Encouraging Youth Participation Through Children's Garden Consulting

Introduction

Practitioners have increasingly recognized the benefits of encouraging youth participation in community activities. Young people have the capability to make important contributions to the betterment of their communities through planning and discussion, presenting ideas, problem-solving, organizing groups, conducting research and evaluation, and working to develop new services (Adams & Ingham, 1998; Checkoway & Richards-Schuster, 2004; Checkoway et al., 2003; Driskell, 2002; Hart, 2002). Developed as a new model for youth engagement, the Children's Garden Consultant Program aimed to encourage youth voice and involve youth to the fullest extent possible in the design and programming of children's gardens. Adults who work with youth can apply the lessons learned from this example to their organizations and other settings.

Program Activities

Seven female adolescents, ages 15 to 17, from various regions of New York State participated in the 3-day program. They were recruited from a career explorations event held at Cornell University in summer 2005. The youth were divided into two groups, one with a focus on planning and design and the other on educational programming. They engaged in educational activities and explored various approaches to children's gardens, followed by a culminating event in which they gave a 15-minute presentation of their recommendations to an adult audience of children's garden experts and youth development specialists.

First-day activities consisted of presentations from professionals on the planning and design of children's gardens and educational programming. Participants also were given information about the presentations they would be doing and what they would be responsible for.

With this in mind, the following day youth visited the university public gardens and a local children's garden. They watched a Junior Master Gardeners videotape and performed a Web search of children's gardens across the country. In addition, they participated in three garden-based learning activities that were designed to illustrate the various levels of adult involvement--no adult guidance, shared leadership and guidance, and completely adult-led. Following this, they discussed which level of adult participation was preferable. The last day consisted of preparing for the presentations and then delivering them to a group of 17 adults. Two college student mentors assisted with the activities.

Adult chaperones were informed at the beginning of the program that the purpose of the event was to allow youth to experience a new role as a consultant, and that it was essential that youth perspectives be as free from as much adult bias as possible. The chaperones were asked to observe the activities and let the youth ask and answer questions. The chaperones also participated in a separate web search activity and assisted the program organizers with some of their tasks.

Methods

In an effort to determine the practices and activities that best fostered youth participation and youth voice, feedback was obtained from the youth and the program organizers regarding their experiences. Youth completed surveys before and after the event and also participated in a focus group. Program organizers participated in an interview. A more detailed article with respect to methods and findings appears in Lekies, Eames-Sheavly, Wong, and Ceccarini (2006).

Increasing Youth Participation

Although they were initially unclear about what it meant to be a consultant, the youth were excited about their new roles and responsibilities. They stated that they enjoyed the equality between the adults and themselves, using their own voices to communicate their opinions, and participating in small group discussions without adult interference. In addition, they indicated that they liked guest speakers who encouraged their participation and ideas. Several indicated a desire to incorporate their newly acquired interest in children's gardens and community participation with future activities, such as through their local 4-H clubs.

The organizers felt the event was an overall success. Difficulties they mentioned were guest speakers who didn't present what they had requested and adult ambiguities about their roles, as well as the adults' tendency to want to take over. Successful strategies were the use of college-age peer mentors and assistants, alternative activities for adult chaperones, and the range of program activities.

Several recommendations can be made for groups wishing to replicate the Children's Garden Consultants model or who wish to increase youth participation in other settings.

• Understand that increased levels of decision-making, planning, problem-solving, and other forms of participation may be new to youth; provide information in advance about their new roles and responsibilities to reduce confusion;

• Provide an orientation or "briefing session" to parents and adult leaders about the importance of youth participation so that they are clear on program goals; develop alternative activities for them so they are less likely to interfere;

• Be very clear with guest speakers about program goals and your expectations for their presentations; consider using speakers with a reputation for relating well to adolescent audiences;

• Recognize that some adult guidance will be needed; consider using college-age young adults to serve as peer mentors and program assistants; and

• Identify ways for youth to apply new skills to other settings such as 4-H groups or community organizations.

The Cornell Garden-based Learning Program is currently preparing materials on Children's Garden Consultants for educators interested in repeating an experience like this for youth in their program. It will ultimately be available at the program's Web site at <http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl>.

Conclusion

The Children's Garden Consultants model successfully engaged adolescent youth through a process in which they informed adults of their perspectives on children's garden design and programming. Youth were given an opportunity to try out new roles, learn new skills, and share their expertise. Garden-based learning and other groups are encouraged to seek ways to provide greater opportunities for youth participation and youth voice.

References

Adams, A., & Ingham, S. (1998). Changing places: Children's participation in environmental planning. London: The Children's Society.

Checkoway, B. C., & Richards-Schuster, K. (2004). Youth participation in evaluation and research as a way of lifting new voices. Children, Youth and Environments, 14, 84-98.

Checkoway, B., Richards-Schuster, K., Abdullah, S., Aragon, M., Facio, E., Figueroa, L., Reddy, E., Welsh, M., & White, A. (2003). Young people as competent citizens. Community Development Journal, 38, 298-309.

Driskell, D. (2002). Creating better cities with children and youth: A manual for participation. London and Sterling: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)/Earthscan.

Hart, R. A. (2002). Children's participation. London: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)/Earthscan.

Lekies, K. S., Eames-Sheavly, M., Wong, K. J., & Ceccarini, A. (2006). HortTechnology 16, 139-142.