The United Nations has established a new decade, beginning in 2020, focused on the power of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). “ESD for 2030” calls for educators to help advance new skills, empower youth, increase public awareness, and build...

Read this issue of Public Garden here.

Additional Content: Vol. 35, No. 1
 
Learning in the Garden
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As land-use patterns change over time, some pollinating insects continue to decline both in abundance and diversity. This is due, in part, to reductions in floral resources that provide sufficient nectar and pollen. Our overall goal is to help increase...

Conifers are commonly planted in North America to provide year-round screening, as windbreaks or as focal trees in the landscape. However, conifers including certain species of spruce, pine, hemlock, cedar and fir planted in northern areas of North...

Across the United States, a growing number of schools and educational programs are planting gardens, engaging in Farm to School activities, and integrating plant science into the curriculum. To support and expand these hands-on learning activities,...

Academic campuses across the Great Plains can serve as landscapes for teaching and learning about native flora of cultural importance with regard to food, medicine, and lifeways. Campus visitors (tourists) and local community members could benefit from...

An increasing number of conservation interventions aim to reduce their negative impacts on vulnerable people and to provide incentives aimed at improving overall human well-being. Community and incentive based conservation interventions have had...

The following is a collection of tools from ABCD faculty members as well as individuals and organizations that embody the principles of ABCD in their work. The addition of the toolkit was made possible by a generous grant from the Alumnae of...

Urbanization, lack of contact with the natural world, and growing up removed from agriculture has contributed to a void of knowledge relating to food and food production, along with a phenomenon known as plant blindness. We sought to change this lack...

As natural resource agencies continue to be challenged with decreased participation in outdoor recreational activities, Esri has developed solutions to enable recreation coordinators to enhance their recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3)...

Growing North Minneapolis (GNM) is an urban agriculture and youth development summer program sited in the North Minneapolis, MN, neighborhood. The program is a university–community partnership between faculty at the University of Minnesota (UMN) and...

Educators know, based on years of research, that effective learning happens when learners are:

• Actively engaged (as opposed to passive recipients of information)
• Equal partners in the learning process
• Socially engaged
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Vacant lots in your neighborhood can illustrate neglect and seem like a waste of space. But, these open spaces can also serve as clean canvases for creative community projects that bring positive change. 

Interested in learning from leaders and...

Employers are desperate to fill a labor shortage on the front lines in urban forestry, yet struggle to source and retain a sustainable workforce. Few employers have successfully tapped into the supply of workers in communities with the lowest tree...

Plants permeate human life. Our physical and cultural environments are infused with the lives of plants. Even the oxygen in the air we breathe is the result of their biological processes. Indeed, “we rely on plants for food, shelter, fuel, and fibers...

This study, led by the Research Group at the Lawrence Hall of Science, was commissioned as part of a planning grant, funded by the Pisces Foundation, to support the design of a professional learning workshop series for outdoor science organizations....

The presenter for this webinar was Megan Bang, Associate Professor in Education and Indigenous Studies, Northwestern University. She focused on the intersection of environmental education and indigenous knowledge. This is a resource for gaining a new...

Public Gardens are positioned to not only support the protection of plants but lessons about how they intersect with thriving communities as well. Indigenous communities and their associated values are critical components to developing solutions to...

Citizen science offers the opportunity to actively involve a variety of audiences both on site and in communities with our collections, our research, and our conservation activities, increasing scientific and environmental literacy as well as awareness...

How do you invite Latinx visitors to your programs? Do these Spanish-speaking community members feel welcome in your space? We explore community partnerships and recommended approaches to maximize success. Speakers will share successes and challenges...