Founded in 1996, Gardens for Humanity has worked for ecological education to help give our children and all members of our community the values, tools and experiences needed to seek and regain balance with the natural world.

Many of the projects that we began in 2011 will continue to grow and expand. We invite you to choose a team for which you have a passion and become a part of it, either in a leadership or volunteer capacity.

2012 Action Teams:

Spring Planting Festival
School Gardens
Youth Green Team
Community Gardens
Public Gardens
Art and Environmental Education
Events
Demonstration Gardens
Fundraising
Volunteer Coordinator

To get involved in our projects, or to find out more, either email or fill out a volunteer information sheet.

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2011 Highlights

Events

Planting Healing Trees - February 14

In response to the shootings in Tucson January 8, 2011 in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was critically wounded and several people were killed, we joined with other groups to plant healing trees throughout Arizona on Statehood Day (February 14). Trees were planted at the Creative Life Center, Red Rock High School and West Sedona School in Sedona, and at the Cottonwood Community Garden in Cottonwood.

2011 Spring Planting Festival - March 12 to March 20

The Festival presented more than 25 activities: workshops, cultural events, food and garden expos, films, and forums. On Sunday, March 13, two of the world's leading visionaries of the local food and permaculture movements, Gary Paul Nabhan, PhD and Toby Hemenway, set the stage for the week's activities with the keynote address, From Land to Mouth − Connecting People to Place, Taste and Story.

An Earth Lover's Rendezvous About Hope and Solutions - May 29

An afternoon of Music, Book Debuts, Poetry and Speakers on "Respecting and Restoring the Earth and Creating Community." The event at the Sedona Creative Life Center, celebrated the publication of Our Sacred Garden — The Living Earth, by Gardens for Humanity founder Adele Seronde and the book by Sedona chef, Lisa Dahl, The Elixir of Life.

Earth Cups - August 13

Gardens for Humanity partnered with a variety of local artists to create Earth Cups an event held at the Sedona Arts Center. The funds raised through the sale of the hand-crafted and hand-painted cups helped provide seed money to establish and develop school garden and art programs.

School Gardens

West Sedona Middle School

We worked with Principal Dr. Lisa Hirsch and staff at West Sedona Middle School to develop a curriculum for an Exploratory Gardening class that teaches the skills and fundamentals of gardening, nutrition, and environmental awareness. We also helped develop a middle school garden plot. This program provides a context to apply learning within their Health and Science curriculum.

Youth Garden Grant Award

Our program at West Sedona Elementary School was selected from over 1,200 kid's gardening programs from all across the country as a winner of the 2011 Youth Garden Grant from the National Gardening Association. The grant was used to build a tool shed for the school garden.

Sedona Red Rock High School

By summer vacation the new garden had been planted and already many crops were bearing food. The students learned about preparing them and they even had a surplus that they donated to families in need.

Developing more school gardens in Sedona and the Verde Valley

In conjunction with our Art in Earth art and environmental education project we are assisting schools to develop school gardens. Sedona Charter School, Oak Creek Elementary School, Camp Verde Elementary School, and Desert Star Community School are all in the process of developing or expanding their school gardens.
Gardens for Humanity is working with the Fit Kids of Northern Arizona Health Care and the Verde Food Council as core partners in a grant to develop a gardening and nutrition program in all Cottonwood schools. This potential project would greatly impact the growth and awareness of local and healthy food choices.

Community Gardens

St. John Vianney Community Garden

Begun on Mitzvah Day 2009 as a "Three Sisters Garden" and expanded in 2010, this garden has continued to grow in 2011, with more gardeners and more diversity of crops. A harvest party was held in September featuring produce from the garden. The SJV garden coordinators, Teri Bays and Roger Kreml, have organized resources and created a beautiful community garden, with the assistance of Gardens for Humanity.

Tranquil Community Garden

We worked with the Verde Food Council this past year to develop a community garden in Sedona. After working with the City without success, the community in the Harmony Hills area has come together with a plan for a garden on land currently owned by the Wesleyan Church to begin in 2012.

Art and Environmental Education

Art Education

Gardens for Humanity sponsors artist Nancy Robb Dunst, our art education coordinator, who develops programs in our schools to teach kids valuable lessons of ecology and life-cycle through art. We also sponsor her Eco-art summer camp, Camp Bear Wallow.

Celebrating the Art in Earth

With partial funding from a grant by the Arizona Commission on the Arts we are providing for five artists to teach three hours each month at six schools in our region. Not only are children gaining the artistic experience of observing and creating nature-inspired art, they are also learning the values of appreciation and stewardship of the environment.

Highlights & Accomplishments 2010 >

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"Gardeners
of THe Spirit"
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2009
Visionary Awardees >

2012 Action Teams:

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2011 Highlights