After-School Environmental Programs at Community Centers
Keep Alachua County Beautiful volunteers run lessons for children as part of the Southwest Advocacy Group program, a nonprofit after-school program for underserved children in southwest Gainesville and in the Porters Community. Approximately eight youths participate each week of the nine-week long program, for a total of 72 youths participating.
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KACB is partnering with the Strong Roots Movement to address food security issues within the Gainesville community. Strong Roots Movement has already established a youth garden at the Porters Community Center. The garden is tended during the after-school program at Porters where the children learn about nutrition and the connection between food production and environmental quality. The leaders of this project, Merina Ingram, Shannon Regan, and Teagan Milford all possess agriculture-related academic backgrounds.
Our Keep SWAG Beautiful program has two primary components. First, we teach the children about key facets of environmental science, including pollution, energy use, native ecology, natural processes, and why environmental stewardship matters for their lives and worlds. Second, the students apply this through hands-on experience, including craft making, art making, and outdoor cleanup service.
