Learning and playing in the garden provides a unique and enriching experience for children, allowing them space to forge connections with nature and develop valuable life skills. It can also become a wonderful setting for positive, healing experiences and relationships for children who have experienced trauma. Understanding the basic principles of trauma-informed care offers garden educators a toolkit to create safe and supportive environments for all children, ensuring that every student feels safe, seen, heard, and valued while participating in garden programs.

During this webinar, Crystal Bowne and Kristine Lockwood of Leah’s Pantry will offer a fresh perspective on garden programming with the objective of increasing your ability to connect with and engage your participants. The webinar will introduce a trauma-informed approach to garden education and explore ways to apply trauma-informed principles. Topics will include protective factors and teaching strategies in garden settings.

Crystal Bowne is a Training Specialist at Leah's Pantry. She has over fourteen years of experience working with community partners to plan and implement nutrition programs and built environment initiatives to increase access to healthy food and places to be physically active. Many projects focused on garden-based nutrition education, food distributions, and walking and biking paths in urban and rural areas. She also taught anthropology, sociology, and religious studies at the university level. Crystal received a Master of Public Health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, a Master of Arts in Religion from the University of Georgia, and is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. 

Kristine Lockwood is a Training Specialist with Leah’s Pantry. Originally from San Francisco, Kristine’s experiences living in urban and deep rural cities around the world fueled her dedication to the health of individuals and families with adverse experiences. Kristine has been involved in community advocacy and public health for over a decade. Her diverse experiences include working at FoodWIse - UW Madison Division of Extension, serving with AmeriCorps Farm to School, managing school nutrition services, teaching fitness and health classes, serving on community coalitions, and humanitarian outreach throughout Central America. Kristine has helped build and revive school gardens, provided garden-based education, and implemented PSE strategies to increase access to fresh food for residents with limited income.  Once a self-professed brown thumb and now a mom of five, Kristine and her husband have taught their kids to garden, and they've experienced the wonder and other benefits of working and eating from the garden. Kristine is eager to share her enthusiasm and tools for compassionate, trauma-informed practices with other caregivers and educators.

This webinar will be recorded and will be available for viewing at this web page immediately following the presentation. 

To turn on live captions during the presentation, please join using the Chrome browser and visit this page for instructions on how to turn them on: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/10538231?hl=en 

Approaching Garden Education with Compassion and Connection