| Children's fascination with gardens has been canonised | | | | simple Youth Garden Grants to Healthy Sprouts |
| throughout the spectrum of English literature. Books | | | | Awards, and the new Wild Oats Gardening with Kids |
| like Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce and | | | | Awards, which will come into place in 2007. This |
| Francis Hodgson Burnet's The Secret Garden have | | | | award is somewhat emblematic of the initiative |
| captured childhood imaginations across generations | | | | engineered by the NGA, as it aims to reward kids |
| and cultures. Recently, there has been a burgeoning | | | | who develop positive attitudes towards fruits and |
| movement to encourage the growing of gardens in | | | | vegetables as a result of growing them |
| schools across America, the impetus for which has | | | | themselves.Along the other activities run by the NGA |
| generally come from the direction of the National | | | | Kid's Gardening initiative are various classroom |
| Gardening Association (NGA).The NGA was set up in | | | | activities on topics as diverse as botany, composting, |
| 1973 and prides itself on being a non-profit leader in | | | | language and literature connections, as well as science |
| plant-based education. It has played a crucial role in | | | | inquiry, the latter of which involves investigations and |
| developing both the personal mind and the | | | | experiments. The Kids Gardening website also offers |
| environment by educating people on the benefits of | | | | a variety of resources for students, teachers and |
| growing gardens and highlighting the environmental | | | | parents, such as an Online Teacher's Course, a |
| and therapeutic power of plant life. Through its | | | | Parent's Primer and an all-important catalogue of plant |
| initiative, the NGA have overseen the establishment | | | | diseases and pests. In recent years, the NGA has |
| of numerous programs, highlighting the opportunities | | | | joined forces with other organisations to help |
| for plant-based education in various public spheres | | | | engender the growth of gardening education for |
| such as schools.The NGA's Kid's Gardening resource is | | | | children across America; for instance, since early |
| an impressive educational facility, and has helped a | | | | 2002, the Hilton Garden Inn has been working |
| large number of children and teachers learn how easy | | | | together with the NGA to broaden and diversify |
| it is to start growing and maintaining a school garden. | | | | education programs within schools. From the success |
| Gone are the days of planting a few seeds in a pot: | | | | of the NGA, it's clear that the importance of |
| today, the NGA runs schemes to provide schools and | | | | spreading plant-life education is a vital ingredient not |
| youth organisations with grants and funding that | | | | only in making sure that children develop and maintain |
| actively engage kids in gardening and improving their | | | | healthy eating habits, but that they develop |
| surrounding quality of life. These awards and grants | | | | environmental awareness from an early age. |
| cover a variety of gardening aspects, from the | | | | |