Guadalupe’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty through education. They serve 545 children from age 6 weeks to 5 years in the rural community of Immokalee and operates three early childhood centers in this area. Each Center has a children’s learning garden. The gardens provide hands-on teaching and learning activities for faculty and children. Their 2025-26 gardening programs require seed packets, additional fruit trees, children’s gardening tools and soil. As the centers are open year-round and many of the children are there for 8 hour/day the garden projects vary. The gardens act as interactive classrooms and need to be revitalized seasonally to sustain and improve these vital learning environments and keep engagement high. The children develop cognitive, social, and emotional skills while gaining an understanding of plant life cycles, sustainability, and environmental responsibility. Learning gardens provide a rare opportunity to introduce these concepts in a hands-on meaningful way to very young children.
