Global Gardens is a community gardening program available to resettled adult refugees living in Kansas City, MO. Started in 2012, the program is unique in that it provides ongoing individual education and interpretation services to growers with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), many of whom are acclimating to a new cultural and environmental landscape. Program participants are provided use of land, water, seeds, and plant starts at community gardening sites in the Lykins and Indian Mound neighborhoods, maintained by Global Gardens staff. These sites act as a low-risk training ground for participants to learn about how community gardens operate, how to maximize limited space for planting, the types of produce that grow and thrive in the KCMO climate, and how to utilize local community gardening resources. Global Gardens empowers refugees to capitalize upon their existing agricultural experience for use in an urban environment, providing opportunities for growers to increase household and community access to fresh vegetables in community gardens repurposed from vacant lots.

Global Gardens aims to increase household access to affordable fresh vegetables among newly resettled refugee individuals living in the Historic Northeast of Kansas City, Missouri. Program participants are provided use of land, water, seeds, and plant starts at community gardening sites in the Lykins and Indian Mound neighborhoods, maintained by Global Gardens staff.

During the course of the program, growers receive ongoing education and support from staff and interpreters, reducing language and cultural barriers that have historically limited refugee access to community gardening engagement. The Global Gardens curriculum focuses on increasing refugee growers’ skills in community and household gardening, utilizing a garden-based learning theory of education, and implementing participatory, learner-centered assessment techniques. The curriculum empowers growers to take the lead in their learning experience and increase connection to and responsibility for their physical environment.

Additionally, Global Gardens aims to increase participant knowledge of how to access local community gardening resources in Kansas City. Each growing season, participants are connected to Kansas City Community Gardens (KCCG), a non-profit that seeks to assist low-income households to produce vegetables from garden plots in backyards and community sites. Global Gardens participants receive membership information and introduction to the seed and plant ordering process, and practice using this resource during the course of the program, building individual self-sufficiency in navigating the process, and increasing likelihood of utilizing KCCG in future.

Global Gardens began in 2012 as a partnership with 5 refugee individuals and has expanded to include the education and enrollment of up to 40 growers during its busiest season. Grower produce is harvested and shared among households in the local refugee community, increasing access to affordable, healthy food. In 2020, amidst an active pandemic, Global Gardens adapted programming to accommodate 11 growers, who harvested over 1,395 lbs of produce shared among their households and community members. Gardeners reported gratitude for the opportunity to leave their homes and spend time outdoors in a safe place during a time when doing so was incredibly limited among the general population. Global Gardens also used this opportunity to provide growers with COVID-19 public health education, prevention recommendations, masks, gloves, and detergent during a time when many were uncertain of how to access reliable health information or supplies. Supplemental gardening curriculum has also contributed to expanding refugee knowledge about eating for nutrition and where to access community gardening support.