplish this year! . . . @fonarboretum #usnationalarboretum #nationalarboretum #nationalarboretumdc #dc #volunteer #gratitude #thanksgiving #thankful

This school year, the Educator Coaching Program (ECP) is working with garden teams from 11 schools across DC. ECP assists school garden teams by providing garden education and coordination support. Each team has three to four unique goals to accomplish throughout the year. So far, some schools have established regular produce distributions to share fruits and vegetables grown at their school (and/or at Washington Youth Garden) with students and families. Other schools have used their gardens to host food tastings to celebrate their communities' cultures during Hispanic Heritage Month. ECP staff also co-teach lessons about plant parts, soil, and compost with six of the teachers. This co-teaching series strengthens teachers' confidence and skills incorporating garden education into the classroom and curriculum. We’re excited to see the garden teams progress throughout the rest of the school year! . . . #schoolgarden #wyg #washingtonyouthgarden #dcps #dc #farmtoschool #dcgardens

What books have you read with your students and children that celebrate #Latine and #Indigenous cultures? Link in bio to see what children’s books our School Garden Support Team recommends to learn about Indigenous cultures and mindsets about the earth, food, and community. . . . #washingtonyouthgarden #wyg #nationalarboretum #usnationalarboretum #natoonalarboretumdc #culture #latinfood #indigenouspeoplesday #indigenousfood #food #gardeneducation

Thank you to the over 200 families, volunteers, and visitors who joined us last weekend for our Garlic Planting Party! With your help, we planted roughly 500 garlic cloves, each of which will grow into a bulb that will be harvested next spring. We loved seeing all the Halloween costumes as visitors also harvested sweet potatoes, created fall crafts, tasted fall foods, and more. Since garlic is deer resistant, the cloves were planted just outside the garden's deer fence in new beds. Several volunteer groups built these new beds earlier this year — a monumental task that has allowed us to expand our planting area. . . . #washingtonyouthgarden #wyg #familyfriendly #fall #fallevents #dcevents #dc #nationalarboretum #nationalarboretumdc #usnationalarboretum #halloween