Green Teen Community Gardening

The Green Teen program empowers urban youth to be effective community change-agents by immersing them in the local food system. This youth development program teaches life and work skills through hands-on experiences in farming and gardening, health and nutrition, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

We are best known for our paid youth programs where we hire teenagers to grow food in the Green Teen Gardens, sell that food through Common Greens, our Mobile Farmers Market with Common Ground Farm and learn to cook using the food we grow. We hire for this program three times a year- Spring, Summer and Fall. Applications are released on our Facebook page in February, May and September.

During the school year, Green Teen also holds programs during school where participants grow plants and vegetables in their classrooms and learn about various parts of the food system from pollination to bed preparation.

This past year was of course a little different. Since the shutdown from COVID -19 in March 2020 we were designated essential workers and have been out in our gardens growing food for our local community

Program Activities

In the past year, the Green Teen program provided Beacon teens with vocational training, education related to the food system, and a wide range of life-enhancing opportunities.

• Planted, harvested, and maintained 3 urban gardens;
• Due to COVID-19, we turned our Mobile Market into a Free Farm Stand for the community. We donated over 1,200 pounds of produce in addition to Common Ground Farm’s donation of 2,822 pounds of produce;
• Helped set up and staff local food drives and pantries;
• Held space for Community Circles every week to have safe and open discussions about oppression in the U.S., consent, race, family, and communication;
• Visited Common Ground Farm to help the farmers plant garlic and expose the Green Teens to their local farm;
• Worked with Jean Brennan and Laura Sansone on a workshop called With Flying Colors, to design, dye, assemble, and install handmade flags in a public space. During the workshops, we explored the theme of governance, our affinities and communities and why they matter to us, and how to activate the public around an issue we care about using visual language;
• Formed a book club and read Spirit Run by Noé Álvarez to each other over zoom.

Follow the Green Teen Program on Facebook! 

Last updated March 3, 2021