“I think every teacher should take this class, and classes about this type of content should be more readily available. It was fabulous!”
— Edible Schoolyard NYC Professional Development Participant
See below for our upcoming Professional Development opportunities:
March 19: Stories, Songs and Sensory Exploration: Early Childhood (PK-2) in the Garden
4:30-6:00 pm
PS 216 Arturo Toscanini
350 Avenue X
Brooklyn, NY
Learn some early childhood activities to use in a school garden and learn how to bring growing into your early childhood classroom. Registration and more information here.
March 21: School Wellness Through Seed-to-Table Education
8:30-2:50 pm
PS 7 Samuel Stern
160 E. 120th Street
New York, NY
Edible Schoolyard NYC is collaborating with the NYCDOE Office of School Wellness to help members of the school community gain the confidence and skills needed to begin or deepen seed-to-table programming and its accompanying community outreach at their schools. The training will include modules on the following:
- Starting and Maintaining a Growing Space
- Growing and Gardening with Students
- Cooking with Students
- Family and Community Engagement
- Cafeteria Initiatives
Registration and more information here.
April 9 Having Fun While You Learn in the School Garden
4:30-6:00 pm
PS 7 Samuel Stern
160 E. 120th Street
New York, NY
School gardens are places for students to experience joy while they learn. Our instructors will share games, songs and crafts they have used to enhance their students’ learning in the garden. Registration and more information here.
May 1 Essentials of School Gardening for Beginners
4:30-6:00 pm
PS 7 Samuel Stern
160 E. 120th Street
New York, NY
Learn how to get started with your school garden. You will learn what plants need to grow and how to set up an educational garden or growing space at your school. Registration and more information here.
May 9, School Wellness through Seed-to-Table Education
8:30-2:50 pm
PS 216 Arturo Toscanini
350 Avenue X
Brooklyn, NY
Edible Schoolyard NYC is collaborating with the NYCDOE Office of School Wellness to help members of the school community gain the confidence and skills needed to begin or deepen seed-to-table programming and its accompanying community outreach at their schools. The training will include modules on the following:
- Starting and Maintaining a Growing Space
- Growing and Gardening with Students
- Cooking with Students
- Family and Community Engagement
- Cafeteria Initiatives
Registration and more information here.
May 14 Cooking Culturally Responsive Recipes with Your Students
4:30-6:00 pm
PS 216 Arturo Toscanini
350 Avenue X
Brooklyn, NY
Cook one of the dishes Edible Schoolyard NYC makes with our students and discuss strategies for using cooking to enhance your culturally relevant educational practices. Registration and more information here.
May 22: Next Steps for your School Garden
4:30-6:00 pm
PS 7 Samuel Stern
160 E. 120th Street
New York, NY
For those who already have a garden at their school or site, come get strategies for planning, recruiting and managing volunteers and troubleshooting. Registration and more information here.
May 23: Building Positive Classroom Culture Through Cooking
4:30-6:00 pm
PS 7 Samuel Stern
160 E. 120th Street
New York, NY
Cook an Edible Schoolyard NYC recipe with us and learn how we use cooking to create a positive classroom culture with our students. Registration and more information here.
June 6: Edible Education 101: An Overview of Cooking and Gardening with Kids
9:00-3:00 pm
PS 216 Arturo Toscanini
350 Avenue X
Brooklyn, NY
This full-day workshop features sessions on starting and maintaining your school garden, teaching in a garden setting, cooking with kids and making curricular connections to cooking and gardening. Registration and more information here.
What you’ll do
As a participant in our Professional Development workshops, you’ll learn the tools and curriculum to incorporate gardening and cooking lessons and activities into your own classrooms.
- Learn how to set up a teaching garden and kitchen with the resources available to you
- Dig into our curriculum and learn techniques for managing cooking and gardening with your students
- Learn strategies for increasing parent and community engagement in your gardens and kitchen classrooms
- Network with other educators in NYC to exchange ideas and strategies for kitchen- and garden-based education
- Get P Credit (for NYCDOE teachers and certain courses only)
Who is eligible
Most workshops are open to all types of educators, including public and private school teachers, nonprofit workers, volunteers, community educators — anyone who wants to learn how to bring elements of edible education back to their own sites. We also offer occasional workshops for NYC Department of Education teachers through the After School Professional Development Program (ASPDP).
Ways to learn
Demonstration Site Visits
Observe our classes in action! The Demonstration Schools serve as centers of excellence where we model best practices and methods for a seed-to-table education. To set up a site visit, please contact our Director of Education Liza Engelberg.
Workshops
Workshops can be full-day or just a couple of hours after school. The focus is on specific topics, such as teaching science in the garden or using a seasonal recipe to augment a unit on culture, language, or history. Workshops are a great way to hone your skills or concentrate on making garden and kitchen connections in a particular academic area.
Intensives
We offer two intensives per year: one in the summer and another in spring. The summer intensive is our immersive introduction to edible education in a one-week, 36-hour class for P Credit. The session covers the basics of starting and maintaining a garden and kitchen classroom, teaching techniques, and connections to academic learning. The spring intensive takes place in six two-hour sessions over ten weeks, and offers a more comprehensive overview of edible education. Participants in the spring intensive receive free supplies, site visits, and follow-up support from our staff.
Showcase School Visits
In the fall of 2015, P.S. 216 was named one of twenty-six official Showcase Schools by the NYC Department of Education on the basis of our edible education program. That’s out of 1,800 NYC public schools total! At three official visitations each year — all-day, intensive professional development workshops — large groups of New York City educators can be inspired by our kids, our teachers, and our classes.