Topic: Obesity, Nutrition/Diet, Physical Activity
Target Population: Middle Childhood
Sector: Community-Based, School-Based
This program is for children in who are in 1st to 5th grade.
Growing Healthy Habits (GHH), a school- or community-based nutrition education curriculum, is designed to teach children about nutrition and the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and raising physical activity levels through gardening activities.
No peer-reviewed publications evaluating the effectiveness of this program were located.
The GHH curriculum is designed to foster healthy eating and activity behaviors among participants and tie-in to subjects, such as language arts, math, and science. Instructors teach nutrition education through gardening. The garden can be an outdoor garden or an indoor container garden, and a monthly table is available that outlines what activities should be happening in the garden and which curricular unit to pair with those activities. The curriculum includes nine units, which can be implemented in two different sequences during specific times of the year (i.e., September to June or March to October). The nine unit topics include the following:
Each unit contains introductory materials; handouts; lesson plans; a journal entry activity; a taste testing event; and four main lessons, which include teaching materials, vocabulary words, and a hands-on learning activity. One lesson per unit includes preparing a healthy recipe that features produce from the children's garden, if available.
Lessons have been adapted and used with students from prekindergarten through high school, including special education.
GHH was developed in Maryland in 2010. Since then, over 100 teachers have been trained to use the curriculum and over 50 school gardens have been built to use with the curriculum.
Training is not required. Program facilitators should review the curriculum prior to starting the program. The program manual states instruction and training may be available through University of Maryland's FSNE if partnerships are formed.
Considerations for implementing this program include understanding that lesson, cooking, and gardening supplies will need to be purchased or acquired through donations/loans; realizing this program was designed for year-round use in Maryland and may require adaptations by groups that meet part of the year (e.g., summer camp) or in different growing regions; obtaining buy-in from teachers and administration; finding outdoor or indoor gardening space with sufficient light and water access; and finding time for teachers to prepare and deliver lessons.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing GHH, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
The curriculum contains nine units. Each unit includes three 30- to 60-minute lessons and a 20-minute journal activity. The program is intended for year-round use.
The curriculum is available for free online. Additional funding may be needed to purchase gardening and other lesson materials. A partnership with FSNE could be initiated to help fund supplies. Please contact FSNE using details in the Contact section for information.
To move GHH to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact University of Maryland Extension by visiting https://extension.umd.edu/contact
Braunscheidel, Erin, MHS, RD, LDN, & Lachenmayr, L., MS. (2010). Growing healthy habits: Integrating gardening and nutrition education into the elementary classroom. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 42(4), S98-S98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2010.03.074
