SUSTAINABLE KIDS SUSTAINABLE GARDENING PROGRAM: MASTER GARDENERS PROMOTING LOCAL GARDENING AND HEALTHY EATING HABITS
Horticulture & Turfgrass
Mark Heitstuman
Extension Director & Interim State 4-H Program Director
Washington State University
ASOTIN
Abstract
Asotin County is ranked near the bottom (36th out of 39 Washington counties) on standardized health indicators. To address this issue, WSU Asotin County Master Gardeners (MGs) implemented a gardening/nutrition pilot project in 2011 at Parkway Elementary School in Clarkston, WA to investigate long-term solutions to the alarming rise in youth obesity, diabetes and other nutritionally-related diseases. The goal of the Sustainable Kids Sustainable Gardening (SKSG) project was to promote healthy eating choices, and increased knowledge of local fruit and vegetable production for 4th and 5th grade students. MGs taught one-hour weekly lessons to 100 students from November to June. A hands-on curriculum was developed consistent with the Washington State K-12 Science Curriculum Standards. Lessons presented the complex gardening and nutrition systems; their related subsystems; and component parts. Presentations and experiments began with discussing the soil system and its importance in growing nutritious food plants. Youth studied the complex human nutritional food cycle, with its essential nutrients, and focused on developing long-term eating habits for a healthier, disease-free life. Each weekly lesson included taste-testing of different fruits and vegetables. End of the class surveys indicated that youth learned to read, understand and use food labels to make better food choices; and to make small changes in their food choices, which will lead to healthier long-term health implications. SKSG is continuing in 2012, with Body Mass Indexes being collected on each student by the local Health District as a baseline measurement to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of this program.
Authors: Heitstuman, M. D.
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Heitstuman, M. D. Extension Educator, Washington State University Extension, Washington, 99402