Land to Learn cultivates connection to food, land, and community by engaging youth in hands-on, garden-based education that nourishes healthful habits, ecological awareness,
and collective well-being.
Our programs serve about 3,000 youth in New York’s Hudson Valley region:
SproutEd, our flagship program, brings garden-based education to K-3rd grade students in public elementary schools in Kingston, Newburgh and Beacon, NY. We build school food gardens and teach monthly lessons throughout the school year, integrating gardening, nutrition, cooking, plant science, and environmental stewardship into hands-on learning experiences. Our comprehensive multi-year curriculum is experiential and engaging, helping students develop both academic and social-emotional skills. Lessons give students the chance to plant seeds, harvest vegetables, prepare nutritious snacks, and explore their connection to food, health, and the natural world. Beyond the garden classroom, we also support various wellness and environmental initiatives happening in our partner schools, including the promotion of fresh produce in cafeterias.
We extend our impact through Summer Sprouts, our summer camp program in Beacon, our Garden Chef Series at The Boys & Girls Club of Newburgh summer camp, and SproutEd Summer with Kingston City School District. These programs give children, aged 6-11, additional opportunities to explore gardening, fresh food, nature, and wellness in joyful, hands-on environments.
Our Radicle Roots teen program provides paid summer employment and leadership development to youth ages 14–19 in Beacon and Newburgh. Teen apprentices maintain school and community gardens, assist with educational programming, and develop valuable skills in food systems, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. Participants gain work experience, mentorship, and a deeper connection to their local food system.
Through our Dig Internship, we partner with regional colleges and universities to provide students with hands-on experience working with garden-based learning. Interns work directly with school gardens and elementary students, gaining practical skills they can bring into their future classrooms. Current partners include Vassar College, and we welcome opportunities to collaborate with other institutions. By training the next generation of educators, we're expanding our reach to more children today while planting seeds for garden-based education to flourish in schools throughout the region for years to come.
With our ToolShed initiative, Land to Learn offers resources, professional development, and consulting services to schools and childcare centers seeking to implement garden-based learning programs. These offerings extend our impact beyond our direct-service footprint, helping to seed similar programs throughout the region.
We also engage broader audiences through our Family Table Cooking Workshops and other events for families, offering hands-on experiences in gardening, science and art projects, and food preparation. These community offerings support our mission to make knowledge and skills around healthful eating and ecological literacy more widely accessible.
Together, these interconnected programs form a robust ecosystem of learning that supports
healthier, more connected, and more resilient communities.