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 D.C. community to learn and grow together.Â
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 D.C. community to fight food insecurity.
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.
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!
Photo by Jason Dixson and NEEF
Individuals
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.
Groups
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.
Photo by Jason Dixson and NEEF
Teens
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.
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.
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.
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. Â
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.Â
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.
OTHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Garden education programs like field trips welcome classes to the Washington Youth Garden during the school year.
The Green Ambassador Program provides summer employment and development opportunities for D.C. high school students. Youth enter the program in the Farm Crew and progress to become Crew Leaders, staff, and alumni.
