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Market Statement

Preparing the Next Generation of Urban Food and Agriculture Changemakers (Changemakers) is an 8-month leadership and skill-building program to engage urban at-risk teens in community-based food systems education and urban agriculture, centered on social justice and food security. Working collaboratively with Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty and staff and community partners, the Project Team will implement Changemakers in Jersey City and Camden, NJ. The proposed project will empower youth of diverse backgrounds to learn about sustainable local food systems through urban agriculture and by working with and in their communities. This program will be modeled on successful programs that focus on urban agriculture but place a focus on social justice to examine food access, food security, and health disparities. Through culturally responsive teaching, teens will also gain valuable leadership skills as they plan and implement a Food Systems Action Plan and become Changemakers in their communities.

Program Implementation

Preparing the Next Generation of Urban Food and Agriculture Changemakers (Changemakers) is an 8-month leadership and skill-building program to engage urban at-risk teens in community-based food systems education and urban agriculture, centered on social justice and food security. Between December 2023 and November 2024, the Project Planning Team designed and implemented evaluation tools including pre- and post-Common Measures, an internal pre- and post-evaluation test, and a focus group protocol, as well as began the process of assessing the data compiled from these tools. The team, across both sites, also piloted its virtual and in-person curriculum in Spring 2024, welcomed its first-year cohorts, met monthly for coaching sessions with a CYFAR coach, worked with community partners and community sites and implemented its first year of programming. The programming began in May 2024 with online and face-to-face programs relating to food systems, food advocacy, food justice and gardening 101 including soil science and plant science. The intensive part of the program took place in summer 2024 over an 8-week period. Participants in Jersey City collectively completed 750+ hours of service in the garden. Camden youth spent an average of 20 hours per week maintaining multiple community gardens around the city and managing a compost pile at a local high school, collectively contributing 1,600 hours to the community. CAMDEN: In Fall 2023, Camden County 4-H began a partnership with the Neighborhood Collaborative Community Gardens to deliver the Food and Agriculture Changemakers Program to Camden, NJ teens. A part-time employee was hired in winter 2024 and then teens from the Mastery High School Garden Club were recruited to join the program. Fifteen (15) students participated from spring 2024 to Sept. 2024 where they completed online and classroom lessons, followed by an intensive summer maintaining multiple gardens around the city. Fresh produce grown at the gardens was distributed to the community and food banks. Youth also engaged in composting and vermi-composting, with the compost being used in the gardens. A new pocket garden was created on a city lot in May 2024 with the help of 40 volunteers. NCCG also took over the care and management of the rain gardens at Cooper’s Poynt Family School, which is the largest rain garden in Camden. Two important 4-H programs that Camden teens attended was the South Jersey 4-H Teen Conference in May 2024 with nine youth and two chaperones participating in this day-long event at the Monmouth County Park System. Then four Camden teens completed a five-day NJ 4-H STEM Ambassador Program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. They worked directly with a variety of professors involved in STEM by learning about their research, visiting their labs, and taking part in hands-on experiments and activities. The teens learn about the role of a 4-H STEM Ambassador and then create a plan for teaching STEM back in their home communities. At the start of the new school year in September, there was a turn-over of program participants and 11 of the 15 students discontinued their participation. In regrouping for the fall, the remaining students continued their work in maintaining the gardens, creating educational coloring books about the environment, and taking part in numerous community events. They did not complete the post-test since the response rate would be so low and not useful in comparing pre- and post-survey data or complete individual Food Systems Action Plan. Instead, they put all of their efforts in maintaining what the larger group had previously managed. HUDSON: Hudson County 4-H piloted the first year of its Food & Agriculture Changemakers program. Changemakers aimed to empower youth of diverse backgrounds to learn about food systems and food justice through urban agriculture work in their communities while gaining job skills in this field. This program was modeled on successful programs that focused on urban agriculture but placed a focus on social justice to examine food access, food security, and health disparities. In the spring, youth participated in virtual learnings that in the summer transitioned to in-person learnings and field work and learning experiences on site at a RCE Learning Garden at Lincoln Park to gain a deep understanding of food systems, food justice, and action planning while earning job skills in agriculture and experience in action planning. Throughout the summer with the guidance of the program facilitator, youth developed food systems action projects that they presented in November. Upon completion of the program requirements youth will earn their Rutgers Urban Food and Agriculture Changemakers certificate. 12 high school aged youth joined the program from 2 municipalities in Hudson County. At the end of the program, 11 youth completed all program requirements and contributed to a collective 750+ hours of community service in the community garden. All graduated participants created their own community service projects that have been or will be implemented in their communities. Projects included a food scraps cookbook aimed at helping folks to divert food waste by repurposing food scraps, a guide for community gardens on cost-effective and community-centric improvements they can make to ensure their gardens are effective community resources, and more! Across both sites, youth developed new skills in horticulture, urban agriculture, compost, herbalism, and community activism; served their community by supporting the maintenance and food donation of the site; forged new relationships with their peers and adult volunteers; and formed a better understanding of the local food system through lessons, discussions, and individual community service projects.

Community Integration

Staff at each site worked in collaboration with community partners, partner sites, and local organizations as part of the program implementation. The Camden site worked with Neighborhood Collaborative Community Gardens (NCCG) in North Camden, a non-profit organization with 8 years of experience in community-based garden programming and initiatives. Recruitment was conducted with the assistance of NCCG, who already had a strong partnership with Mastery Charter High School and worked with teens in a garden club. These same students became participants in the Food and Agriculture Changemakers Program, completed online and classroom lessons in spring 2024, in preparation for caring for multiple gardens throughout the summer. In conjunction with NCCG, students participated in many community events from a May 2024 garden build on a city-owned lot in Camden to the October 2024 Harvest Fest hosted by NCCG, as well as tabling at the Salvation Army Kroc Center’s 10th Anniversary event. NCCG also collaborates with numerous organizations and agencies across the city, including the Camden Mayor’s Office, Campbell Soup Foundation, Subaru, NJ Tree Foundation, Center for Aquatic Sciences at the Adventure Aquarium, Delaware River Compost, NJ American Water and Camden Community Partnership. Community is at the heart of the program and their long-standing relationships in the city have benefited the Camden County 4-H Program. Before kicking off its virtual sessions, Hudson County focused on recruitment efforts in Hudson County, building relationships with school practitioners and partnering to deliver school-based workshops at key underserved public schools as a way to mediate barriers to entry for youth to apply to the program. We received over 80 applications and received direct feedback from youth on how to make the program marketing more appealing to youth in the area and what incentives may attract the youth we aim to serve. When piloting the program, Hudson welcomed the Jersey City chapter of the Feminist Bird Club to host a birding workshop for youth participants to connect with nature and learn more about birds and their role in the food system. Changemakers tested their knowledge by hosting a group of elementary youth for reflections in the garden with the Changemakers. As part of our commitment to directly address food insecurity in Hudson County, we developed a partnership with Hunger Free UIC, a mobile food pantry in Hudson County. Changemakers harvested produce they grew in the garden on a weekly basis to donate to the pantry.

Technology Integration

A small group of Camden youth participants are involved in managing NCCG’s social media channels, as well as creating educational coloring books about environmental topics. The students develop the topic, research, plan and storyboard each book, then students contribute pages to each book by drawing images in ProCreate. In fall 2024, two youth participants also created a 17-min. video on nearby Petty’s Island and its environmental significance through the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main project. As part of their food systems action projects, all of the Hudson youth participants used technology in the planning phase of their projects and many used technologies in the implementation phase of their projects. Some of the projects included: a food scraps cookbook, a guide for sustainable garden practices, and more. Program participants at Hudson expressed a desire to showcase their projects long-term. We started internal conversations about rolling out a website where Changemakers projects can be featured as part of a larger project to also feature projects that teens in similar programs of ours have worked on and are working on in the community.

Sustaining

We met bi-weekly with our program evaluator to develop an evaluation protocol that assess key indicators of our program that will help us evaluate program effectiveness against other similar programs as part of our larger internal conversations around program sustainability within our team and with our community partners. We are also continually evaluating our "Food Systems Action Plan" toolkit and outline to ensure that youth projects are achievable and our ability to follow up with youth on their progress is possible and sustainable. Sustainability planning for the Camden site is focused on securing additional funding, continued partnership building, and tapping into local resources. Additional multi-year funds are sought through state and federal sources with NCCG submitting grants every few months with Camden County 4-H as a key partner. NCCG also participates in the Camden Summer Youth Employment Program annually, which allows for 10 Camden youth to engage in workforce development skill-building through urban gardening. A modified version of the program will be piloted at a Camden high school in Spring 2025 where the students will be taught the basic curriculum on food systems and food justice and then hydroponic units will be used to grow tomatoes and basil. The chemistry teacher and advisor of the school’s Knowledge Club will manage the systems and work with students who are club members.

Short-Term Results

• Teens will demonstrate an increased interest in social justice issues in their community.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 20

  2. Evaluation Type used: Surveys pre- and post-participation; staff observation; focus groups. Two groups (total 9 participants) were held to accommodate participant availability.

  3. When was it given or conducted? Pre-test: 5/10-5/31/2024. Post-test:11/15-11/20/2025. Focus groups: 12/3/2025 and 12/15/2025.

  4. Analysis The survey data analysis includes the pre-test data for Camden, and both pre-test and post-test data for Jersey City. Sources are the focus group data and the surveys, specifically, 3 survey questions: I would like my school cafeteria to serve more fresh foods grown by local farmers; I have helped with a community service project that relates to the environment or gardening. (For example: planted trees or garden, road or stream clean-up, recycling or composting); I care about the natural environment around me. The questions were scored based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The survey data was analyzed using SPSS Version 29.0.

  5. Findings For Camden, there were 7 responses to the first question, and 6 responses to the second and third questions. For all three, the median response was 5.0. For Jersey City, there were 9 responses to the pre-test and 6 responses to the post-test. For each of these, the median response changed from 5 to 4.5.

  5. Implications The post-survey data demonstrated very little change (0.5 on the 5-point scale). Given that the median started at the highest point, the questions themselves may not have been sufficiently sensitive to examine short-term changes in perspectives towards social justice.

• Teens will complete training and develop skills in basic plant science, crop planning, and urban agriculture. 

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 20

  2. Evaluation Type used: Staff observation; focus groups. Two groups (total 9 participants) were held to accommodate participant availability.

  3. When was it given or conducted? Focus groups: 12/3/2025 and 12/15/2025.

  4. Analysis The sources are the curriculum, program participation, and focus group data. The focus group data was coded, using two co-coders, in NVIVO 15, using preset codes and allowing for the addition of new codes. The co-coders met to review coding and resolve any differences.

  5. Findings The curriculum topics were: plant science 101, soil and compost 101, gardening 101, food justice topics, composting, native plant identification and research, planting and harvesting activities, crop planning/succession planning, square foot garden bed planning, food anthropology and food roots. The food roots exploration consisted of youth exploring their cultures’ foods and presenting research on a crop of cultural significance to them, including the cultural, spiritual and religious meanings behind the crops. Most youth brought foods from their culture as part of their presentations so we got to try such foods as Nigerian hibiscus tea, and smell and touch different Indian spices. This activity allowed participants to share about themselves and learn about each other. Focus group findings: participants commented that they were impressed with how much time and effort went into taking care of plants (“It’s not as easy as it seems”), the value of sistering/companion planting, ways to use vegetables and medicinal plants, the steps and value of composting. Participants said that they found these things meaningful because growing your own food could be more sustainable, and could improve health and food access, so it is something that everyone should know how to do to improve access to fresh food that is different than the food in the supermarket. Plants are the basis for many medicines. Composting reduces waste and uses that waste for something beneficial. A participant commented, “I feel like people should just learn about vegetables and plants in general so that we can have a more sustainable future and it’s better for the environment.”

  5. Implications Participants were exposed to a wide variety of topics on agriculture and the combination of virtual and in-person classrooms, hands-on demonstrations, and interactive cultural presentations reinforced the learnings and accommodated multiple learning styles and preferences. Focus group discussions with participants revealed multiple aspects of agriculture that participants learned about, and that they absorbed into their own self-images as practices that are important to them individually and that they are capable of performing. They see these practices as important and beneficial to their communities and to the broader society.

• Teens will begin participating in county and state 4-H program events and activities. (opportunities to belong)

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 20

  2. Evaluation Type used: Staff observation. Discussed minimally in focus groups. Two groups (total 9 participants) were held to accommodate participant availability.

  3. When was it given or conducted? Ongoing staff observation; focus groups 12/3 and 12/15/2024.

  4. Analysis This analysis is based solely on the Jersey City participants. The primary source is staff observation. During the focus groups, a few participants mentioned other agricultural education programs.

  5. Findings STAFF OBSERVATION: Youth completed their food systems action project plan presentations in November, at which point many were well into the implementation stage of their projects. Six students presented completed projects, 3 presented projects for implementation during the school year, and 2 presented projects that have no end date. Our goal with this program is to teach the skills involved in project planning (budgeting, building coalitions, etc.). We do not pose the project as something that needs to be completed in order to successfully graduate the program - we only require that a project plan be completed, thus, most exceeded this goal. Students going the extra mile and actually completing or implementing their projects in the community indicates to us that these youth developed the confidence, leadership, and knowledge to feel good about delivering their projects. FOCUS GROUPS: One participant mentioned being a STEM Ambassador for Rutgers 4-H, another mentioned having been involved in 4-H. Another noted receiving the 4-H newsletter. It is unclear whether all of this activity was prior to participating in Changemakers.

  5. Implications Our perception is that Changemakers participation helps youth feel empowered and motivated to participate actively in the community beyond the point of program deliverables or incentives received. For example, 6 students completed projects which we did not ask them to complete but only to plan. Others are continuing to actively work on their projects. That more than half completed their project is evidence of the program’s ability to support and encourage youth development.

Long-Term Results

• Teens will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of urban agriculture and sustainable local food systems.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 20

  2. Evaluation Type used: Surveys pre- and post-participation; staff observation; focus groups. Two groups (total 9 participants) were held to accommodate participant availability.

  3. When was it given or conducted? Pre-test: 5/10-5/31/2024. Post-test:11/15-11/20/2025. Focus groups: 12/3/2025 and 12/15/2025.

  4. Analysis The survey data analysis includes the pre-test data for Camden, and both pre-test and post-test data for Jersey City. Sources are the focus group data and the surveys, specifically, 5 survey questions: I know where my food is grown; It is good to eat foods grown near where I live because it does not waste as much gas from transporting the food; I feel that food waste is bad for the environment; I could teach someone else something about gardening; and I know about the natural environment around me. The survey data was analyzed using SPSS Version 29.0. The focus group data was coded, using two co-coders, in NVIVO 15, using preset codes and allowing for the addition of new codes. The co-coders met to review coding and resolve any differences.

  5. Findings For Camden, there were 7 responses to the first three questions, and 6 responses to the final two questions. The medians were 5.0 for the first four questions, and 4.5 for the fifth question. For Jersey City, for the first question, “I know where my food is grown,” there were 9 responses to the pre-test and 8 to the post test. The median was 3.0 in both the pre- and the post-test. For the remaining 4 questions, there were 9 responses to the pre-test and 6 responses to the post-test. For the question: “I know about the natural environment around me,” the median changed from 5 to 4. For the other three questions, the median response changed from 5 to 4.5. For each of these, the median response changed from 5 to 4.5. FOCUS GROUPS: The necessary planning and responsibility of tending plants taught one participant that “I never thought I would be able to do that…that was something I really learned about myself that I could keep a schedule and consistently water the plants, consistently take care.” Others commented on the multiple benefits of herbs for medicines, flavoring food, and scent. Another noted becoming more aware of habitats and pollinators: “When you decide to notice stuff more, you’d see all these habitats…if you actually look at it [the butterfly], you see how it’s going from flower to flower, trying to pollinate everything.” On the benefits of composting, a participant commented that it’s, “meaningful because it gives me another way for me to get rid of certain stuff in my household, but it'll pretty much pull in and cause damage to the environment. Now there's, there'll be times where there'll be food left over that one part of me would want me to throw it out. The other part of me doesn’t want it to end up on a landfill or end up in the street finally. So the composting, I have a way to get rid of the crop, but also give it back to the environment.” Another wants to bring composting to their school because composting, ”helps the environment, and how it can, like, cut down on food waste. It just really made me think that this is something that I'd like, I'm interested in, something that I want to do with my free time, and like [co-participant] and I like, as I said in my presentation, like we're trying to start a club, like at our school on composting.”

  5. Implications It appears that participants’ neutrality regarding the statement, “I know where my food is grown,” did not change from the pre- to the post-test. For the remaining questions, given that the median started at the highest point, the questions themselves may not have been sufficiently sensitive to examine changes in participant attitudes. Participants’ focus group comments illustrate a range of agricultural topics they learned about, including planting and the importance of diligent plant care, composting, and pollinators. The youth action projects also demonstrate a level of youth knowledge and understanding as these projects were all aimed at making a direct impact in their local food system. It appears that they foresee continuing to apply what they have learned regarding urban agriculture.

• Teens will practice collective leadership to enable change in their community by expanding food access/ addressing food insecurity.

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 20

  2. Evaluation Type used: Staff observation; showcase/projects; surveys; focus groups

  3. When was it given or conducted? Staff observation: ongoing. Presentations on student projects (11/15/2024). Focus groups: 12/3/2025 and 12/15/2025 (total 9 participants). Surveys: Pre-test: 5/10-5/31/2024. Post-test:11/15-11/20/2025.

  4. Analysis Staff observation is based on notes regarding participation. The focus group data was coded, using two co-coders, in NVIVO 15, using preset codes and allowing for the addition of new codes. The co-coders met to review coding and resolve any differences. The survey data was analyzed using SPSS Version 29.0. The survey analysis is based on the following questions: In the program, I can make a difference in the life of at least one person; In the program, I can make a difference in my community; I am able to work with a team to accomplish team goals; and Over the next couple of years, how likely is it that you will be involved in volunteer work or community service? These are all coded on a 5-point Likert scale. The first three questions are based on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The fourth question is based on a scale of 1 (very unlikely) to 5 (very likely).

  5. Findings All of the youth food system action projects were aimed at making direct impacts in their local food system. Each individual youth or group designed a project plan to address something in the food system that they feel strongly about such as food waste reduction, urban food access, or native plants. The number of youth who successfully implemented their project plans and are in the process of implementing their project plans, indicates that a high level of youth participants in this cohort practiced leadership in their community by addressing a food systems issue. SURVEY: In Camden, there were 7 responses to all four questions, and the median was 5.0 for all four. In Jersey City, there were 9 responses to the pre-test and 6 responses to the post-test. On the first two questions listed, there was zero change, with the medians at 5 and 4.5 respectively at pre- and post-test. On the second two questions, both responses fell 0.5 points, both from a median of 5 to a median of 4.5. FOCUS GROUPS: participants commented that they believed their participation had benefited the community through the harvesting and sharing of food, and by the work they are planning to teach others about accessing healthy foods and sustainability. One explained, “we harvested [food for] the community, and obviously in our Changemakers presentation, we did like a cookbook, me and my friend [name], I feel like our connection with the community has grown because we've seen like, what other of our peers did and what we've done. And I feel like we if we could do that just in our community, we could do that in like, a broader scale.” Another noted, “we harvested and we gave back to the community… I don't think I've really done anything like that in the past, like, gave back to the community. I don't think I've done this, so I feel like this, like this program helped me, like, gave me an opportunity. Another noted, “I volunteered in the past, but it wasn't like, I didn't make a project, per se, like, this project was, like, bigger than anything I've ever done before and it's like, it could have potentially affect [the community].” One said, “something that I will never forget, it's kind of the ability to give back to everyone. So I think that was really cool being able to plant, and then at the end, like those results, whatever we planted, they were, they were able to be given to other people. So I think that was really cool, because then I can also learn that within my own community to do the same to help other people as well who don't have enough resources to buy fresh crops.” Another described the impact: “I think it had on personally is like, I guess it kind of helped me get more like, be more willing to try out things that I never thought I would be like into before, like farming and stuff. I don't think before this, I wouldn’t, like, probably try to do it. Then, after Changemakers, I’m probably more willing to go to a community garden now and help around or, like, sign up for another program dealing with farming.”

  5. Implications While the survey responses were all highly positive at both pre- and post-survey, the survey questions may not have been sensitive enough to capture any change. However, the focus group data and presentations reveal numerous examples of how participants expect that the program will have repercussions in their own approaches to food access and sustainability.

• Teens will be integrated into the 4-H program, exhibit increased leadership and personal development skills. 

  1. How many participated in the evaluation? 20

  2. Evaluation Type used: Staff observation; showcase/projects; focus groups.

  3. When was it given or conducted? Project presentation (11/15/2024). Pre-test: 5/10-5/31/2024. Post-test:11/15-11/20/2025. Focus groups 12/3 and 12/15/2025 (total 9 participants).

  4. Analysis Staff notes and records were reviewed to summarize youth integration into the 4-H program. The focus group data was coded, using two co-coders, in NVIVO 15, using preset codes and allowing for the addition of new codes. The co-coders met to review coding and resolve any differences. The survey data was analyzed using SPSS Version 29.0. The survey analysis is based on the following 3 questions: In the program, if I lead the way, my friends outside the program will get involved in making changes in our community; I am able to communicate effectively; and I am able to make friends with people who are different from me. These were all scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

  5. Findings Camden youth participants were enrolled in the Food and Agriculture Changemakers 4-H Club as part of the Camden County 4-H Program. Nine Camden youth participated in the South Jersey 4-H Teen Conference in May 2024 and four Camden youth completed the 5-day NJ 4-H STEM Ambassador Program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. At Hudson, we opened up the opportunity for two Changemakers to come back for this year and serve in this year’s cohort as youth mentors. We will be joined by two former participants who will co-mentor youth. One youth will be the garden co-mentor who supports the program associate in teaching youth participants garden lessons and tasks. One youth will be the action plan co-mentor who supports the program associate in mentoring youth and supporting them as they identify what issue they want to address and all aspects of the project plan as well as inviting former Changemakers to present to this cohort about their project plans. At Hudson, we are inviting Changemakers to Earth Day as well as Youth Urban Farm Club. We have also had Changemakers join our Teen Council. SURVEYS: In Camden, there were 7 responses to all three questions, and the median response was 5.0 for each of the three. In Jersey City, there were 9 responses to the pre-test and 6 responses to the post-test. All three questions scored at the highest point on the pretest, and they all decreased, by 1.0, 0.5, and 0.5, respectively. FOCUS GROUPS: several participants commented on the personal development impacts of being a Changemaker. Benefits include the daily routine of gardening work: “Changemakers helped me, you know, set like discipline for myself and it just, you know, helped me have that routine in place.” Others noted that they learned responsibility: “it's also taught me like, because this is like, kind of like the first job setting, I guess you could say I've been in. So it's taught me like responsibility and, like, commitment as well.” Some noted that they identified a soothing aspect to the work, potentially useful for future stress management: “taking care of the garden was, like, meaningful to me, because it was honestly just like, really, like therapeutic. Just like being surrounded by, like, all these different plants that I'm like helping to take care of, and it was like, different from all the stuff that I normally do in my everyday life, because it's, like, really fast-paced. But just like being able to, like water the plants and stuff, it was really calming and relaxing.” Increased confidence: “I would say being in Changemakers is has made me more confident with talking to people and basically, more willing to try out a program I didn't know anything beforehand.” Exposure to agricultural education has increased knowledge and self-assuredness: “personally, I feel like I'm a lot more able and a lot more willing after this program to kind of explore stuff in agriculture, animal science. Now, if I were, say, we were to go to another program, I feel like I would carry a lot more experience and knowledge with me.” Participation has increased participant comfort in trying something new on their own: “It pushed me to put myself in more positions to try new things, especially things that my friends weren't doing…despite, like, not having people that I knew there, I was still able to, like, make friends. So it was nice to put myself in a situation where I don't really know people, and I was able to make friends. So I was pushing to try new things.” A few commented specifically that Changemakers had helped them to improve their social anxiety: “I had like a bit of social anxiety to be with people that I don't know…it was still that aspect of, you know, new people being there, and it's like a whole new place, because I live a bit far from the place Lincoln Park that we’re supposed to go. So it was kind of good for me to step out of my comfort zone, and that helped me grow as a person more so now I'm more eager to, you know, meet new people, talk to them, and, you know, show my skills.” Another said that talking with others about the program is, “something I can use to kind of break my, you know, social anxiety and talk to people you know more about gardening and you know how everything works. And now that I'm educated in this…I can get a lot more closer and have more, I guess, context of, you know, meeting with people."

  5. Implications As the survey responses were all highly positive at both pre- and post-survey, the survey questions may not have been sensitive enough to capture any change. However, the focus group data and presentations reveal numerous examples of increased personal development and leadership skills.