Building Garden-Based Projects for a Better World

In this episode… The Green Heart Project builds garden-based, experiential learning projects and school garden programs to educate students, connect people, and cultivate community through growing, eating, and celebrating food. As Executive Director of The Green Heart Project, Jesse Blom provides overall leadership of the Green Heart Project strategy, staff, programs, administration, and finances to ensure the successful execution of the organization's mission. Schools often have programs to keep kids off the streets and into something more constructive. How about moving them from the street into the dirt?  Not for sandcastles — for planting gardens. Jesse and The Green Heart Project build school gardens as outdoor classrooms. Kids master the process of growing good food and connect it to what they're teaching in classrooms. They learn how to harvest and cook the food, so they're involved in the growing process from seed to plate. But that's not all — these students become community members who know and care about their health and the environment. They know how to work together to accomplish something positive. In the end, they're not just growing gardens — they're growing minds and hearts.  In this episode, host Ben Cash sits down with Jesse to discuss how he is changing schools one garden at a time. Jesse talks about discovering a passion for urban agriculture, life skills children learn from gardening, and shares success stories from The Green Heart Project.