The Pendleton Community Garden Project is more than just planting seeds. It is about planting ideas, growing skills, and nurturing leadership and self-esteem in participants. Extension Family and Community Development, 4-H, and Agriculture faculty provided leadership in bringing together 22 local agencies to work with at-risk youth and senior volunteers. Thirty-five at-risk youth and over 100 seniors and community volunteers turned a vacant lot into a community garden that supplied fresh produce to local food bank recipients and homebound seniors. Both seniors and youth benefited from this intergenerational partnership, thus strengthening Extension's leadership role in forging partnerships for sustainable communities.
Voltund et al. (Wed,) studied this question.