Busy Hands = Busy Minds

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

This project will address the need for safe, green spaces for disadvantaged communities and STEAM education for low-income youth of color in Long Beach. For example, West Long Beach (the area we service) has 1 acre of parks (about the size of a soccer field) per 1,000 residents, which is far below the National Recreation and Parks Association’s minimum standards for a healthy city: 10 acres per 1,000 residents. In comparison, East Long Beach has 16.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents. In addition to the need for green space, there is a need for more educational opportunities. Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) enrollment data (2023) shows that most socioeconomically disadvantaged youth are Hispanic or Latino (67.7%) and African American (14.5%). They are more likely to have lower educational attainment and quality due to living in under-resourced neighborhoods. This is why our work focuses on providing youth with positive enrichment and a safe space to connect with nature.

Our project will increase access to green space and provide educational opportunities for youth in 3 ways:
Our youth garden has over 40 raised garden beds for youth to plant seeds and grow food for their families. We are located in the 90813 ZIP Code, to serve families who lack access to healthy foods and safe outdoor spaces. Through our Busy Hands = Busy Minds concept, we engage youth in hands-on activities that incorporate art and science with gardening and nutrition education.
In Fall 2024, we will bring our Busy Hands = Busy Minds concept to local middle schools. We have already met with social workers from LBUSD Student Support Services to coordinate building garden beds and providing STEAM and gardening curriculum. For example, middle schoolers will learn about plant germination and why soil, water, and nutrients are necessary for plants to grow. All lessons will take place outdoors so students can connect with nature, and spend less time on their phones.
Student interns from local colleges will complete gardening training and learn how to educate K-12 students through hands-on activities. Since 2016, we have hosted over 100 college interns and provided training in seasonal planting, composting, organic pest management, and other agricultural topics. Our interns will assist in maintaining our youth garden, leading activities during our Saturday Garden Adventures, and providing STEAM lessons to LBUSD middle schoolers.

In one year, AtDE will engage more youth, including 2,606 middle schoolers, in gardening and STEAM. We will hire a Garden Educator to teach youth and train 6 college interns. By 2025, we will build a total of 9 raised garden beds at 3 middle schools, and provide monthly lessons to classes. Our curriculum and youth garden model can bolster health and economic stability in LA County, by empowering youth to grow their own food and understand the nutritional value of eating fruits and vegetables. This has the potential to protect youth and their families against diseases such as diabetes and atherosclerosis. We plan to continue educating youth, build additional school gardens, and partner with surrounding high schools. By introducing students to gardening and STEAM in middle and high school, we strive to develop their interest in STEAM topics and careers. In the future, we will publish our youth garden design and curriculum online, so it is accessible to all educators.

We have over 40 raised garden beds to provide fruits and vegetables for youth and their families. Our impact is measured through youth attendance, volunteer numbers, amount of food grown, and internship surveys. In 2023, we served about 100 youth per month with the assistance of 20 volunteers. We grew and distributed over 700 pounds of food. Per year, we host about 20 college interns. Interns complete surveys after their internship to demonstrate their knowledge and skills related to nutrition, gardening, and nonprofit management. We also capture photographs and share our impact through videos. For example, our parents have described how our garden is a safe place for their kids to learn outdoors.
This year, we will collect data on the number of middle school students served. Middle schoolers will complete journals to describe what they learned. In addition, we will collect video testimonials from students to learn what they liked and how we can improve our curriculum.