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Cornell Affiliates

Garden Mosaics – This program of the Department of Natural Resources connects youth and elders to investigate the mosaic of plants, people, and cultures in gardens, to learn about science, and to act together to enhance their community.

Cornell Farm to School Research and Extension Program – Through outreach education, applied research, and program development, Cornell Farm to School aims to build awareness, increase knowledge, and support efforts to increase the amount of local foods served in New York’s schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Citizen-Science Projects – Learn about birds, participate in citizen science research, get involved in projects to green up your community, and increase conservation awareness.  The Celebrate Urban Birds program in particular includes both arts and gardening activities.

Ag in the Classroom – This program builds an understanding of and appreciation for the economic, social, historical, and scientific importance of agriculture in our society.  Making the connection between agricultural production and the daily consumption of food and fiber products is central to their work with elementary school educators and students.  Check out their youth gardening project Kids Growing Food.

Cornell Outreach – Outreach programs solve real-world problems by linking people to resources at Cornell. Students, faculty, and staff share their expertise and energy with schools, businesses, government, community organizations, individuals, and families.

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) – A key outreach system of Cornell University with a strong public mission and an extensive local presence that is responsive to needs in New York communities. The CCE educational system enables people to improve their lives and communities through partnerships that put experience and research knowledge to work.

Ithaca Children’s Garden – A public three-acre garden in Ithaca, NY, operating in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County.  The Ithaca Children’s Garden (ICG) is both a place and a program that develops, implements, and evaluates a wide range of education programs for children, teens, and the community.

Master Gardener Volunteers – A dynamic network of Cornell Cooperative Extension trained volunteers that work to improve their communities through gardening and related outreach, education, and projects.

Positive Youth Development

New York State 4-H Youth Development – 4-H is the largest out-of-school youth organization in the United States with over 7 million youth members. There are Cornell Cooperative Extension staff responsible for 4-H programs in nearly every county and city throughout the state.

Youth Community Action (YCA) – A term coined by youth, Youth Community Action encompasses a range of learning opportunities, from taking part in service projects to identifying local needs and changing policy. YCA is a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension.

ACT for Youth – Assets Coming Together (ACT) for Youth is an innovative youth development initiative that promotes social change to help young people thrive. ACT’s central strategy is the formation of cross-sector community partnerships to create communities where young people feel safe, where they are connected to adults and community institutions, and where they have developmentally supportive opportunities to be active agents in their lives and communities.

Children, Youth and Environments (CYE) – The CYE Journal is the world’s leading publication for the latest news on children, youth, and their environments. Endorsed by UN-Habitat and guided by a distinguished Editorial Advisory Board, the Journal is an online resource that supports the sharing of knowledge across disciplinary and national boundaries.

Children’s Environments Research Group (CERG) – The Children’s Environments Research Group (CERG), provides an important link between university scholarship and the development of policies, environments, and programs that fulfill children’s rights and improve the quality of their lives.

The FreeChild Project – This project advocates, informs, and celebrates social change led by and with young people around the world, particularly those who have been historically denied the right to participate. Working across the United States and Canada, the project provides tools, training and expert consultation in the fields of youth development, youth empowerment, and youth involvement.

New York State Advancing Youth Development (AYD) Partnership – Professional development for youth workers in New York State, to increase the knowledge and skills of youth workers, strengthen youth development networks, and institutionalize basic principles of positive youth development.

Other Favorites

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) – One of the oldest national gardening organizations in the country, AHS can connect you to gardens around the world, gardening education for all levels of skill, sources of information on any garden subject imaginable, a community of gardeners eager to share their experiences, other great gardening events and activities, and more.  Check out their National Children & Youth Garden Symposium.

California School Garden Network (CSGN) – A great resource that includes curriculum materials and other program support tools such as the Gardens for Learning publication; applicable to programs outside of California as well.

Life Lab Science Program – Inspiring learning and conservation by engaging students and educators in the natural world. Life Lab supports science and garden-based education through publications, professional development, and innovative programs.

School Garden Wizard – Tools for starting and sustaining a garden at your school, created for the K-12 school community through a partnership between the United States Botanic Garden and Chicago Botanic Garden.

Friends of Burlington Gardens and Vermont Community Garden Network – Working to create a local food system where Vermonters of all ages experience the benefits of community gardening and become healthier through improved diets, exercise, and positive social interactions.  Check out the Healthy City Youth Initiative—a hands-on youth farm and garden program that works with the Burlington School District.

Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED) – A Farm to School partnership of Food Works at Two Rivers Center, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT), and Shelburne Farms.  Their website offers curriculum, and other tools for working with your community and schools on food, farming, and nutrition education.

Center for Ecoliteracy – Supports and advances education for sustainability.  Resources include downloadable publications, articles, professional development opportunities, and other tools for integrated teaching and learning.

Children & Nature Network (C&NN) – Created to encourage and support the people and organizations working worldwide to reconnect children with nature, C&NN provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children’s health and well-being.

Environmental Youth Alliance (EYA) – A youth driven non-profit organization dedicated to the health of our urban environment, our planet & the wellbeing of its people. By providing young people with meaningful experiences, in projects that benefit their communities, they support our environment socially as well as ecologically.

The Farmer’s Museum: Harvest of History – Harvest of History makes the history of New York State agriculture come alive. Explore the Village to find out where your food comes from, how and where it grows, and compare life in 1845 with our modern world. This interdisciplinary curriculum for fourth-grade teachers explores how agriculture has been, and still is, an integral part of our lives in New York State.

National Gardening Association (NGA) – Promotes home, school, and community gardening as a means to renew and sustain the essential connections between people, plants, and the environment. Their Kids Gardening site is a comprehensive resource for educators working with children.

Youth & Urban Garden Programs

The Food Project – Based in Boston, The Food Project has become a  national model for engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture,  enterprise, and service.

Green Corps, Cleveland Botanic Garden – In addition to cultivating nearly 3.5 acres of land in five urban Cleveland neighborhoods, using sustainable and unusual garden practices (check out the lasagna layers), young people develop important interpersonal skills with peers and adults like communication, conflict resolution, and cooperation.  Through the summer, they are employed, and complete a curriculum focusing on gardening and ecology, life skills, and sustainability.

Green Youth Farm, Chicago Botanic Garden – Students experience many aspects of organic farming, from planting seeds and starts, to managing a hive of bees, cooking with the food they grow, and selling it at farmstands and markets.

Friends of Burlington Gardens (FBG) and the Vermont Community Garden Network (VCGN) – Along with a host of local partners, FBG/VCGN works to promote a diversity of small, vibrant school and community gardens in the greater Burlington area, as well as throughout Vermont.  Projects include the Healthy City Youth Farm, based at Hunt Middle School, and support for a series of small neighborhood gardens in unusual places, such as green belts, throughout the city.

Urban Children’s Garden in Residence, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum – Serves about 200 children ranging from 5-9 years of age at several urban garden sites in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  Participants meet for one 2-hour session each week to learn from a staff that includes Arboretum instructors, community volunteers, and teenage garden program graduates who serve as mentors for young participants.

Growing Green, Massachusetts Avenue Project – Youth development and urban agriculture program about increasing healthy food access and revitalizing the Buffalo, NY community through urban farming, healthy nutrition, environmental stewardship and social enterprise.

Rochester Roots – Based in Rochester, NY, this program develops self-reliance by providing education and tools that help low-income people obtain nutritious, locally grown food, and through the development and marketing of urban produce and products.

Green Teen Community Gardening Program – Works year-round with Beacon and Poughkeepsie youth, ages 7-21. Participants learn about food, farming, entrepreneurship, and health through hands-on experiences, including growing plants and vegetables in their classrooms, on farms, and in community gardens.

Urban Sprouts – Through partnerships with middle and high schools, youth, and their families, Urban Sprouts works to build eco-literacy, equity, wellness, and community in San Francisco, CA.