Between Feb. 1 and August 2010, the Green Education Foundation (GEF) is calling on school communities and youth groups from across the country to plant 10,000 gardens - the biggest youth gardening initiative in history! Whether you participate in a one-day gardening activity or plant a garden that will come back year after year, your school or youth group can be part of this exciting event. Indoors or outdoors, in flower pots or on vegetable plots, GEF provides everything you need to get kids growing. Sign Up Now!

Join the campaign to connect kids with nature, promote hands-on learning, and improve the overall health and well-being of America's youth. Membership is not limited to teachers and administrators - family members, youth group leaders, and community service participants are encouraged to connect with local school communities and join in the effort. Visit Green Thumb Challenge Website!

Green Education Foundation’s (GEF) mission is to provide educational resources that promote sustainable, impactful pro-green behaviors in children, families, and communities.Richard Louv, recipient of the 2008 Audubon Medal, states that “children are suffering from ‘Nature Deficit Disorder,’ an alienation from nature that diminishes the use of senses and leads to attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.” Through the creation and maintenance of garden spaces, the Green Thumb Challenge provides school children with the opportunity to interact with the natural world. GEF also believes that children learn best through hands-on, sensory educational programs, and gardens provide those opportunities for exploration and enhanced learning, across disciplines. Gardens also engage kids in making healthy food choices and in understanding the food cycle – from seed to compost.

Environmental Curriculum
The GEF website aims to be the #1 one-stop resource for environmental curriculum nationwide. Currently, GEF offers its members 100 standards-based lessons online – and counting – free of charge! GEF’s lessons are organized by grade and subject and provide learning standards, objectives, procedures, estimated lesson times, and necessary materials. There are 29 lessons associated with the Green Thumb Challenge, offering diverse opportunities to integrate gardening and composting into classroom curriculum.

Online Community Forum
Free registration with GEF provides members with access to the GEF Online Community Forum. Here you can form and join interest groups, post ideas and questions in the garden blog, and share videos and photographs that portray your school’s involvement in the Green Thumb Challenge. As part of a national gardening movement designed to raise enthusiasm and awareness, GEF encourages members to share discoveries, triumphs, and ideas with the vast community of Green Thumb Challenge participants!

Sustainability
Since the ideas for the Green Thumb Challenge were initially launched, GEF has been working hard on several options to support summer sustainability. GEF is currently developing programs that support school communities across the country in their efforts to grow gardens that survive and thrive from year to year. Programs include student internships, community service programs, and teacher professional development courses.

Health and Nutrition
Exposing students of all ages to the excitement of growing food and the incomparable quality and taste of fresh fruits and vegetables encourages healthy food choices. As our country battles the obesity epidemic, this call to action has never been so important.

o    Obesity among U.S. children aged 6 to 11 has more than doubled between 1980 and 2006, rising from 6.5% to 17.0%
o    Adolescents aged 12 to 19 during that time period has more than tripled, increasing from 5% to 17.6%
o    Children who are obese are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and are also at higher risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems, such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.  Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion:  http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/obesity/

Providing children with gardening opportunities at school addresses this issue head-on. And when students learn to grow their own fruit and vegetables, they can make some delicious discoveries for themselves. For example, traditional varieties of sweet corn stay sweet for about two days - after that, half the sugar converts to starch. On the other hand, the taste of fresh-picked corn on the cob when the kernels are at their sweetest is unforgettable. It’s the kind of experience that motivates gardeners everywhere to grow food in their own backyards! Through the Green Thumb Challenge, GEF aims to introduce kids across the country to not only the benefits of healthy eating, but the pure enjoyment of it. Sign up now!