The Natural Learning Initiative
College of Design, NC State University
11th Annual Design Institute
All About Food:
Designing, Gardening, and Eating
October 2-4, 2013
North Carolina Botanical Garden
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Activities ranging from sensory exploration to science learning are easily planned in the edible garden, where children understand the
food cycle and build the foundation for a lifetime of nutritious habits. Join us at the 11th Annual Design Institute to discover new
approaches to creating environments and programs that contribute to a healthy diet and a love of growing food.
food.
www.naturalearning.org
11th Annual Design Institute – October 2-4, 2013
All About Food: Designing, Gardening, and Eating
Wednesday October 2nd 2:00 REGISTRATION OPENS 3:00 Guided tours 1. Carolina Campus Community Garden 2. Growing Healthy Kids Garden 3. Transplanting Traditions Community Farm 4. Learning Outside 5. Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens 6. NC Botanical Garden 5:00 Back to NC Botanical Garden Thursday October 3rd 8:00 CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST AND REGISTRATION 9:00 Welcome Robin Moore, Dipl.Arch; MCP, Hon.ASLA, Director, Natural Learning Initiative Nancy Easterling, Education Director, NC Botanical Garden 9:15 Children Eat What They Like: Shaping Child Eating Preferences and Food Acceptance Myles Faith, PhD, Associate Professor, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health 10:00 Shifting our Food Lexicon: Syncing Thoughts, Words, and Actions in Early Childhood Food Education Jill Colella Bloomfield, MA, Cooking Educator and Author, Grow It, Cook It and The Jewish Festivals Cookbook for Kids and Publisher of Ingredient: A Magazine for Kids Curious About Food 10:45 BREAK 11:00 Outdoor Session #1 1.
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Growing in the Cold, Growing Year Round: Simple Raised Bed Season Extension Connecting Farmers, Child Care Directors and Children with Local Food Saving Seeds: The Cycle of Life -­‐ Collecting, Cleaning, Storing, and Germinating Seeds How Active Can Gardening Really Be? Grow It, Try It, Like It: Preschool Fun with Fruits and Vegetables Learning from Worms: Creating Worm Bins and Supporting Activities Outdoor Play the NC Way! Crazy Crops – Fun with Concrete Plant It + They Will Come: Creating a Pollinator Garden Stimulate the Senses: Creating Sensory Gardens for Play and Learning Take Those Babies and Toddlers Outside! 12:30 LUNCH 1:30 Shape NC Showcase Nilda Cosco, PhD, Director of Programs, Natural Learning Initiative Pat Hansen, Project Manager, Shape NC, NC Partnership for Children 3:00 MOVE INDOORS & REFRESHMENTS 3:15 Can We Do It? Outdoor Learning Environments Rules and Regulations Linda Hestenes, PhD, Associate Professor and Co-­‐Director BK Programs, Human Development and Family Studies, UNC-­‐
Greensboro, NC and Nicole Wyrick McCaskill, Outreach Trainer, NC Rated License Assessment 4:00 Farm to Preschool Emily Jackson, Program Director, Growing Minds Farm to School, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project 5:00 Closing. See you tomorrow! Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
11th Annual Design Institute – October 2-4, 2013
All About Food: Designing, Gardening, and Eating
Friday October 4th 8:00 CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST AND REGISTRATION 9:00 Welcome to Day Two – Reflections on Day One Robin Moore, Dipl.Arch; MCP, Hon.ASLA, Director, NLI 9:15 You Don’t Have Space – Never Mind! Jeana Myers, PhD, Extension Agent, Horticulture, Wake County Center 10:00 Food for the Food: Create Food for Plants Via Vermicomposting Rhonda Sherman, MA, Extension Solid Waste Specialist, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, NC State University 10:45 BREAK 11:00 Outdoor Session #2 1.
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A Dream Within Reach: The Scalable Edible Garden What’s My Garden Eating: Learn About Carnivorous Plants Making Curriculum Connections: Think Outside Using Outdoor Projects Harvesting Healthy Meals From Your School Garden Making and Installing Stepping Stone Pathways Walk on the Wild Side and Discover Plants for Health and Healing Eat Here Now: Interpreting The Eating Sensation Through Artistic Media A Child’s Eye View: The Therapeutic Benefits of Gardening with Children Intro to Permaculture: Incorporating Wild Edible Plants “Advanced Hand Waving”: Design with your body! Touch, Taste, Learn! 12:30 LUNCH 1:30 Outdoor Session #3 1.
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You’ve Grown It, Now Cook It Tough Native Plants for Rough and Tumble Spaces Raised Bed Gardening Basics for Educators Good Bugs and Bad Bugs in the Garden Using Go NAP SACC to Support Outdoor Play & Learning Eat your veggies! / ¡Coma sus verduras! Beyond Jack-­‐o’-­‐lanterns: Using Pumpkins to Support Scientific Learning Celebrating Cultural Heritages in the Garden Permaculture Principles and Natural Building 3:00 MOVE INDOORS & REFRESHMENTS 3:15 Training Cooks and Connecting with Gardens – Healthy Futures Mary Etta Moorachian, PhD, RD, LD, CCP, CFCS Professor, College of Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte 4:00 Questions and Review Nilda Cosco, PhD, Director of Programs, NLI 4:30 Adjourn. Thanks for coming! Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
11th Annual Design Institute Food for the Food: Designing, Gardening, and Eating Plenary Sessions: Thursday, October 3, 2013 Welcome! Nancy Easterling, MSW, HTM, Education Director, NC Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, NC. Robin Moore, Dipl.Arch; MCP, Hon.ASLA, Director, Natural Learning Initiative, Raleigh, NC. Children Eat What They Like: Shaping Child Eating Preferences and Food Acceptance Myles Faith, PhD, Associate Professor, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC Food preferences are one of the strongest predictors of what children will eat. They eat what they like and resist choices that are disliked. This is important, given clear evidence of inadequate fruit and vegetable intake by youth in the US, and excess consumption of high-­‐fat/high-­‐sugar foods. Shifting child preferences for healthier foods has the potential to improve the health of the nation and help prevent obesity. This presentation has two main objectives. First, key determinants of child food preferences will be reviewed, including repeated exposure, role modeling, making fun, and advertising/social media. Second, we will review evidence-­‐based strategies for modifying young children’s fruits and vegetable preferences and intake. Some studies have used family involvement, incentives, and repeated food exposure. A significant void in the scientific literature has been the role of the outdoor environment, including gardening, in shaping child food preferences through hands-­‐on experiences that include harvesting and tasting. This presents a fascinating research opportunity, with new community partners, which is amenable to experimental investigation. Shifting our Food Lexicon: Syncing Thoughts, Words, and Actions in Early Childhood Food Education. Jill Colella Bloomfield, MA, Cooking Educator and Author, Grow It, Cook It and The Jewish Festivals Cookbook for Kids and publisher of Ingredient: A Magazine for Kids Curious About Food, St. Paul, Minnesota Like a plant begins with a seed, knowledge begins with language. This session will investigate the links between language, thoughts and actions and how these can influence the efficacy of food education in formal and informal early childhood learning environments. How we talk about food—growing it, cooking it and eating it—has a direct impact on how we, or others we influence, feel about food. Learn why it is especially important for educators to have thoughts, words and actions around food that are in tandem, and to avoid the language pitfalls (e.g. some foods are “bad”) that can cultivate issues around food and eating for some children. We will also discuss creating a shared lexicon for teachers, students and parents, and how shaping this language to reflect your organization’s mission, values and goals can help gain the buy-­‐in necessary from each group for a flourishing outdoor learning environment program and break down perceived barriers to getting children growing and cooking food. Many practical ideas for building a shared and positive food lexicon—lesson plans, project ideas and hands-­‐on activities—will be provided and form the basis of this presentation. Can We Do It? Outdoor Learning Environments Rules and Regulations. Linda Hestenes, PhD, Associate Professor and Co-­‐Director BK Programs, Human Development and Family Studies, UNC-­‐Greensboro, NC and Nicole Wyrick McCaskill, Outreach Trainer, NC Rated License Assessment, Greensboro, NC Have you considered ramping up your gardening efforts, but were concerned how this might impact your star rated license assessment? Will assessors take off if children use real gardening tools? Do you have to wash hands every time a child digs in the soil? Is it really worth the effort? This session explores how implementing a long-­‐term gardening project can actually meet several of the Environment Rating Scales’ items and indicators and cross-­‐walks these activities with Foundations Early Learning Standards. Instead of asking, “Can we do this?” perhaps the better question is, “When can we get started?” Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
Farm to Preschool Emily Jackson, Program Director, Growing Minds Farm to School, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, Asheville, NC Farm to Preschool is a natural expansion of the Farm to School model and encompasses a wide range of programs and activities and serves the full spectrum of child care delivery: preschools, Head Start, center-­‐
based, programs in K-­‐12 school districts, and family home care facilities. Its goals are multi-­‐level and include: influencing the eating habits of young children while their preferences are forming; creating healthy lifestyles through good nutrition and experiential opportunities such as gardening; improving healthy food access at home and within the community; and ultimately influencing policies to address the childhood obesity epidemic through a local food lens. Program activities can take an environmental and systems change approach by serving preschoolers, teachers and child care providers, parents and family members, as well as communities. Learn about this growing movement and how you can get involved. Plenary Sessions: Friday, October 4, 2013 Welcome to day two – reflections on day one. Robin Moore, Dipl.Arch; MCP, Hon.ASLA, Director, Natural Learning Initiative, Raleigh, NC. You Don’t Have Space – Never Mind! Jeana Myers, PhD, Extension Agent, Horticulture, Wake County Center, Raleigh, NC You can grow abundant vegetables in raised beds or container gardens even if your space is limited! Production choices may differ between the two methods, however, so we will discuss soil preparation, water management and plant choices for both. Potential challenges with pests, diseases, fertility, and lack of/excess sun will be covered, as well as how to extend your growing season through the winter. Choosing plants for each season can provide something fresh all year round. You can start small, but reap tasty and nutritious rewards! Food for the Food: Create Food for Plants Via Vermicomposting Rhonda Sherman, MA, Extension Solid Waste Specialist, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, NC State University, Raleigh, NC Learn how a worm bin can be an engaging cross-­‐curriculum teaching tool. Vermicomposting teaches kids how to turn organic waste into a soil conditioner that helps grow healthy plants. Training Cooks and Connecting with Gardens – Healthy Futures Mary Etta Moorachian, PhD, RD, LD, CCP, CFCS, Professor, College of Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte, NC Consistent with NHANES data, the prevalence of overweight has increased in North Carolina (NC), about 32% in 2010. About three-­‐fourths of American children attend childcare centers. While momentum and awareness of the need for training is increasing across states, childcare center food service managers lack knowledge of nutrition and culinary training. In 2008, Mecklenburg County Health Department, in collaboration with Johnson & Wales University Charlotte (JWU) developed a curriculum titled, Healthy Futures, Starting in the Kitchen. Since 2008, >150 have completed training impacting change in attitude towards healthy food options as well as indirect change in participant’s behavior. This session will offer an overview of the program structure with emphasis on expansion of the application of culinary training to the outdoor learning environment. Using a case study approach, various challenges and opportunities will be explored. Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
The 11th Annual Design Institute All About Food: Designing, Gardening, and Eating NC Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, North Carolina October 2-­‐4, 2013 PLENARY SESSIONS SPEAKER BIOS Jill Colella Bloomfield is editor and publisher of Ingredient magazine and author of Grow It, Cook It (DK, 2008) and Jewish Holidays Cookbook (DK, 2008). Having fun, sharing knowledge, and instilling a sense of self-­‐
confidence are the reasons this children’s cookbook author gives for teaching kids to cook. A self-­‐admitted picky eater, Jill learned how to cook because she understood how important it was to expand her own food horizons beyond grilled cheese. An experienced educator and former middle school and high school English teacher, Jill’s special talent is breaking the complexities of cooking into fundamentals, which can be practiced and mastered by children and adults alike. Jill uses these skills when teaching hands-­‐on cooking lessons, which she has done for over ten years. Her projects and books now inspire children and adults to do the same. Nilda Cosco, Ph.D. is the Education Specialist for the Natural Learning Initiative and a Research Associate Professor, College of Design, NC State University. Dr. Cosco holds a degree in Educational Psychology, Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina and a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture, School of Landscape Architecture, Heriot-­‐Watt University/Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland. Her primary research interest is the impact of outdoor environments on child and family health outcomes such as healthy nutrition, active lifestyles, attention functioning, and overall wellbeing, particularly as they relate to natural components of the built environment. She is also involved in direct intervention and pre/post evaluation of outdoor improvement programs in childcare centers. In January 2000, Dr. Cosco co-­‐founded with Professor Robin Moore the Natural Learning Initiative at the College of Design, NC State University. Dr. Myles Faith studies familial influences on the development of child eating patterns and obesity. That is, how do parents foster obesity risk or resilience in their children? Also, what is the role of nature and nurture in childhood obesity onset? Dr. Faith explores these questions using a variety of designs, including research with twins and adoptees. His work also focuses on lifestyle interventions for childhood obesity treatment/prevention, having received funding from the NIH and the American Diabetes Association to investigate these issues in 4 to 8 year old youth. Dr. Faith has collaborated on school-­‐ and primary care-­‐based interventions to prevent childhood obesity. Promoting a healthy food and weight legacy within families is a central theme in his work. Dr. Faith is active in different professional organizations concerning child health and development. He served on the Nutrition Committee for the American Heart Association’s Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism (NPAM), and was a standing member of the NIH Psychosocial Risk and Disease Prevention Study Section. Dr. Linda Hestenes is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She has taught and conducted research in the field of early childhood and childcare quality for over 17 years. She has been a Co-­‐Principal Investigator for the North Carolina Rated License Assessment Project since 1999 and is one of the authors of the Preschool Outdoor Environment Measurement Scale (POEMS). Dr. Hestenes’ research interests center on measuring quality in childcare programs both indoors and outdoors, the impact of outdoor quality and environments on young children's behavior and development, early childhood teacher preparation, and teacher-­‐child interactions. Emily Jackson founded the Growing Minds Farm to School program of ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) in 2002. In Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians, Emily and the Growing Minds team provide Farm to School support and resources to preschools and K-­‐12 systems. She is also involved at the state level and helped establish the NC Child and Adult Feeding Program Farm to Preschool Coalition. Since 2007, Emily has served as the Southeast (KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, and FL) Regional Lead for the National Farm to School Network. On the national front, she is one of the co-­‐leads for the Farm to Preschool subcommittee. Emily is a former K-­‐6 teacher and lives on a farm in beautiful Marshall, North Carolina with her husband, 8 chickens, 3 cats, and one dog. She loves to garden, cook, and is particularly ga-­‐ga for children’s literature. Nicole Wyrick McCaskill holds a B.S. in Human Development from the University of NC-­‐Greensboro. She is the Outreach Specialist for NC Rated License Assessment Project and shares information about the assessment process with early childhood professionals around the state. Before working at NCRLAP, Nicole was a former preschool teacher and center director for non-­‐profit childcare programs in Greensboro. Nicole grew up in the rural farming community of Julian, NC where she spent hours playing in the woods, old tobacco barns, and local creeks. She currently enjoys spending free time in the backyard or at the lake with her family. Robin Moore is the Director of The Natural Learning Initiative. Professor Moore is an urban designer and design researcher, specializing in child and family urban environments that support healthy human development, informal play, and nonformal education. He holds degrees in architecture, London University, and city and regional planning, MIT. Moore is author of numerous articles and several books, including Natural Learning, the Life History of an Environmental Schoolyard, and Plants for Play: A Plant Selection Guide for the Children’s Outdoor Environments. His teaching and research interests are focused on sustainable urban landscape design for human health. In January 2000, Moore co-­‐
founded with Nilda Cosco the Natural Learning Initiative at the College of Design, NC State University. Dr. Mary Etta Moorachian is a Professor for Johnson & Wales University (JWU) in Charlotte, North Carolina, currently teaching culinary nutrition and sanitation management in the culinary arts degree program. In her role with JWU, she has assisted with numerous culinary training workshops/seminars, including “Healthy Futures,” a culinary training program modeled for childcare center food service managers/cooks/directors. Additionally, she has served as a contributing writer and reviewer for numerous food and nutrition textbooks and periodicals. She served as a board member for the South Carolina Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (SCAND), Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
2001-­‐2013. Dr. Moorachian is a past-­‐appointed member of the South Carolina State Dietetics Licensure Panel. She is a past president and president-­‐elect for SCAND, chair for the awards committee, and member of the state meeting planning committee. She has been active with the Food and Culinary Professionals Practice Group (FCP) of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having served as chair of the speaker’s bureau, secretary, and educational programming chair. She is an active member and past chair for the Foodservice Systems Management Education Council (FSMEC). She also is a member of the School Nutrition Association and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Dr. Moorachian is a licensed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and a Certified Culinary Professional. She maintains certification by the American Association of Family and Consumer Science. Dr. Jeana Myers is a soil scientist who works as the Horticulture Extension Agent for Wake County. She has travelled extensively, visiting farms and gardens around the world, and worked for two years as a Peace Corps extension agent in Zaire, Africa. Jeana and her husband, Landscape Design Professor Will Hooker, garden on their 1/3 acre of land near downtown Raleigh. They grow fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, flowers, chickens, and honey bees! Rhonda Sherman is Extension Solid Waste Specialist with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at NC State University for 20 years. She provides education and technical assistance about vermicomposting and composting throughout the United States and has assisted people in 89 countries. Since 2001, Rhonda has annually conducted the nation’s only conference on large-­‐scale vermicomposting, helping about 1,000 people to start-­‐up or expand worm farms. She has educated thousands of school students throughout North Carolina about vermicomposting and composting, th
and created a 5 grade school enrichment vermicomposting curriculum. 2
OUTDOOR SESSIONS FACILITATOR BIOS Emily Allison is a Shape NC Hub Specialist with the Randolph County Partnership for Children in Asheboro, North Carolina. She provides training and technical assistance in best practices for nutrition, physical activity and outdoor learning to child care centers across the state. Emily received her Bachelor’s of Science in Health Education and Promotion from East Carolina University. Emily has worked in a corporate wellness program to educate employees on nutrition, physical activity, stress management and other pertinent health and wellness topics and has more than four years experience working with childcare and after-­‐school programs. Brad Bieber, MLA, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative, earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Landscape Architecture from North Carolina State University. Brad designs and supports the development of natural outdoor play and learning environments that support healthy development. Through Preventing Obesity by Design in Wake County (POD-­‐Wake), Brad works hands-­‐on with local child care centers to support healthy development through development of their outdoor learning environments, year-­‐round gardening, and exposure to fresh produce. Millie Boyd is a mental health practitioner and has worked with disabled adults in various community settings. Most recently, she implemented workforce development programs for developmentally disabled community college students. As a NC Extension Master Gardener Volunteer she has coordinated the four Head Start children’s gardening programs in Moore County for six years and is currently coordinating the “Growing in the Garden” program for 3, 4, and 5 year-­‐
old children at the Sandhills Children Center in Moore County, NC. Lucy Bradley works for NC State University as the Cooperative Extension Urban Horticulture Specialist guiding people in making environmentally responsible decisions in gardens, lawns, and landscapes. Her efforts are focused on water conservation, water quality preservation, and green waste reduction, as well as the enhancement of human health and nutrition. Her programs target residential gardeners, community gardeners, and therapeutic horticulturists. Lucy directs the NC Extension Master Gardener program. Melanie Brooks is a Regional Education Coordinator for Bright Horizons for centers in the Triangle area, Burlington, High Point, and Greenville North Carolina and South Carolina. She has worked for Bright Horizons for 13 years. She serves as a consultant and trainer and utilizes inspiration from the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy in her work with centers. Dee Davis is the Lead Teacher of the three year-­‐old classroom at The Growing Place Child Care Center in Asheboro, NC. Dee has taught for nearly 13 years and is a passionate advocator of project work since introducing this approach in 2010. She enjoys seeing how the children become engaged in their learning through projects and develop better problem solving skills, improved social skills, and positive self-­‐esteem. Mary Jo Deck is a consultant with Staurolite Resource Group, a firm she founded in 1996 to support systems change through the development of personal and organizational learning. Jo has a MS in Early Childhood Education and has directed both small private, parent cooperative model preschools and large multi-­‐site Head Start programs. She was an early architect of the statewide North Carolina Smart Start Initiative at the Division of Child Development (DCD) and has provided multiple specialized early care and education consultations and instruction at both the state and national level. Her recent activities have included consultations to create outdoor experiential opportunities for preschool and school-­‐age children and participation in the Shape NC Project as a Hub Specialist. Jo is a Certified NC Environmental Educator. Liz Driscoll loves tromping around gardens, woods, swamps, and beaches; exploring interesting plants, soils, and bugs; and sharing their stories. Her favorite activities include grazing in the garden, stalking interesting insects, whispering secrets to snapdragons, and building sand castles. As a 4-­‐H Specialist for Horticulture, Crop Science, Entomology, and Soil Science at NC State with Cooperative Extension, she has been working to connect youth and educators to issues in agriculture and natural resources in meaningful ways. Through her programming efforts, she strives to grow a generation of youth interested in investigating plants, insects, and soils throughout their lifetime. Andee Edelson is a former preschool and elementary teacher, Reggio-­‐
inspired day school principal, and currently the Randolph County Partnership for Children Child Care Services Program Coordinator. Throughout her 35 years in early care and education, Andee has sought to bring the arts and a holistic approach to learning using multi medium and curricula ideas. Sue Espersen is the Outdoor Learning/Seed to Table Specialist at First Environments Early Learning Center and has been working in early Childhood Education since 1996. Before taking on her role of "Specialist" Sue worked full time with 3-­‐5 year olds in her preschool classroom. Sue spends her time split between the outdoors and the kitchen at First Environments, working with children growing and harvesting vegetables and then preparing those vegetables for lunches and snacks. Sue truly believes that the younger a child is when they are exposed to nature, gardening and healthy eating the more likely they will grow to adults with healthy life habits. Sandra Field has worked with children for twenty-­‐eight years. She currently works with three year olds at Johnson Pond Learning Center, Fuquay-­‐Varina, NC. She is hands-­‐on and not afraid to get messy. Sandra loves science projects, tailoring learning to the needs of the child, and gardening with her class. Katherine Gill is a landscape architect and co-­‐founder of Tributary Land Design + Build based out of Durham, NC. Her work focuses on creating engaging outdoor environments for kids, communities, and families. She is currently working as Project Manager for the Durham Public Schools Hub Farm, a new farm and outdoor learning lab for all students of the Durham Public School System and the greater Durham Community. Forrest Greenslade, PhD, was educated as a molecular biologist and spent his working life as a scientist and organizational executive. Serious business has now been replaced by ventures into creative, playful expression. Playing, it seems, is what Forrest does best. Forrest calls his new adventures Organic Forestry where he creates nature-­‐
inspired paintings and sculpture. Whether his creativity leads to whimsical sculptures, or takes him on a journey to a “Petrified Forrest”, his work shares common threads. It displays the delight and playfulness of creating art, his unique scientific experimentation of materials, and his life-­‐long love of nature. Forrest often leads community workshops for children and educators, shows his work in art galleries in North Carolina, and opens his studio for sculpture tours. For more information, visit www.forrestgreenslade.com. Rachelle Hardison is a Shape NC Hub Specialist with the Onslow County Partnership for Children in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She provides training and technical assistance in best practices for nutrition, physical activity, and outdoor learning to child care centers across the state. Rachelle received her Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix, her Bachelors of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and her Associates of Arts from Coastal Carolina Community College. Rachelle has worked in the field of early childhood for over 20 years. She is passionate about outdoor environments being learning environments. Ronda Hawkins is a dedicated early childhood educator and committed to extending nature play and learning outside. Ronda has a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and more than 25 years in experience and currently serves as a NAEYC Accredited Associate Degree Program Coordinator at Sandhills Community College. Ronda extends her commitment to advancing early childhood education and nature play to other organizations in which she serves including the World Organization for the Education of Young Children, National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children. She recently received the NC Children and Nature Coalition Natural Initiatives Award in recognition for her leadership work with the NC Play Alliance and NC Children and Nature Network. Maria Hitt has a bachelor’s degree in Public Health Education from UNC-­‐Chapel Hill. In 2008, after 15 years in North Carolina county health departments, she combined her love of gardening, cooking, and health education into one role as the project manager for the Growing Healthy Kids Community Gardens in Carrboro, NC, sponsored by the Orange County Partnership for Young Children. In that position she developed three community gardens where families with young children learn to grow their own vegetables and improve their family’s health. In addition, Maria has been a technical assistant to childcare centers in Orange County to develop Outdoor Learning Environments through POD and SHAPE NC. She has completed the NC Certificate in Environmental Education and is a children’s program volunteer at NC Botanical Garden. Linda Kinney holds a Masters Degree in Communication and manages NC Zoo’s Playful Pedagogy, an umbrella for the NC Zoo’s play programs. Linda is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Play and Playwork from the University of Gloucestershire in England to supplement her work on approaches to facilitating play as a means of support to early learning professionals and other individuals who engage with children. Linda’s teaching venues include the University of NC at Greensboro, High Point University, Guilford County School system, and Harmony House Pre-­‐
School. During her 13 years at the Zoo, Linda’s responsibilities have included determining key environmental messages, managing research Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
and development of informal education programs, and coordinating the Zoo’s informal education programs. Linda is committed to supporting children’s outdoor play opportunities and can also be found playing outside. Sarah Werner Konradi is a Design Associate at the Natural Learning Initiative. She studied Design at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006. Sarah received a Master of Landscape Architecture in May 2011 and joined the NLI team shortly after graduation. She is currently working as a "child care garden trainer" as a part of the Preventing Obesity by Design in Wake County (POD-­‐Wake) project, helping to address the obesity epidemic in young children attending childcare by creating a multidisciplinary intervention to transform childcare outdoor learning environments (OLEs) into active, productive, best practice demonstration sites. D. Megan Lambert, RD, CHE, CB, CEPC is a Senior Instructor in the International Baking & Pastry Program at Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte. This is her tenth year of teaching a variety of baking and pastry classes. Prior to joining the faculty at Johnson & Wales, Chef Lambert was the co-­‐owner/production manager of The Flour Shop Bakery in Morrisville, NC. Her previous cooking experience includes baking at a small café/wine bar, plated desserts in a fine dining restaurant, and baking at a large university bakeshop. Chef Lambert graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with degrees in Nutrition and Hotel Restaurant Management, and then completed a Dietetic Internship at Syracuse University. Chef Lambert has a particular interest in Mexican cuisine and baking, as well as sustainability and local food issues. She is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science Degree in Nutrition at East Carolina University and loves to spend what little free time she has in her garden. Chef Lambert is the co-­‐author of “The Organic Gardener’s Cookbook – Easy Growing Tips and Delicious Recipes for Your Home Grown Vegetables” as well as the co-­‐owner of Garnet Gals, Local Jams, Jellies, and Preserves. Joanna Massey Lelekacs is an Extension Associate with the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), coordinating various efforts that support local and regional food systems. Her experience includes project planning and management, participatory design, as well as design and consulting for community gardens, farmers’ markets, farm-­‐
based neighborhoods, and new farms and gardens. She is also a NC registered landscape architect and co-­‐owns and operates a small produce farm with her husband. Chris Liloia is the Habitat Gardens Curator at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, a conservation garden in Chapel Hill. She is responsible for the care of the habitat gardens and other plant collections at NCBG. The gardens she tends represent plant communities of the southeastern United States, and display rare and common species in a naturalistic setting. She also cares for the carnivorous plant collection, which highlights the diversity of carnivorous plants native to the southeastern United States. Sarah Little, Landscape Architect, MLA, RLA, is pursuing a PhD in Design at the College of Design and works as a Research Assistant and Design Associate at the Natural Learning Initiative. Upon graduating with a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture in 2002, Sarah worked in garden design in the Charlotte area, and has 10 years of landscape architecture practice. In 2010, she returned to NLI to work with her 4
mentors Robin Moore and Nilda Cosco. She works at NLI on special design and research projects, sharing her expertise in plants and landscape design. Patrick Manning is the studio teacher at Bright Horizons at the Enrichment Center in Research Triangle Park, NC. He was previously the studio teacher for the World Bank Children’s Center in Washington, DC. Patrick is an artist/teacher who is inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy and the natural world. Adriana Martinez is the co-­‐owner and director of Spanish for Fun Academy, founded in 2002 and the Casa Club, opened in 2013. Both childcare centers are located in Chapel Hill and offer Spanish immersion programs. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Adriana received a 3-­‐
year degree there and was a Pre-­‐K teacher for 16 years. In 2000 she moved to North Carolina and in 2005 she completed her BS in Early Childhood Education from UNC-­‐Greensboro. Spanish for Fun is the SHAPE NC Model Early Learning Center for Orange County. Tony Mayer is a Piedmont native who acquired a love of plants through a high school mentor. He has homesteaded in the Pacific Northwest, been a touring musician and a natural homebuilder. In 1994 Tony began his study of medicinal herbs and is now working on a botany degree at N.C. State. He practices permaculture and raises his son and his herbs at Blue Heron Farm in Chatham County. Michele McKinley has been Project Coordinator for Advocates for Health in Action (AHA), a Wake County healthy weight collaborative focused on increasing access to physical activity and healthy food, since December 2010. Previously she was actively involved in the launch of the Western Wake Farmers' Market in Cary and has years of nonprofit communications experience. Carol Mitchell is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and Licensed Nutritionist (LDN) and holds a field faculty position with NC Cooperative Extension, Wake County Center, Raleigh, NC. She is involved in local initiatives that focus on food safety, access to healthy food and creating healthy environments. Amanda Mixon is Curator of the Education Center gardens at The North Carolina Botanical Garden. She received her B.A. in Landscape Architecture from Mississippi State University and has many years of experience in landscape construction, design, farming, and gardening. Ellie Morris is the Project Manager for Go NAP SACC at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. She has been coordinating efforts to update and expand the original NAP SACC and move the program online. Prior to working with Go NAP SACC, Ellie worked with K-­‐12 schools in Chatham County, NC on health education and obesity prevention projects, and managed community gardens in Carrboro, NC. Ellie is a yoga teacher and avid home cook and gardener. Julie Murphy is a Design Assistant at the Natural Learning Initiative. She began work at the NLI as a student in 2007, and received a Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from NC State University in May 2010. She has been pleased to continue with the NLI as a part of the exciting work transforming children's outdoor environments for the generations to come. Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
Elizabeth Overcash grew up in eastern North Carolina frequenting farms of all sizes. Childhood bicycle rides frequently ended with picking seeds from cotton growing in the field at the end of her street. She spent time thumping melons, playing hide and seek among the corn stalks, and listening to tobacco auctioneers with one grandfather. The other grandfather let her loose in his backyard farm of berries, vegetables, figs, pears, and roses. All that time among plants lead her to a degree in Horticultural Sciences from NCSU. After graduation, she worked as a residential landscape designer for a landscape contractor in Charlotte, a florist in Texas, and the Cooperative Extension in Pennsylvania. Two inquisitive daughters sparked her interest to teach young children about plants. She taught preschool in the area and volunteers as co-­‐chair of the Edible Garden at her daughters' elementary school. Currently, she is the children's program coordinator at the JC Raulston Arboretum and still hides in the cornfield when given the chance. Shweta Nanekar holds a Bachelors degree in Architecture from Nagpur University, India and Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from North Carolina University. She is also certified as LEED AP (BD+C). Shweta worked for several years at the Natural Learning Initiative where her work was focused on designing children and family-­‐friendly urban environments. She has also worked in professional offices of landscape architects and architects in the US and India. Shweta has been an Honor student throughout her academic years and also a recipient of several student awards. Currently Shweta resides in Cary, NC with her husband and two young children. Grant Parkins is the Natural Science Educator for the North Carolina Botanical Garden. He develops and coordinates field trip programs, outreach, and teacher workshops for K-­‐12 schools. Through his work at NCBG, he has trained more than 75 teachers from 30 different schools how to create native plant gardens on school grounds. Grant has won both local and regional awards for his nature-­‐themed crochet-­‐art. Abbey Piner earned her Permaculture Design Certificate from the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in California in 2010 after discovering the method while helping to create the Common Good City Farm, and urban farm project in Washington, DC. She has since taught permaculture in Raleigh, NC and Greensboro, NC. Abbey focused her Masters work at NCSU on the use of permaculture and community-­‐
engaged design in community gardens. She currently manages an urban garden project in Durham, NC thru the Inter-­‐Faith Food Shuttle, and does contract work with other gardens in the area. Abbey has a bachelor’s degree in Public Health from UNC-­‐Chapel Hill, and recently graduated with her Masters in Horticulture from NCSU. Richard Rairigh received his M.S. at West Virginia University in Physical Education Teacher Education with a concentration in Motor Development & Motor Learning and pursued postgraduate work at the University of South Carolina. Richard is the Co-­‐Author of Sport Education Season and Assessing Students Outcomes in Sport Education. He currently serves as the Director of Be Active Kids, a signature program of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. Richard is co-­‐chair of the Children and Nature Coalition, Founder of the Active Play Alliance, serves on the North Carolina IOM Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Task Force, Shape NC Design and Implementation Team, and Kids Eat Smart Move More Advisory Committee. He is a strong advocate for young children, especially 5
related to their health and well being through movement, play, and nature. Michele Rivest is a Project Associate at Natural Learning Initiative. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Michele served on Governor Hunt’s transition team as a developer of the Smart Start Early Childhood Initiative and as the founding Executive Director of the Orange County Partnership for Children. At NLI, Michele is able to combine her expertise in early childhood education and policy with her love for horticulture, gardening, and landscape design. Suki Roth is the founder and creator of Herb Haven, a vibrant teaching garden located on her beautifully maintained property in Graham, NC. The garden is dedicated to the education, growth, and preservation of medicinal herbs. Suki is involved in the complete process of the production of her products. She plants, grows, harvests, creates, and packages herbal medicines. Suki is a community practitioner who serves as educator, plant guide, and herbal medicine consultant, and frequently shares her intuitive wisdom, knowledge of the plants, and personal guidance with the wider community. Heather Summer has degrees in biology and ecology from Florida State University and the University of Georgia, respectively. Prior to moving to North Carolina, she worked many years as a field biologist/plant ecologist in south Georgia and Florida, where she worked on native groundcover restoration, vegetation community mapping, and rare plant species biology. Heather is currently the Seed Program Coordinator at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. She has passion for native plants, and when not at work or busy with 2 preschool-­‐aged daughters, she loves spending time getting her hands dirty in the yard. Elisha Taylor is the Coordinator for Children + Family Education at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. She develops and conducts a wide variety of natural science programs, including early childhood, afterschool, and homeschool classes, and directs the summer camp program. Elisha has 11 years of experience as a Teacher-­‐Naturalist and is a NC Certified Environmental Educator. Elisha also flies a bio-­‐fueled invisible plane to and from work every day. Betsy Thigpen launched her role as is a Nature Based Learning and Development Consultant/ Advocate following her experience as a visiting scholar at The Natural Learning Initiative at North Carolina State University. She recently completed a project for the Office of Head Start that encouraged Head Start and Early Head Start programs across the country to connect children with nature. Betsy developed an assessment tool, The Head Start Body Start Outdoor Play Space Assessment for Infants and Toddlers. She currently works on the NC Shape project at The Natural Learning Initiative, as well as providing technical assistance to programs that want to move learning and development outside. This year she provided workshop presentations at both the SECA and the NHSA conferences. Jesse Turner is a Landscape Architect and Design Coordinator at the Natural Learning Initiative. He has over a decade of professional design experiences ranging from art museums to his current work in children's outdoor environments. Natural Learning Initiative | College of Design | NC State University
Margie Trogdon is the Director/Owner of Trogdon's Day Care, Asheboro NC. Margie has been in the public and private school sector for over 36 years with a concentration on school age programming. Her passion is offering authentic experiences for children to connect to the natural environment in creative ways and believes the great outdoors is the ideal classroom. Anna Troutman has worked with young children and their families for most of her professional career. She has experience as an early educator, as director of a childcare center and developmental day program, and as a speech therapist for young children with communication and feeding delays. In her current position as the Director of Program Coordination and Evaluation for Wake Smart Start, she works to improve systems that impact children and families, including access to healthy foods in child care facilities. JoAnn Yates has spent the last four years developing, maintaining and implementing the horticultural therapy program for The Centers for Exceptional Children in Winston Salem, NC. Her program serves a mixed population of typically developing and developmentally delayed students from age one year to eleven. Her educational background in Nutrition, Business, and Horticulture and her passion for working with children has provided her with a unique perspective that she has enthusiastically shared with audiences nationwide. Michelle Wallace grew up in the United States until age 13, and then moved with her family to Israel to live on a Kibbutz. There she worked one day a week in the orchards and kiwi vineyard while in high school. After high school she spent a year as a civil servant volunteer in a socially and economically depressed community in the dessert followed by two years of mandatory service in the Israeli Defense Forces. After being discharged Michelle returned to the US to go to college. She received a B.S. in Horticulture from NC State University and a Master in Landscape Architecture. She has spent ten years working in Landscape Design in the private sector and has a total of eight years working from Cooperative Extension, presently as the Durham County Horticulture Agent. Emily Watson is a Shape NC Hub Specialist with the Down East Partnership for Children in Rocky Mount, NC. As a hub specialist, she provides trainings and consultations to local partnership staff and childcare providers in best practices for nutrition, physical activity, outdoor learning environments, and community engagement. Emily earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degree at East Carolina University in Health Education and Promotion. Emily has five years of experience that she has gained working in community health and at the Down East Partnership in early childhood obesity prevention. Ken Williams has been the Kitchen Manager and cook at First Environments Early Learning Center since November, 2005. Ken has worked in the natural foods industry since 1989, first at Weaver Street Market, followed by working closely with Sarah Foster at Foster’s Market, and finally at Whole Foods where he lead the Grocery Department for 14 years. Ken is a self-­‐taught cook, who explores recipes from different regions/cultures and adds diverse, delicious, and nutritious meals to the First Environment's menu. 6
11th Annual Design Institute All About Food: Designing, Gardening, Eating Outdoor Sessions Schedule: October 3-­‐4, 2013 Outdoor Sessions: Thursday, October 3rd, 11:00-­‐ 12:30 Session # T1 Growing in the Cold, Growing Year Round: Simple Raised Bed Season Extension How can you grow and harvest throughout the year, even in the coldest climates? Depending on where you are, the easiest time to grow food is short-­‐lived, and there is great opportunity to extend the seasons. This workshop will discuss how to extend the growing season and provide hands-­‐on learning opportunities, including building a portable ‘cold frame’ and other simple garden season extension projects. We will provide a hands-­‐on learning opportunity to build a raised bed with built in structure to facilitate extension of fall and spring seasons into winter – resulting in more vegetable production across more of the year. T2 Facilitators: Joanne Lelekacs, Extension Associate, Center for Environmental Farming Systems and Katherine Gill, Landscape Architect, Tributary, Inc. Connecting Farmers, Child Care Directors, and Children with Local Food How can child care centers share the joys and flavors of locally grown fruits and vegetables with children–and parents–at their centers? Nine centers in Wake County participated in a mini-­‐pilot to help Advocates for Health in Action, Wake County Cooperative Extension, and Wake County Smart Start explore the opportunities and potential barriers of the emerging Farm to Child Care movement. Hear about lessons learned during this pilot–from how to connect with farmers to costs to food pleasure and waste. Take a fall taste test with us and bring home resources about Farm to Child Care. T3 Facilitators: Michele McKinley, Project Coordinator, Advocates for Health in Action; Carol Mitchell, Field Faculty, Wake County Cooperative Extension; Anna Troutman, Director of Program Coordination and Evaluation, Wake County Smart Start Saving Seeds: The Cycle of Life -­‐ Collecting, Cleaning, Storing, and Germinating Seeds Saving seeds is an ancient and modern tradition. A brief introduction to the key concepts and strategies will be followed by hands own activities for each element. Participants will: 1) identify which seeds are ready to harvest; 2) use a variety of techniques to clean seeds and prepare for storage; 3) conduct a variety of strategies for breaking seed dormancy; and 4) plant seeds. T4 Facilitators: Heather Summer, Seed Coordinator, NC Botanical Garden; Lucy Bradley, Urban Horticulture Specialist, NCSU Dept. of Horticulture Science; Liz Driscoll, 4-­‐H Specialist, NCSU Departments of Crops, Horticulture, Soils and Entomology How Active Can Gardening Really Be? Being outside provides a great opportunity to be physically active. It’s been said by many that gardening is a great way to stay active for all ages but… is that really true? This session will provide the participant with an understanding of how gardening can increase heart rate, improve muscle strength and endurance, and increase flexibility. Participants should be prepared to get dirty and sweaty during this active session. T5 Facilitators: Richard Rairigh, Director, and Ryan Fahey, Program Manager, Be Active Kids Grow It, Try It, Like It: Preschool Fun with Fruits and Vegetables Join us for a variety of different hands-­‐on mini sessions featuring nutrition and garden activities designed to delight and educate young children—and you too! Help children discover where food comes from, how it is grown and directly experience what it looks and tastes like. Activities will include fresh food tasting, food-­‐based art crafts, tools that make edible garden planting easy and fun—and more! Grow It, Try It, Like It!—is one garden themed nutrition education kit for young children that will be featured, along with others. Facilitators: Emily Allison, Mary Jo Deck, Rachelle Hardison, and Emily Watson, Hub Specialists, Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children Initiative T6 Learning from Worms: Creating Worm Bins and Supporting Activities Worms are helpful garden friends and we have a lot to learn from them. Participants will create classroom worm bins and learn how to care for them. Activity ideas connected to learning outcomes will be shared and discussed. T7 Facilitators: Brad Bieber, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative; and Sandra Field, Lead Preschool Teacher, Johnson Pond Learning Center Outdoor Play the NC Way! Learn more about the creative and coordinated efforts taking place in North Carolina to provide a foundation and sustainable infrastructure for children's play and connection with nature, health, and learning. An overview will be provided on several initiatives including: Playful Pedagogy through the Active Play Alliance, NC Zoo, Play Daze, NC Play Pods, North Carolina Children and Nature Coalition, NC Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights and more. Come join us on our journey in sharing our collaborative efforts and playful outcomes and experience the Play Mobile and all that it has to offer! T8 Facilitators: Ronda Hawkins, Early Childhood Program Coordinator, Sandhills Community College and Linda Kinney, Education Specialist/Manager Playful Pedagogy, NC Zoo Crazy Crops – Fun with Concrete Participants will create sculptures that can hang on trees or outbuildings from a concrete composite and recycled and found objects. Crazy Crops are fruits and veggies, like Cuckoo Carrot, with personality and ATTITUDE! Crazy Crops enjoy hanging out any place kids hang out. Kids easily learn how to make Crazy Crops themselves, with a little adult supervision. T9 Facilitator: Forrest C. Greenslade, PhD, Owner, Organic Forrestry Plant It + They Will Come: Creating a Pollinator Garden Did you know that 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat depends on pollinators? Yet, many pollinators are at risk today because natural habitat is hard to find. Learn how you can help the bees and butterflies by creating pollinator habitat in your outdoor learning environment. Participants will explore ways to attract pollinators with native plantings and habitat features, engage in activities designed to get young children excited about pollinators, and visit the newly installed pollinator garden in our children’s Wonder Garden, designed and created by and for kids! T10 Facilitators: Elisha Taylor, Coordinator for Children’s and Family Education, and Grant Parkins, Natural Science Educator/ K-­‐12 Education, NC Botanical Garden Stimulate the Senses: Creating Sensory Gardens for Play and Learning A successful sensory garden for children allows them to watch, touch, sniff, hear, and even taste their surroundings as they play and learn. This session will explore ways to create child-­‐friendly sensory gardens that provide intimate spaces where young children can be immersed in the scents, textures and colors of plants and related elements. Using only our five senses, participants will explore the Botanical Garden’s Herb Garden, make take-­‐home herbal treasures, and discover ways to engage children in the natural world through their senses. T11 Facilitator: Michele Rivest, Project Associate, Natural Learning Initiative Take Those Babies And Toddlers Outside! Research and evidence-­‐based practice continues to build for children’s critical need to experience a significant part of their learning and development in outdoor environments. This session will address the potential for infants, toddlers, and their caregivers to spend more meaningful time outside. Participants will build on an elementary developmental framework for infant/toddler learning and development, explore how those developmental needs can be addressed in outdoor environments specifically designed for younger children, and formulate concrete ways to provide meaningful outdoor experiences for younger children that support early learning and development. Facilitator: Betsy Thigpen, Nature Based Learning and Development Consultant/Advocate Session # F1 Outdoor Sessions: Friday, October 4th, 11:00 – 12:30 A Dream Within Reach: The Scalable Edible Garden Is having a lush, verdant edible garden a daydream that makes your pulse quicken because of its beauty or because you’ve realized how much work there is to do? Both? In this hands-­‐on session, we will practice ways to ease teachers, students, and parents into the wild adventure of growing food in an outdoor learning environment. Whether your program allows for lots of gardening space or a single pot, prepare your community for thoughtful and thorough learning about growing food through a series of silly to serious multimodal activities designed to move young learners through a rehearsal phase (worksheets, art projects, imaginary gardens) through practice(planting, tending, harvesting, cooking) and review (remembering, comparing, future planning). Use this method to create a garden to scale that fits your students’ needs and your organization’s resources. F2 Facilitator: Jill Bloomfield, MA, Cooking Educator and Author What’s My Garden Eating: Learn About Carnivorous Plants The southeastern United States is home to a great diversity of insect eating plants. In this session we’ll learn about pitcher plants, Venus flytraps, sundews, butterworts, and bladderworts and the insects they eat. We’ll dissect pitcher plant leaves to see who’s inside and learn how easy it is to grow them if you have enough sun. F3 Facilitator: Chris Liloia, Habitat Gardens Curator, NC Botanical Garden Making Curriculum Connections: Think Outside Using Outdoor Projects Using nature as the 3rd teacher, project work is the ideal approach for curriculum development and engaging children's minds. Join us as we review the 3 phases of a project, the development of "The Apple Project", view project displays, and create a project using the natural world around us through this hands on interactive session. Support materials will be distributed to help you begin your journey. F4 Facilitators: Andee Edelson, Child Care Services Program Coordinator, Randolph County Partnership for Children; Dee Davis, Teacher, The Growing Place Child Care Center; Margie Trogdon, Director/Owner, Trogdon's Day Care Harvesting Healthy Meals From Your School Garden In this workshop participants will get a brief overview of First Environments Early Learning Center’s “Gardens, Kitchen and Meal Program” and how the children are involved in the planting, nurturing, and harvesting of the vegetables. We will also have a chance to take in the sights and smells of the Botanical Garden’s Herb Garden and then head back inside to make a few tasty snacks using fresh, garden grown ingredients. F5 Facilitators: Sue Espersen, Outdoor Learning Environment Seed to Table Specialist, and Ken Williams. Cook/Kitchen Manager, First Environments Early Learning Center Making and Installing Stepping Stone Pathways Stepping stones are versatile and durable elements used to create outdoor play and learning settings. They can be installed linearly to create pathways or en-­‐masse to create patios or sensory gardens. Participants will make stepping stones from natural, recycled and low-­‐cost affordable materials for use at home and in the child care center garden. F6 Facilitator: Brad Bieber, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative Walk on the Wild Side and Discover Plants for Health and Healing Join Herbalist Suki Roth on a medicinal and edible plant journey through the forests and gardens of the Botanical Garden. Come meet the medicinal and edible herbs that grow wild and cultivated in North Carolina. Take home the knowledge of how to identify, collect and incorporate these green allies into your lives. They are here offering us food, medicine, and the emotional and spiritual support that is so needed now during these changing seasons and times. Facilitator: Suki Roth, Founder and Creative of Herb Haven F7 Eat Here Now: Interpreting The Eating Sensation Through Artistic Media This workshop will give us the opportunity to truly appreciate what we eat through the creative arts. By engaging in the process of mindful eating we will tap in to the many ways we experience food. Participants will sample foods from the garden and then transform the eating experience into drawing and painting expressions. The workshop will provide early educators with ways to guide children in using multiple senses and strategies to enjoy and experience eating, the garden and their world. F8 Facilitators: Patrick Manning, Studio Teacher, Bright Horizons and Melanie Brooks, Regional Education Coordinator for Bright Horizons A Child’s Eye View: The Therapeutic Benefits of Gardening with Children This hands-­‐on, interactive workshop will provide the participants with the information and skills they will need to design, install, and maintain a therapeutic garden at their own site. Tips on choosing fun, safe, and engaging plant material and ways to use the garden to support the mission statement of the participant’s site will also be included. Come ready to get your hands dirty and get down on your knees to gain a child’s eye view of therapeutic gardening. F9 Facilitators: Millie Boyd, RN, MSN, Horticultural Therapist, The Sandhills Children’s Center and JoAnn Yates, Registered Horticultural Therapist, MBA, The Centers for Exceptional Children Intro to Permaculture: Incorporating Wild Edible Plants This workshop explores the benefits of using wild plants in the Permaculture garden. A garden tour will focus on edible plants, their preparation, and their role in garden ecology. We will conclude with a wild tea ceremony and reflections. F10 Facilitators: Tony Mayer, Owner, Blue Heron Farm, and Sarah Werner Konradi, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative “Advanced Hand Waving”: Design with Your Body! Learn to express your ideas, visualize space, and solve complex problems with tools we are all naturally equipped with. The session will provide participants with experience in laying out pathways, visualizing activity settings, and solving simple construction issues using our hands, arms, and feet to measure spaces. We will begin with a short design session inside and quickly move outside to work in small groups around the gardens. F11 Facilitator: Jesse Turner, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative Touch, Taste, Learn! Attendees will participate in a hands-­‐on preschool lesson focused on spinach or other greens which can be delivered outside in the garden. We will have a learning activity and a tasting! Additional resources for school-­‐age nutrition and gardening curriculum will be provided. Facilitator: Megan Lambert, Senior Instructor, College of Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte Campus Session # F12 Outdoor Sessions: Friday, October 4th , 1:30 – 3:00 pm You’ve Grown It, Now Cook It! Like the idea of creating learning opportunities for young children through food and cooking, but daunted by the logistics of it? This session presents a case for introducing children to the study of food and food preparation and offers practical solutions for making cooking more accessible to a very young audience. We will discuss ways to make food and cooking common practices in your educational setting, as well as consider how to bring parents, caregivers and educators on board to support the food philosophy and education happening at school. Lesson plans with pre and post activities will be distributed, along with many scalable ideas that can be implemented as part of the already existing units. F13 Facilitator: Jill Bloomfield, MA, Cooking Educator and Author Tough Native Plants for Rough and Tumble Spaces Join two fun-­‐loving, plant loving horticulturists and landscape designers and explore the NC Botanical Garden’s amazing gardens, looking for low maintenance and indestructible plants that provide benefits to children while serving the greater purpose of ecological diversity. We will learn about soil texture, moisture conditions, and a little bit of Latin (just for fun). F14 Facilitators: Jesse Turner, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative and Amanda Mixon, Curator, Education Center Landscape Raised Bed Gardening Basics for Educators Join a Master Gardener to learn about the fundamentals of building a raised bed out of simple materials, planting and managing the bed, as well as ideas for using this garden to support what you do in the classroom. We will build a bed, learn tricks for training plants, demonstrate thinning, show how to build a compost bin in 5 minutes, and learn about garden waste management. F15 Facilitator: Michelle Wallace, Consumer Horticulture Agent, Cooperative Extension, Durham County Good Bugs and Bad Bugs in the Garden Rampant infestations of Bermuda grass? Hordes of plant-­‐sucking aphids? Tomatoes gone missing? Come explore life in the garden with plant problems, bad bugs, weeds and disease. Learn how to engage your children in identifying plant problems and ways to manage these problems through solutions they devise themselves. Through garden explorations, games, and stories, uncover the secrets of creating connections between your children and insects in the garden. F16 Facilitators: Liz Driscoll, 4-­‐H Specialist, Horticulture, NC Cooperative Extension, NC State and Elizabeth Overcash, Children’s Program Coordinator, JC Raulston Arboretum Using Go NAP SACC to Support Outdoor Play & Learning In this session, participants will be introduced to Go NAP SACC and the program’s new “Outdoor Play & Learning” best practices. Participants will use the Go NAP SACC process to take stock of their outdoor play environments and practices and start planning for healthy changes. Participants will also get a sneak peek at Go NAP SACC’s new online tools and resources, scheduled for release in 2015. F17 Facilitator: Ellie Morris, Go NAP SACC Project Manager, UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Eat Your Veggies! / ¡Coma sus verduras! Join a child care center gardening team to learn tips on how to best prepare planting areas and plant vegetables with young children. We’ll discuss the kinds of vegetables that are easy to grow and taste with kids. We’ll offer seasonal information on what to plant when and demonstrate best ways to encourage children to try fresh foods in the childcare setting. Participants will have the opportunity to plant, harvest, and taste fall vegetables and create garden-­‐based activities to deepen your understanding of all that a garden can offer to whole child development, learning, and healthy eating. Facilitators: Maria Hitt, Project Manager, Orange County Partnership for Young Children and Adriana Martinez, Director, Spanish for Fun F18 Beyond Jack-­‐o’-­‐lanterns: Using Pumpkins to Support Scientific Learning While jack-­‐o’-­‐lanterns support creative and artistic development, pumpkins can be utilized to support scientific learning. Tactile experiences provide children important learning opportunities. Maria Montessori said it best with the following quote: “The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” This session provides an opportunity to act like a child again by exploring the wonderful tactile activities that incorporate measuring, floating, and scooping pumpkins to foster scientific learning. F19 Facilitator: Sarah Little, MLA, RLA, Natural Learning Initiative Celebrating Cultural Heritages in the Garden Gathering to cook and eat together is an essential component of human culture around the world. From daily family staples to special once-­‐a-­‐year celebrations, the food we grow, prepare, and eat exemplifies humanity's unity and diversity. In this session, we will explore how engaging cultural heritages can enhance the design of children's gardens, increase community ownership, and facilitate lessons in social studies, history, languages, and more. We will even help prepare and sample several fresh recipes from cultures represented in the NLI staff! F20 Facilitators: Julie Murphy, Design Assistant, Natural Learning Initiative and Shweta Nanekar, Landscape Designer Permaculture Principles and Natural Building In this workshop participants will learn the basic framework and principles of permaculture, discover principles in action within the Botanical Garden, and discover the many ways that natural bamboo can be used to build garden structures. Facilitators: Abbey Piner, Garden Project Manager, Interfaith Food Shuttle and Sarah Werner Konradi, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative 11th Annual Design Institute All About Food: Designing, Gardening, Eating Session # T1 T2 T3 Outdoor Sessions: Thursday, October 3rd, 11:00-­‐ 12:30 Location Wonder Garden Lawn Growing in the Cold, Growing Year Round: Simple Raised Bed Season Extension Paul Green Cabin Connecting Farmers, Child Care Directors, and Children with Local Food Bird Blind Saving Seeds: The Cycle of Life -­‐ Collecting, Cleaning, Storing, and Germinating Seeds Joanne Lelekacs, Extension Associate, Center for Environmental Farming Systems and Katherine Gill, Landscape Architect, Tributary, Inc. Michele McKinley, Project Coordinator, Advocates for Health in Action; Carol Mitchell, Field Faculty, Wake County Cooperative Extension; Anna Troutman, Director of Program Coordination and Evaluation, Wake County Smart Start Heather Summer, Seed Coordinator, NC Botanical Garden; Lucy Bradley, Urban Horticulture Specialist, NCSU Dept. of Horticulture Science; Liz Driscoll, 4-­‐H Specialist, NCSU Departments of Crops, Horticulture, Soils and Entomology T4 T5 T6 Prairie How Active Can Gardening Really Be? Reeves South Grow It, Try It, Like It: Preschool Fun with Fruits and Vegetables Porch Learning from Worms: Creating Worm Bins and Supporting Activities Richard Rairigh, Director, and Ryan Fahey, Program Manager, Be Active Kids Emily Allison, Mary Jo Deck, Rachelle Hardison, and Emily Watson, Hub Specialists, Shape NC: Healthy Starts for Young Children Initiative Brad Bieber, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative; and Sandra Field, Lead Preschool Teacher, Johnson Pond Learning Center T7 T8 T9 Board Room/ Playmobile Outdoor Play the NC Way! Wonder Garden Log Circle Crazy Crops – Fun with Concrete Ronda Hawkins, Early Childhood Program Coordinator, Sandhills Community College and Linda Kinney, Education Specialist/Manager Playful Pedagogy, NC Zoo Forrest C. Greenslade, PhD, Owner, Organic Forrestry Wonder Garden Plant It + They Will Come: Creating a Pollinator Garden Pollinator Garden Elisha Taylor, Coordinator for Children’s and Family Education, and Grant Parkins, Natural Science Educator/ K-­‐12 Education, NC Botanical Garden Herb Garden Stimulate the Senses: Creating Sensory Gardens for Play and Learning T10 Michele Rivest, Project Associate, Natural Learning Initiative T11 Reeves North/ Display Garden Take Those Babies And Toddlers Outside! Betsy Thigpen, Nature Based Learning and Development Consultant/Advocate 11th Annual Design Institute
All About Food: Designing, Gardening, and Eating
Outdoor Session Locations
Thursday October 3rd, 11:00-12:30
Key
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7 Board Room/Playmobile
T8 Wonder Garden: Log Circle
T9 Wonder Garden: Pollinator Garden
Wonder Garden: Lawn
Paul Green Cabin
Bird Blind
Prairie (down Streamside Trail)
Reeves Auditorium South
Porch
T10 Herb Garden
T11 Reeves Auditorium North
Parking Lot
T10
T1
T3
T11
T5
T6
Playmobile
T2
T9
T4
T7
Display
Garden
Lawn
T8
11th Annual Design Institute All About Food: Designing, Gardening, Eating Session # F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Outdoor Sessions: Friday, October 4th, 11:00 – 12:30 Location Children’s Garden A Dream Within Reach: The Scalable Edible Garden Bird Blind Jill Bloomfield, MA, Cooking Educator and Author Carnivorous What’s My Garden Eating: Learn About Carnivorous Plants Plants Chris Liloia, Habitat Gardens Curator, NC Botanical Garden Reeves South Making Curriculum Connections: Think Outside Using Outdoor Projects Andee Edelson, Child Care Services Program Coordinator, Randolph County Partnership for Children; Dee Davis, Teacher, The Growing Place Child Care Center; Margie Trogdon, Director/Owner, Trogdon's Day Care Board Room/ Kitchen Harvesting Healthy Meals From Your School Garden Breezeway Making and Installing Stepping Stone Pathways Sue Espersen, Outdoor Learning Environment Seed to Table Specialist, and Ken Williams. Cook/Kitchen Manager, First Environments Early Learning Center Brad Bieber, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative F6 Herb Garden F7 Paul Green Cabin Walk on the Wild Side and Discover Plants for Health and Healing Suki Roth, Founder and Creative of Herb Haven Eat Here Now: Interpreting The Eating Sensation Through Artistic Media Patrick Manning, Studio Teacher, Bright Horizons and Melanie Brooks, Regional Education Coordinator for Bright Horizons F8 F9 F10 F11 Wonder Garden Log Circle A Child’s Eye View: The Therapeutic Benefits of Gardening with Children Porch Intro to Permaculture: Incorporating Wild Edible Plants Wonder Garden Lawn “Advanced Hand Waving”: Design with Your Body! Reeves North Touch, Taste, Learn! Millie Boyd, RN, MSN, Horticultural Therapist, The Sandhills Children’s Center and JoAnn Yates, Registered Horticultural Therapist, MBA, The Centers for Exceptional Children Tony Mayer, Owner, Blue Heron Farm, and Sarah Konradi, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative Jesse Turner, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative Megan Lambert, Senior Instructor, College of Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte Campus 11th Annual Design Institute
All About Food: Designing, Gardening, and Eating
Outdoor Session Locations
Friday October 4th, 11:00-12:30
Key
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
F6
Children’s Garden/Bird Blind
Carnivorous Plants
Reeves Auditorium South
Board Room/Kitchen
Breezeway
Herb Garden
F7
F8
F9
F10
F11
Paul Green Cabin
Wonder Garden: Log Circle
Porch
Wonder Garden: Lawn
Reeves Auditorium North
Parking Lot
F6
F8 F10
F5
F2
F1
F4
F11
F3
F7
F9
11th Annual Institute All About Food: Designing, Gardening, Eating Session # F12 F13 F14 Outdoor Sessions: Friday, October 4th , 1:30 – 3:00 pm Location Reeves North/ Kitchen You’ve Grown It, Now Cook It! Breezeway Tough Native Plants for Rough and Tumble Spaces Paul Green Cabin Raised Bed Gardening Basics for Educators Jill Bloomfield, MA, Cooking Educator and Author Jesse Turner, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative and Amanda Mixon, Curator, Education Center Landscape Michelle Wallace, Consumer Horticulture Agent, Cooperative Extension, Durham County and Tracey Lee Lucas Drummond, Dan Mason Debbie Bishop, Master Gardeners F15 Bird Blind Good Bugs and Bad Bugs in the Garden Liz Driscoll, 4-­‐H Specialist, Horticulture, NC Cooperative Extension, NC State and Elizabeth Overcash, Children’s Program Coordinator, JC Raulston Arboretum F16 Board Room Using Go NAP SACC to Support Outdoor Play & Learning Ellie Morris, Go NAP SACC Project Manager, UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention F17 F18 Porch Eat Your Veggies! / ¡Coma sus verduras! Herb Garden Beyond Jack-­‐o’-­‐lanterns: Using Pumpkins to Support Scientific Learning Maria Hitt, Project Manager, Orange County Partnership for Young Children and Adriana Martinez, Director, Spanish for Fun Sarah Little, MLA, RLA, Natural Learning Initiative F19 F20 Reeves South Celebrating Cultural Heritages in the Garden Wonder Garden Lawn Permaculture Principles and Natural Building Julie Murphy, Design Assistant, Natural Learning Initiative and Shweta Nanekar, Landscape Designer Abbey Piner, Garden Project Manager, Interfaith Food Shuttle and Sarah Werner Konradi, Design Associate, Natural Learning Initiative 11th Annual Design Institute
All About Food: Designing, Gardening, and Eating
Outdoor Session Locations
Friday October 4th, 1:30-3:00
Key
F12 Reeves Auditorium North
F13 Breezeway
F14 Paul Green Cabin
F15 Bird Blind
F16 Board Room
F17 Porch
F18 Herb Garden
F19 Reeves Auditorium South
F20 Wonder Garden: Lawn
Parking Lot
F18
F20
F13
F16
F15
F12
F19
F14
F17