We chat with Sunday Harrison, the founder and executive director of Green Thumbs Growing Kids, a Toronto non-profit organization that provides hands-on garden and food education to urban school children.

How it Started

Harrison says that she started the program as an after-school program in a local Toronto park, but after hearing students say, “I really want a garden at my school,” she began to partner with local schools.

Now in its twenty-first year of operation, the program has grown to include placements for post-secondary students, many of whom get their first exposure to gardening.

Her top tip for those thinking of starting a program: “Start small and do it well.” She says that this attracts other people.

Sunday Harrison, Executive Director of Green Thumbs Growing Kids

The Disconnect between Gardens and the School Year

She finds that one of the key challenges with school gardens is that there is a disconnect between the school year and summer gardening season. That means that there is often nobody to look after school gardens over the summer.

Green Thumbs partners with community organizations over the summer so that the gardens are in continuous use.

On Garden Education

Harrison feels that the education system places a lot of emphasis on memorization. Having gardens rounds out the education experience because gardens teach students how to observe.