Last June 27 to July 1st we had the Jr. Gardening Camp where 15 kids attended every day. We also had 3 volunteers helping run the camp. It was a lot of fun but also kids learned to take care of the planet through different activities. Here are the lessons they learned:
Day 1– How to plant seeds and take care of plants. We grew “grass heads” on this day, which was a sort of DIY chia pet for the kids. We used a hot glue gun to glue eyes and noses on plastic cups, and the kids planted grass seeds so that when the grass grows, it’ll look like hair!
Day 2– How to use food scraps to make new plants. We showed the kids how to grow new plants from old ones such as potatoes, garlic, and celery, and the kids got to plant their own garlic in containers and take them home. We also painted water bottles for homemade watering cans.
Day 3– Why does spending time outdoors make me happy? We talked about how and why we feel good when we spend time outside, and how gardening can help improve our physical and mental wellbeing. To reinforce this, we painted canvases using leaves and flowers as paint brushes while listening to the bubbling of the creek for a “mindful activity”. We also talked about composting and how we need to take care of the earth, and we went hunting for worms on the back hill to put in our compost bin!
Day 4– The importance of pollinators. We discussed the importance and diversity of pollinators with special emphasis on bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. We worked through a workbook that taught the kids about which flowers attract which pollinators and why and watched a couple of videos about how bees make honey and the monarch butterfly’s migration journey to Mexico during the winter. We also watched a video that taught the Mayan legend of why hummingbirds were created. We then made our own hummingbird feeders using small mason jars and taught the kids how to make hummingbird nectar at home.
Day 5– How to harvest from your garden/fiesta. We talked about how to pick produce from the garden and wash it properly before eating. We then presented each kid with a certificate of completion for the camp and the badges they earned during the week. We then used the rest of the class for an ice cream party! The kids got to pick their flavor and toppings and then played in the creek until the parents picked them up. The kids also got a “juramento a la tierra” to reinforce everything we learned.
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd 
Katy Sims, MD 
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated. 
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts. 
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD