Washington Youth Garden

Partners

The Washington Youth Garden is under the umbrella of the Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA). As the Washington Youth Garden's parent organization, FONA provides a great deal of support and resources that enable its programs to continue to thrive. Visit their website to find out more about the arboretum and how to get involved.

The Washington Youth Garden is located on the grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum. Established in 1927 by an Act of Congress. The Arboretum is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.

The mission of the Arboretum is to serve the public need for scientific research, education, and gardens that conserve and showcase plants to enhance the environment. The Arboretum consists of 446 acres with 9.5 miles of winding roads and numerous garden displays, collections and structures. Visit the Arboretum website for information regarding plant collections, special programs, and Arboretum hours.

We are a member of the DC Environmental Education Consortium (DCEEC), an organization committed to bolstering a network of environmental and conservation educators, thereby increasing their capacity to provide meaningful environmental education for the residents of the District of Columbia. Through this platform, organizations partner to plan events and programs to increase environmental knowledge and awareness in students, teachers and adults within the District.

As a program of the DC Environmental Education Consortium, the mission of D.C. Schoolyard Greening is to increase and improve schoolyard green spaces to promote ecological literacy and environmental stewardship among students, teachers, parents and the surrounding community.

The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest, nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the Washington Metropolitan area. CAFB works to educate, empower and enlighten the community about the issues of hunger and nutrition.

FRESHFARM Markets strives to build and strengthen the local food movement in the Chesapeake Bay region. They use their markets to create vibrant urban and community places, to provide economic opportunities for farmers and to showcase our region's agricultural bounty. FreshFarm Markets aims to create a sustainable urban-rural partnership that brings the blessings of healthy local food to our communities and sustains the working landscapes that feed us. The WYG participates in the FRESHFARM H St Market on Saturdays.

The D.C. Farm to School Network is a coalition of hundreds of diverse stakeholders working to incorporate more healthy, local foods, and food education into DC schools. The Network includes teachers, parents, farmers, food service providers, school administrators, environmental organizations, farmers’ market directors, health advocates, community members, and all sorts of people and organizations that care about the health and well being of the District of Columbia’s kids, our local environment and our local food economy.

	The D.C. Master Gardener Program, a component of the University of the District of Columbia Cooperative Extension Service’s Environmental and Natural Resources Program, meets the interest in gardening and related areas of horticulture in the District of Columbia, indeed in the urban environment. It includes a 50 hour internship requirement designed to provide individual students with the opportunity to exchange volunteerism with training by professional gardeners. Master Gardeners can volunteer at the WYG as part of their internship requirement.
	DC’s Field to Fork Network refers to the dozens of organizations working in Washington, DC to foster regional change in how we approach our food. The Network works to strengthen links between community gardening, food distribution, nutritional education and seasonal cooking. The Washington Youth Garden is a Field to Fork partner.
	DC Central Kitchen turns leftover food into millions of meals for thousands of at-risk individuals while offering nationally recognized culinary job training to once homeless and hungry adults. DCCK’s mission is to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities.
	Miriam's Kitchen provides individualized services that address the causes and consequences of homelessness in an atmosphere of dignity and respect, both directly and through facilitating connections in Washington, DC. The WYG donates surplus produce from the garden to contribute to their free, homemade meals.
	The Student Conservation Association 's mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of our environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land. Beginning with the 2012 season, the Washington Youth Garden has partnered with the SCA to facilitate a six-week Seed to Supper summer employment program at the Washington Youth Garden for local 15-18 year old high-school youth.
	Live It Learn It is a fast-growing DC-based non-profit that partners with Title 1 DC public schools and area field trip destinations to enrich student learning through rigorous field experiences. Their mission is to boost academic achievement and motivation for students in DC’s lowest performing schools. In the fall of 2012, the Washington Youth Garden became a site for 3rd grade science trips that will serve as the capstone experience for a unit on healthy eating.
	The mission of Casey Trees is to restore, enhance and protect the tree canopy of the nation’s capital. In the fall of 2011 Casey Trees helped WYG plant an orchard of dwarf apple and peach trees in the garden. Since then, we have collaborated in educational efforts, including a tree pruning workshop in 2012.
	Compost Cab is a Washington DC based company committed to building healthier, more sustainable, more productive cities. In 2012 WYG established a larger composting area with increased capacity to accept our neighbors' organic matter. Compost Cab provides regular drop-offs so we can produce high quality compost for our garden beds.
	Through education and access, DC Greens works to ensure that all residents of the District have a deeper connection to the sources of their food and can afford fresh, local fruit and vegetables. WYG collaborates with DC Greens in providing training for school garden educators among other efforts.
	Cultivating Health is a Greenbelt business owned and operated by Holistic Health Counselor & Food Educator Kim Rush Lynch. Cultivating Health will help guide you to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support you and also help you to make gradual, lifelong changes that enable you to reach your current and future health goals. Kim Rush Lynch is the former Program Director of the Washington Youth Garden.
	Toni Burnham is DC’s #1 Bee Lover and Advocate. Toni led the installation of the Washington Youth Garden’s beehive, and provides ongoing training for WYG staff. She also led the charge for the first year of harvesting WYG honey the summer of 2011! Toni’s time with the Washington Youth Garden is made possible in part because of her wonderful husband Sam Visner. Interested in learning about Bees in DC? Visit the DC Beekeepers Alliance Website.
	Chipotle has established supportive relationships with WYG and other DC farms and garden-based education organizations. Chipotle demonstrates their commitment to farmers and the environment through their attention to ethical food sourcing.
	The DC School Garden Program was established through the D.C. Healthy Schools Act (2010) and is a component of the Nutrition Program team of the Division of Wellness and Nutrition Services at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. This program supports school gardens through coordinating efforts of governmental and community organizations to facilitate garden-based teacher trainings, provide technical support, administer competitive grant funding and to oversee the Green Ribbon School Program. The mission of the SGP is to establish gardens as integral components of public and public charter schools.