Growing in a Neighborhood Near You! Summer at CitySprouts

by-Alexandra Lennon-Simon

“It still feels like CitySprouts!” a boy exclaimed to his friends in CitySprouts remote summer group this week. He is one of the middle schoolers enrolled in CitySprouts remote summer program.

While our summer program may look a little different this year, we continue the CitySprouts mission of cultivating wonder in youth through science exploration, gardening and cooking.

The program officially began on Monday when each of our 72 youth participants logged onto zoom at one of our six “sites.” Each site is associated with a CitySprouts middle school garden in Boston or Cambridge.

But our program really kicked off the previous week when
families picked up their CitySprouts summer program kit containing all the materials they need to grow their own plants this summer, keep a science journal, do engineering projects together online and prepare some recipes at home with their families. It was also a chance for kids to meet their Garden Educator face-to-face.

This first week in the program kids are getting to know each other, transplanting (and naming) the pepper seedlings that came in their kits, making salads, and building their own flowers out of materials found at home.

Meanwhile, our summer program alumni recall some of the key lessons they learned as a middle schooler at CitySprouts. To read more about Saffy Patel’s experience in CitySprouts summer program, visit our blog.

Alexandra is the CitySprouts Communications & Development Manager. With 20 years of hands-on environmental education and community outreach experience, she enjoys getting her hands dirty, gardening with kids, and being outside as much as possible.