Growing Together: Open Forum

How do you measure the impact of a summer gardening program in your setting?
I'm seeking guidance on how to assess the effectiveness and impact of my gardening program. I work with children in residential treatment facilities, where there are significant restrictions and frequent changes in attendance. Since I don't have information on where the children go after their time in our program, I'm struggling to determine how to measure long-term impact, particularly with foster care youth and those in residential treatment. Any advice or strategies would be greatly appreciated! Input on how you track impact is also helpful :) 
Thank you!

Kalie - I love the name, and mission, of your org! I am in my 8th year of working in program, and now as ED, of a 20-year school garden support org. As much as I would love to track and share long-term impact, am in some what of the same position because we don't know what students do at home or after elementary school. I think that reliable data on what we are doing is the most valuable thing we can provide. Here are some of the metrics that I can share with donors and partners:

• number of garden visits per student
• minutes spent in the garden per student over the season
• number of servings sent home with students (or number of things tasted or consumed on site)
• pounds of food donated to food banks or taken home by volunteers over the summer
• number of volunteers and volunteer hours per season/year
• number of teachers/adults who engage with the garden per season/year
• number of people (adults) trained in ecologically-sound gardening practices per season/year
• trends in these numbers over the seasons/years

The structure of our program (16-19 elementary schools per year) means that we're using teacher signups plus school enrollment numbers to calculate much of this data. This stuff may be pretty obvious, but maybe not! I wish you all the best in your awesome endeavors!

Lindsey LeCuyer

Garden to Table

Boulder Valley, CO

Since long-term tracking isn't possible, maybe focus on short-term impact-things like engagement levels, changes in mood, or how they interact with the garden over time. You could use simple observation notes, quick reflection sheets, or even photos of their progress with plants. If possible, getting feedback from staff on any behavioral or emotional changes could also be helpful. Even small wins, like a child showing pride in something they've grown, can be a huge impact! Would love to hear what's worked for others too.