Youth Programs
DUG’s Youth Engagement programs aim to inspire a love of nature for our future earth stewards.
We believe that every child deserves the chance to dig in the dirt, taste something they’ve grown, and feel connected to the natural world around them.
Our youth programs nurture curiosity, resilience, and a sense of belonging by grounding learning in real-life experiences rooted in the rhythms of the garden and the wisdom of community.
From planting seeds to harvesting produce, our hands-on approach invites young learners to explore, sense, hypothesize, and make connections between nature and themselves. We partner with schools, educators, and other nonprofit partners to bring garden-based education to life.
Bring DUG to your School or Group
DUG brings the wonder of gardening to your classroom or community group with our signature youth classes. Explore our options to bring a DUG instructor directly to your kiddos with classes that run 30-60 min long, depending on your class’s availability and needs. Our private class options can be tailored to accommodate learners from early childhood through 12th grade. DUG’s class maximum is between 20 and 30 youth, depending on the age of the youth and the number of adults present.
Explore our available topics below and book a DUG educator to lead a workshop with your group!
Seeds of Wonder: Seasonal Planting Experience
What’s hiding inside a tiny seed?
In this hands-on planting experience, young gardeners explore the wonder of seeds and discover what plants need to grow. We’ll dig into soil, investigate the plant life cycle, and plant seeds to care for at home or in the classroom.
Along the way, participants will discover that growing a plant takes curiosity, care, and a little patience, and that even the biggest gardens start with something small.
Optional Light Kit Add-On ($50)*:
We’ll set up your very own classroom light kit. Start your first seeds onsite with DUG staff and grow more as desired. Kits include seed trays and domes, LED lights, seed starting mix and watering tools. Participants are responsible for maintenance and continued care of their seed starting equipment.
*subject to availability
Garden of Wonder: Garden Planting Experience
What will we discover when we get our hands in the dirt?
In this immersive garden experience, participants dig, plant, explore, and discover what it takes to grow food in Colorado’s unique climate. We’ll investigate what plants need to thrive, plant crops suited to the high desert and season, and follow the journey of our food from seed to plate.
Participants leave with dirty hands, new gardening skills, and a deeper connection to the food we grow and the earth that grows it.
Soil Superheroes: Hands-on with Red Wiggler Worms
Who’s living beneath our feet, and what are they doing down there?
Participants will explore a living worm bin, meet our adorable red wiggler worms, investigate what they eat, and discover how they transform food scraps into rich, healthy soil.
By getting hands-on with these underground recyclers, participants discover that a healthy garden depends on a whole world of living things, many of them hidden right beneath our feet.
Optional Worm Bin Add-On ($50)*:
We’ll set up your very own classroom worm bin! Students will help build your worm bin while learning all about their new classroom companions. Worm bin, initial materials, and starter Red Wiggler worms included. Teachers are responsible for the maintenance and continued care of their worm bins.
*subject to availability
Peck, Scratch and Squawk: Everyday Use of Chickens in the Garden*
What are chickens saying when they cluck and squawk?
Meet live chickens and discover what it takes to keep them happy and healthy. Participants will get an up-close look at chicken behavior, learn what chickens eat and need to thrive, and explore the many ways people have raised poultry for food, feathers, and companionship.
Along the way, we’ll practice a little “chicken language” and discover how caring for animals can help us better understand the connections between people, food, farms, and gardens.
*Denver Public Schools may only book this class if students are in 3rd grade or above
The Four Seasons: Sensory and Wellness Nature Practices
What changes in our bodies when we slow down and notice the world around us?
Through art, tasting, sensory exploration, and time in nature, participants are invited to experience the sights, smells, textures, and flavors of the season. Each workshop changes with the time of year, creating space to slow down, get creative, and notice what’s happening in the natural world.
Participants leave with a deeper connection to the season, to themselves, and to the simple pleasure of paying attention.
Composting and the Carbon Cycle
What happens to an apple core after we’re done with it—and what does that have to do with climate change?
In this hands-on workshop, participants explore the fascinating world of decomposition and discover how food scraps and other organic materials can be transformed into healthy, living soil. Through activities adapted for different ages, we’ll investigate decomposers, explore the carbon cycle, and learn how composting can reduce waste, nourish our gardens, and help keep carbon in the ground.
Participants will discover how composting turns daily food choices into a powerful climate action that restores soil and protects our planet.
Garden Pollination: Supporting Pollinators and Crop Growth
What do bees, butterflies, and other pollinators have to do with the food on our plates?
Participants will explore the busy world of pollinators and discover how pollen travels from flower to flower, helping plants make fruits and seeds. We’ll investigate the many creatures that pollinate our gardens, connect pollination to some of the foods we eat, and discover simple ways to make gardens more welcoming to them.
Interested in multiple classes, field trips, or custom experiences for your learners? Contact [email protected] to learn more about pricing and availability.
ARE YOU A TEACHER WITH A DUG GARDEN AT YOUR SCHOOL?
Host a 90-minute paid Garden-Based Learning Teacher Training at your school to help you confidently integrate your school’s on-site garden into everyday learning. Note: A minimum of three teachers interested in the training is required for booking.
Recruitment is in the fall and spring.
DUG’s Offerings for Schools/Youth-Focused Organizations
DUG offers Public Offerings open to everyone, regardless of where you garden, and Garden Offerings exclusively for DUG Gardens.
DUG’S PUBLIC OFFERINGS
Grow a Garden
- Description: DUG’s Grow a Garden program removes those barriers with ready-to-grow kits that include seeds, seedlings, and guidance.
- Cost: Pay-what-you-can
- Link: https://dug.org/food-access-programs/grow-a-garden/
Community Seed Distribution
- Description: A community seed packet distribution, free to individuals, families, nonprofit organizations and government agencies at DUG’s main office to jumpstart the growing season.
Cost: Free - Link: https://dug.org/food-access-programs/community-seed-distribution/
Community and Family Education
- Description: Our workshops honor the wisdom of all participants, combining hands-on learning with organic practices that restore and respect the earth focused on metro Denver climate.
Cost: Free or Pay-what-you-can - Link: https://dug.org/learn/
DUG’S GARDENING OFFERINGS
Culturally Inclusive Seeds
- Description: DUG offers rare and heritage varieties to DUG gardeners across Denver so they can grow what feels like home.
Cost: Free for DUG gardens only - Link: https://dug.org/food-access-programs/culturally-inclusive-seeds/
Youth Classes
- Description: DUG brings the wonder of gardening to your classroom or community group with our signature youth classes.
- Cost: Free + $*
- Must be a DUG school garden and fall into one of the following categories:
- Title-1 school, or having title-1 status within the last 2 years
- Low Income Low Access Neighborhood
- A DUG underutilized garden (learn more about garden equity here)
- A part of the Seed to Plate to Regenerate program (grant funding commitment
- Must be a DUG school garden and fall into one of the following categories:
- Cost: Free + $*
- Link: https://dug.org/learn/youth-programs/
Teacher Training Program
- Description: A 90-minute, on-site session designed to help educators confidently integrate their DUG garden into everyday learning.
- Cost: Free
- Must be a DUG school garden and fall into one of the following categories:
- Title-1 school, or having title-1 status within the last 2 years
- Low Income Low Access Neighborhood
- A DUG underutilized garden (learn more about garden equity here)
- A part of the Seed to Plate to Regenerate program (grant funding commitment
- Must be a DUG school garden and fall into one of the following categories:
- Link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG6pvsiwYU/1YzzFQEPg250xnNb5ldmSg/view?utm_content=DAG6pvsiwYU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h576fd8fcbf
Supplies or items for garden education**
- Description: DUG maintains limited funding and seasonal programs for free gardening supplies to support school staff.
- Cost: Free.
- DUG supplies funding is restricted to schools will be using the materials in their DUG school garden and fall into one of the following categories:
- Title-1 school, or having title-1 status within the last 2 years
- Low Income Low Access Neighborhood
- A DUG underutilized garden (learn more about garden equity here)
- A part of the Seed to Plate to Regenerate program (grant funding commitment
- DUG supplies funding is restricted to schools will be using the materials in their DUG school garden and fall into one of the following categories:
**Additional resources are available for title-1 Denver Public Schools. Contact Chris Woodburn, Program Manager, Gardens and Solid Waste Diversion: [email protected].
DUG Youth Resources
Lessons offered in nature are transformative for young children. In the garden, students engage in hands-on experiences that foster holistic learning, build skills in natural science, and encourage collaboration, community, curiosity, and exploration.
ECE Garden-Based Lesson Plans
Our ECE gardening-based lesson plans for educators offer a range of engaging activities and lessons designed to ignite curiosity and nurture a love for science in the littlest of learners.
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds
Our seasonally-aligned lessons bridge nutrition, gardening, and STEM for the elementary (K-6) school classroom and garden.
Farmer Dave + Friends Video
DUG meets up with Rocky Mountain PBS stars Farmer Dave (and his friends!) in DUG gardens across Denver as we have fun in nature!
Youth Resources
What is a Youth Garden Club?
What is a Youth Garden Club?
Read More
Garden Scavenger Hunts for Kids
Garden Scavenger Hunts for Kids
Read More
Connection to Gardening through Literacy Education
Connection to Gardening through Literacy Education
Read More
Engaging Kids in Gardening: The Fun of Weeding Scavenger Hunts
Engaging Kids in Gardening: The Fun of Weeding Scavenger Hunts
Read More
Getting Kids Involved in the Planting Process
Getting Kids Involved in the Planting Process
Read MoreOur Community Partners
Want to learn more about youth engagement or partnerships with DUG?
Email us at [email protected]
Seed to Plate to Regenerate (SPR)
Denver Urban Gardens, Slow Food Denver, and We Don’t Waste work together to educate students and increase access to nutritious food. Leveraging each organization’s strengths, SPR delivers hands-on activities in gardening, cooking, nutrition, composting, and food waste reduction, including classroom lessons, cooking classes, food waste audits, and food distribution.
Denver Urban Gardens is proud to receive program support through Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids.
