BUGS Programs

Adult Education, "Row by Row" Community Garden Education Series

Starting a community garden isn't difficult, but building a GREAT community garden is a lot of work! Community gardens have been known to come and go with the changing of the seasons.

Starting a community garden isn't difficult, but building a GREAT community garden is a lot of work! Community gardens have been known to come and go with the changing of the seasons. Many that begin a new garden underestimate the amount of work a first year garden takes, and run out of steam in August.
But, in a successful garden, each year the soil more fertile, the workload gets lighter, and the harvest is larger. Most gardeners will not see the entire potential of the garden until the third growing season, so hang in there, the rewards are coming!

Planning a community garden starts in late December or early January. You will develop a plan, decide on your garden model, find a leadership board, find volunteers, create a budget, and you will need to find a space. (Sound like a lot? Don’t worry, BUGS offers an education course that can help with that!) By March, you can start to put your plan into action! 

Winter of 2011/2012 BUGS piloted an adult education course on Community Garden Organization, called Row-by-Row. We will continue Part Two of the the class through an in-garden education series May-September, and offer the in classroom course again starting each fall. 

In Garden Curriculum:
The in garden Row by Row series will begin in May of 2012 and meet the entire growing season. With the collaborative space provided by the Salvation Army, BUGS staff will be able to literally dig in the dirt with students, teaching them successful organic gardening techniques to take their own community garden from seed to harvest. 

Participation will provide each student very important first year community garden upstart experience that they will be able to call upon when they start a community garden of their own. Students will hold key operational roles that will be defined by the Bylaws of the garden (established in part one of the Row by Row series) and they will use their new knowledge to assist in problem solving as issues arise throughout the growing season. Each student will share in the harvest from the garden, offering the rewarded of great tasting produce throughout the growing season.

Classroom Curriculum:
The classroom Row by Row curriculum courses will begin in November of 2012 and will teach individuals how to successfully manage and facilitate a community garden of their own. The curriculum will revolve around the organization and management of the garden and the support that will allow the garden to flourish each year as members join and leave the community space. A lack of a strong organizational structure accounts for the demise of most community garden spaces. 

The course will provide students with a comprehensive handbook to guide them through each lesson and to use as a reference after the course has finished. Following the classroom portion of the Row by Row series, BUGS’s garden coordinator will provide individual consulting and guidance to all students enrolled in the course to help select and negotiate their new community garden space and any needs that they have for the remaining year and growing season. The course meets one evening each month, providing time for the student to work on assignments between class sessions to develop their garden's working documents.

For questions on the Row by Row series, contact Mike Wallace at mike@boiseurbangardenschool.org or by calling 208.891.GROW (4769)

In Garden Row by Row Registration- 

Enrollment Fom PDF

BUGS Summer Program

The BUGS Summer Program takes place for seven weeks, running from June through early August.

The BUGS Summer Program takes place for seven weeks, running from June through early August. Classes are held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 9am to 1:30pm.

The BUGS farm stand is open on Wednesdays, allowing students to experience hands-on participation in its operation. Each day, the students prepare lunches under the supervision of the BUGS culinary director and share the fruits of their labor with the other students and staff.

Upon completion of the BUGS summer program, students are equipped to:

  • Share their new understanding of nutrition, food, and the environment with their communities
  • Start their own organic gardens at home
  • Expand their learnings about gardening, food, nature, and food economy after the program ends
  • Create art and writing inspired by the BUGS experience
  • Develop business ideas that are inspired by the farm stand experience
  • Maintain friendships that started at BUGS
  • Become involved in other community groups/outreach programs that are aligned with the BUGS mission

Who: students ages 10-15

When:
Tues/Wed/Thurs
9am-1:30pm
June 12 – August 2, 2012
(Not in session week of July 5)

Where: 4821 W. Franklin, behind the Wright Congregational Church

Cost: $250 tuition for the seven-week summer program (BUGS actual cost $500)

Payments can be made by check, payable to BUGS or by credit/debit card.
To pay by credit/debit card, contact Erin Guerricabeitia at 208.891.GROW (4769)

For questions on the Summer Program, contact Cass Meissner at cass@boiseurbangardenschool.org or by calling 208.891.GROW (4769)
 

Preferred registration method is online forms

Online Application

Online Scholarship Application

Summer Program Application

Scholarship Application

Full and partial scholarships available.

Spread Your Roots (SYR)

The Spread Your Roots program provides past BUGS students compleating at least two years in our Summer Program the opportunity to expand their knowledge,

The Spread Your Roots program provides past BUGS students compleating at least two years in our Summer Program the opportunity to expand their knowledge, share their passion for sustainable agriculture, and become the leaders, teachers, and builders of new gardens at BUGS.

Each year the program is a based on a self-directed curriculum that is determined by the students in the group. In 2010 SYR students maintained their own individual raised bed and assisted with the larger BUGS garden. Students mentored junior BUGS students, apprenticed with staff and developed their own projects that promote healthy living and sustainable food sources. One day each week the SYR group volunteered at a nearby Head Start to plant and work in the Head Start school garden.

Who: students ages 12-16

When: 2012 - Tuesdays 3:30-5:30 April -June and August-September
Tuesday-Thursday 9am-1:30pm June 12 – August 2
(Not in session week of July 5)

Where: 4821 W. Franklin, behind the Wright Congregational Church

Cost: $300 tuition (BUGS actual cost $850)

Payments can be made by check, payable to BUGS or by credit/debit card.
To pay by credit/debit card, contact Erin Guerricabeitia at 208.891.GROW (4769)

Preferred registration method is online forms

Online Application

Online Scholarship Application

Spread Your Roots Application

Scholarship Application

BUGS "Grow a Row" Introduction to Organic Gardening

Get a basic introduction to organic gardening.

Get a basic introduction to organic gardening. Workshop to include: information on planning and planting your garden, soil composition and composting, and the basics on pest and weed management.

This workshop is intended for adults and youth ages 13+. 

Class meets: April 23rd 4:00-5:30 or April 26th 5:30-7:00

BUGS Garden, Wright Congregational Church

4821 Franklin Road, Boise 83705

Registration is FREE, but please email Mike to let him know that you will be attending. 

mike@boiseurbangardenschool.org
 

Spring/Fall School Workshops

The BUGS in the Schools workshop focuses on small-scale gardening strategies for urban backyards and schools and is offered to classrooms from second through sixth grades

The BUGS in the Schools workshop focuses on small-scale gardening strategies for urban backyards and schools and is offered to classrooms from second through sixth grades. BUGS staff work closely with classroom teachers to align with curricular goals. The four-part workshop series has two distinct components: working with students and teachers at the Boise Urban Garden School’s garden site and at the schools themselves, depending on accessibility to BUGS and teacher goals. The unique series of workshops teaches garden preparation, soil and compost sampling/assessment, seed propagation, planting and garden maintenance within the context of square-foot gardening, container gardening, raised-bed, and traditional row gardening.

For questions on our workshop series, contact Cass Meissner at cass@boiseurbangardenschool.org or by calling 208.891.GROW (4769)

School Partnerships

“Toward an Edible Schoolyard” is a project that partners BUGS with W.H.

“Toward an Edible Schoolyard” is a project that partners BUGS with W.H. Taft Elementary School for academic year 2009-2010. BUGS is working with students in all grade levels at Taft, cooperatively creating an on-site school garden. It is our hope that this school can then serve as a model for other area elementary schools to build their own edible schoolyards in future years.

Students will reconnect to the natural world and be involved in hands-on botany, biology, and environmental science. Children will participate in the process of discovering and understanding where food comes from and, as a result, will take more responsibility for environmental stewardship.