Nourishing Gardens Helps Howard County Kids, Adults Grow Their Own Food

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Spring has sprung and in Howard County, gardeners and students are hard at work planning the future fruits of their labor through the Nourishing Gardens program.

Nourishing Gardens, a program of the Community Ecology Institute, has established more than 50 gardens across Howard County as of the end of 2024, including at 25% of Howard County Public School System schools. The program typically installs an average of 8 to 12 community gardens every year since the program was created, Community Ecology Institute Founder and Executive Director Chiara D’Amore told Patch.

Since 2021, Nourishing Gardens has engaged hundreds of community members in learning how to grow food in any space while gaining hands-on experience installing gardens at local schools, community centers and nonprofits. The program was made possible with a Howard County ChangeMaker Challenge Award, D’Amore said.

“Community gardens provide a critical resource where neighbors can come together to learn, grow and nourish their community in a way that prioritizes sustainability and health,” D’Amore told Patch. “These gardens offer many health benefits and provide an outlet to make a positive difference in the community.”

Nourishing Gardens offers training sessions that teach people how to design, create and care for edible gardens and then they become a part of the community that helps to install and sometimes maintain the community gardens that are installed, D'Amore told Patch.

"The recipients of our Nourishing Gardens have an agreement that once the garden is installed, they are the owner of this space and the maintenance of it is their responsibility - the gardens are designed to be a good fit for them and their gardening wants and needs," D'Amore added. "A lot of the schools use their gardens as teaching spaces and part of what the students learn through experience is how food is grown, how fresh out of the garden food tastes, how they can use that food to make meals, etc."

Phelps Luck Elementary School has three Nourishing Gardens since 2022, including a food garden, a pollinator garden and most recently, a fruit forest, which includes a variety of fruit bearing trees, shrubs and ground cover plants. Lisa Jones, a gifted and talented teacher at PLES, said the project was “life changing for some of our students and families,” and fourth and fifth grade students involved in the project expressed excitement for being in their garden, seeing it grow and getting to taste the fresh produce.

Bryant Woods Elementary had Nourishing Gardens food and pollinator gardens established in 2023.

“Being able to have their own special job gives students purpose. They feel like they are part of something bigger than just the school—they are part of helping the community—so they are very proud," said BWES Principal Danielle Shanks.

“The program comes at a time when garden trends are evolving beyond aesthetics to create environments that are beautiful and functional, allowing both people and wildlife to thrive,” added CEI Nourishing Gardens Manager Loni Cohen. “Nourishing Gardens impact goes beyond adding garden spaces to the community by creating opportunities for education and for communities to come together.”

To be a part of the Nourishing Gardens - Community Ecology Institute training community, interested people can sign up online for the five-week beginner and intermediate training sessions or for the year-long membership program that includes monthly educational meetings.