WASHINGTON YOUTH GARDEN

OVERVIEW

Washington Youth Garden (WYG) is a one-acre education garden at the National Arboretum and is a destination for garden-based education and nature play. It was originally established in 1971 to teach local elementary students horticulture and life skills. Today, Washington Youth Garden is a welcoming and inviting place for the DC community to learn and grow together.

Our goal is to share innovative and environmentally-friendly growing techniques, encourage nature play, and grow fresh produce for the community. WYG’s pollinator garden, sensory garden, food production area, and Nature Explore classroom encourage visitors of all ages to engage with agriculture, farming, and environmental education. Thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables are grown in WYG each year, all of which are distributed to students and families in the DC community to fight food insecurity.

GROW THE GARDEN CAMPAIGN

FONA is committed to providing excellent youth education at the National Arboretum. Each phase of the Grow the Garden campaign helps us make the Washington Youth Garden more engaging, accessible, and productive for future generations.

Thanks to our community, we have completed fundraising for Phase 2 of this campaign! With the help of 147 donors, we raised more than $173,000 in nine months to renovate the Washington Youth Garden’s perimeter fence. Donations ranged from $5 to $50,000, and every single one made a difference in helping us complete this project.

This new fence makes the garden more welcoming and engaging for all who visit the U.S. National Arboretum. A special thank you to our two generous anonymous donors who cumulatively provided $60,000 in matching donations for the campaign. Below is a list of supporters who have made this project possible. Thank you to all of the donors who made this project possible!

Campaign Phases

FONA is committed to providing excellent youth education at the National Arboretum. Each phase of the Grow the Garden campaign helps us make the Washington Youth Garden more engaging, accessible, and productive for future generations.

Conceptual redesign
Community feedback
Final redesign

Fence renovation (complete)
Raised bed construction (funding secured)
Interpretive & wayfinding signage (ongoing)

Widen garden paths to be ADA accessible
Build a whimsical garden supply shed
Plant fruit & nut trees
Interpretive & wayfinding signage

Decorative plantings in front of garden
High-visibility signage

Click the map to view in full screen, or click here for a downloadable version.

The Washington Youth Garden’s new fence features a yellow honeycomb design and front entrance gate.

WYG’S STORY

In 1971, the Washington Youth Garden Council and the DC Department of Recreation broke ground at the U.S. National Arboretum. This established the fourth Youth Garden site in DC to teach elementary school students horticultural and life skills.

In 1973, WYG partnered with neighboring elementary schools to create the Garden Club for 3rd-5th graders. It operated as part of the DC Department of Parks and Recreation as an established community garden for children from local schools and DPR camps until 1996.

historic photo of students tilling soil in the washington youth garden

historic photo of students taking notes as they walk through the washington youth garden

In 1996, due to DC budget cuts, Friends of the National Arboretum adopted Washington Youth Garden. It became our youth education and outreach program.

Adding a second full-time staff member in 1999 allowed WYG to significantly expand its programs.

In 2000, WYG started working directly with school gardens by establishing the Garden Science program, an 8 week plant science unit offered in classrooms at Title 1 schools. This program offered more formal horticulture science curricula than its predecessor, the Garden Club.

The Science Programming Reaching OUT (SPROUT) program was introduced in 2002 to bring Garden Science students on field trips to WYG.

Growing Food Growing Together started for families to learn gardening and cooking skills in their own plots at WYG.

In 2007, WYG instituted its summer internship program for college students.

We greatly appreciate the National Capital Area Garden Club’s crucial support during this time in our history which allowed WYG to flourish.

historic photo of students holding bunches of kale in the washington youth garden

historic photo of students on a field trip in the washington youth garden

In 2010, our garden staff grew to 3 full-time members. We began installing school gardens in conjunction with Garden Science, and led the development of the DC Healthy Schools Act that dedicated state resources to horticulture education for the first time. WYG served 1,000 youth this year.

The Green Ambassador Program was established in 2013 for DC teenagers to gain experience in green careers through a paid summer internship.

In 2017 WYG hosted 4,200 students from 130 schools and camps on SPROUT field trips, marking the first year we served 6,000 youth.

The Summer Institute for Garden-based Teaching began in 2018 and the Green Ambassadors Program solidified its multi-tiered model.

While the COVID-19 pandemic halted all in-person programs in 2020, we adapted to make our program supports more flexible and tied to our partner school’s needs. In 2020, we introduced the Educator Coaching Program to provide hands-on assistance and instruction to teachers throughout the school year. This program now serves 8 to 12 Title 1 DC schools annually.

Washington Youth Garden now grows over 7,500 lbs of food annually for distribution through our partner schools and community partners. It remains a hub for young people, teachers, and families to learn about how they can grow food in their schools and homes. Through all our youth programs, FONA serves over 7,000 students across the District.

Washington Youth Garden green ambassadors with the day's harvest

VISIT THE GARDEN

The garden is open to all Arboretum visitors and has parking nearby. There are also picnic tables between the Grove and the garden on a first come first served basis. Please follow our three garden agreements during your visit:

Stay on the path
Pick with permission
Respect all living things

If you plan to bring a large group to the garden, please let us know ahead of time so we can plan accordingly. While WYG is a public garden, the school field trips we host from April through October receive priority. Please email education@fona.org or call 202-544-8733 so we can find a time that works for everyone.

Use the map to the right to navigate to the garden within the Arboretum. Click on “View larger map” to open in Google Maps.

Map of Washington Youth Garden

VOLUNTEER

Looking for a fun way to give back to your community? Want to spend time outside getting your hands dirty and connecting to nature? Interested in a unique team activity for your company or organization?

Volunteering at FONA’s Washington Youth Garden might be the perfect fit for you! Volunteers provide crucial help with gardening tasks such as weeding, planting, mulching, and pest control. You don’t need prior experience, but you must be willing to make friends with the soil and the bugs!

We host regularly-scheduled volunteer hours in the garden on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from April through mid-November. We welcome any and all volunteers, but greatly appreciate volunteers who can regularly commit to volunteering throughout the growing season. Fill out our individual volunteer interest form and we will get back to you with more details.

We work with groups to plan private volunteer days from April through mid-November. We ask for a minimum of 10 people and maximum of 25 people per group. Fill out our group volunteer interest form and we will get back to you with more details.

To support our volunteer program, we have a suggested donation of $200 per group, but we would still love to have you volunteer if this is not feasible for your group! No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Looking to complete community service hours for school? Join us for Teen Volunteer Days, held monthly on Saturdays during the spring and fall. All participants younger than 18 must have a parent or guardian complete the permission slip in the sign-up form. Any volunteers under the age of 14 must attend with a parent or guardian. Fill out our teen volunteer interest form to see upcoming dates, and we will get back to you with more details.

washington youth garden corporate volunteer group in front of the capitol columns

OTHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS

FONA hosts many other education programs at the Washington Youth Garden and in partner schools across Washington, DC.

The School Garden Support Program works with educators across DC to build strong, sustainable school garden programs. Our program empowers teachers to connect students to garden-based education through field trips in Washington Youth Garden, virtual classroom support, and professional development opportunities for DC educators.

The Green Ambassador Program provides year-round employment and development opportunities for DC high school students. Youth enter the program in the Farm Crew and progress to become Crew Leaders, staff, and alumni.