The GCA Applauds Seed Your Future, Winner of Gamechanger of the Year

July 27, 2018

Horticulture affects everything.

Seed Your Future, a national movement supported by The Garden Club of America and other horticultural groups around the country, is the recipient of the first-ever Gamechanger of the Year Award.

Spearheaded by Longwood Gardens and Ball Horticultural, Seed Your Future is seeking to “change the game” when it comes to how young people view plants. Why is this important?

• Most schools stop teaching plant-based concepts in third grade.
• Most middle schoolers have never heard of the word “horticulture”.
• University and college horticulture programs are being eliminated or consolidated across the country.
• There are 57,500 annual job openings in food, agriculture, natural resources, or the environment every year that remain unfilled.

The campaign is providing educational materials to middle school teachers around the country and highlighting opportunities in plant-related fields including the GCA’s 28 merit-based scholarships. Seed Your Future is making available teacher resources, lesson plans, and activities from Scholastic.

Horticulture affects everything, from the air we breathe, to the food we eat, to the beautiful landscapes and floral arrangements we enjoy. But few youth make this critical connection.

“The Garden Club of America is pleased to be on the front lines – nationally and at the local club level – when it comes to introducing youth to the awe-inspiring potential of the natural world,” said Dede Petri, GCA president.

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