Being provided an opportunity to work in a rural community in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky where an economy is heavily reliant on the timber and coal mining industries, and where nearly 25% of families fall well below the poverty line. I have jumped on board with an amazing program called Plant, Grow and Learn. Working in conjunction with several entities around the community including Tri County Childhood Council, Save the Children, Whitley County Family Resource Program I have been able to present a variety of basic gardening skills to numerous families at Whitley East Elementary School. 

     The goal of the Plant, Grow and Learn Program is to help families with food security, building educational readiness and more agricultural awareness within our community. Plant, Grow and Learn is currently working with 25+ Families with a child or children who are enrolled in school at Whitley East Elementary. These families were provided the materials to construct a 4'x8' Raised Bed Garden at their home, gardening tools for both parent and child to efficiently work the beds, numerous books related to growing fruits and vegetables, a gardening journal and various cooking supplies for children. The best part, all of this was provided at absolutely zero cost to the families that are participating. This home gardening project is designed to help families grow their own fruits and vegetables while engaging in early literacy activities. When gardening in a rural setting, it tends to be much harder for families to access the possibility of a community garden. With this thought in mind, we thought it would be beneficial to families in our community if we brought the garden to them. On top of this, the Whitley County Extension Service provides a monthly gardening class to all the families participating on topics such as Planning a Garden, Planting a Garden, Maintaining a Garden, Preserving the Garden, Seed Saving and much more. All of these activities are completed by parent/caregiver and child side by side. 

     This program has been a huge success for me working as the county horticulture agent. I have been granted the opportunity to work with awesome families within my home community and truly be able to Plant little pieces of knowledge to them and watch them Grow and Learn. This program will continue throughout the remainder of the year and we hope to continue with bigger, better things in the future.