Celebrating Growth in the Garden!: The Afterschool Green Team Year in Review

Emaline Relyea-Strawn, Youth Education Coordinator, Terracorps Member

On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the after-school youth were abuzz with excitement. The garden was decorated, and food was laid out across picnic blankets as the Afterschool Green Team prepared to share their final projects and celebrate the culmination of a wonderful garden year. 

The Afterschool Green Team youth are a critical part of maintaining the gardens. They help to plant, amend soil, weed, water, and harvest all year round. The CitySprout’s afterschool program emphasizes building leadership skills, agency in the garden, and taking what we grow to cook something delicious. Since the in-school program ends at the 5th grade, the after-school program also allows youth to continue their connection to their own school garden and build ownership over the space. 

When I first started working with the youth at the Orchard Garden School in September 2025, I was greeted by an enthusiastic group that led me on a tour of the garden. Thanks to them, I learned a great deal about the types of plants that were there. It was clear from the start that this garden is a space these youth feel proud of and a space that allows for curiosity, learning, and fun! We harvested squash and made zucchini pancakes, picked greens and prepared pesto, and decorated plant pots to take home marigold seeds from the garden. The list goes on and on. I was grateful to get to know this group of youth who brought enthusiasm and excitement each week, which allowed us to engage in a wide variety of projects. 

By the time June rolled around, every youth had contributed to a project that they presented to each other, to CitySprouts’ staff, and to some of the Orchard Gardens staff. Projects ranged from a video tour of the garden to an instructional poster about building a garden trellis to a presentation about the importance of bees in the garden.

Over a beautiful spread of snacks and picnic blankets, the OG Green Team youth took turns sharing their projects with each other and spending their time taking care of their garden space. And thanks to this wonderful team, the garden was left in wonderful condition for the summer program to take it over!