Mid-Atlantic Regional Garden-based Learning Summit

Passionate about garden-based learning? Eager to build community with other organizations and advocates in the garden-based education field? The 2027 Mid-Atlantic Regional Garden-based Learning Summit is beginning to take root - sign up below to be the first to know! To learn more about the history and outcomes of the Regional Summit, scroll down to read through the 2025 and 2023 Summit recaps.

If you are interested in joining the planning team as an Advisory Committee member or as a Host Site, information on how to apply will be shared in Summer 2026. For folks looking to attend as a Facilitator-Attendee or General Attendee, keep an eye out for a Save the Date in Fall 2026; the application window for attendees will open in early 2027.

Questions about the Summit can be directed to Jillian Fan, Resources and Trainings Manager at City Blossoms: jillian@cityblossoms.org

2025 Regional Garden-based Learning Summit Recap:

Wow, what an incredible week in Baltimore, Maryland at Great Kids Farm! The 2025 Regional Garden-Based Learning Summit, made possible with critical support from the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation and the United States Botanic Garden, and planning support from the SGSO Network and Great Kids Farm, was overflowing with community-centered energy, inspiring conversations, and so much shared learning. It was truly special to see both familiar faces and new ones from across the region come together to connect and celebrate the impact of our collective work.

We are thrilled to share that over our two-day event, we hosted 119 attendees representing 64 organizations and entities from across the Mid-Atlantic region including, DC, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. This marks an exciting increase from our 2023 summit, which welcomed 54 attendees from 34 organizations.

The summit provided an opportunity to deepen community and connections, share resources and best practices, and be inspired by the incredible work happening across our region, all with the goal of enhancing garden-based learning opportunities for children and youth.

Key outcomes of the 2025 Summit included:

  • Increased connection among garden-based learning professionals in the Mid-Atlantic. Following the Summit, nearly all (98%) of survey respondents felt significantly more connected with a network of colleagues in the Mid-Atlantic region. Collectively, attendees placed high value on the opportunities to connect and dialogue with their peers.

    • “I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have it be regionally based. There is an intimacy in sharing work with others who ‘get’ where we live making it an especially enriching experience and leads to keeping in closer contact with those who are located nearby.” - 2025 attendee

  • Increased awareness of resources and garden-based learning programs in the Mid-Atlantic. Following the Summit, all (100%) of survey respondents felt more aware of the work of other garden-based learning programs and resources to support them in the Mid-Atlantic.

    • “Learning about work being done by other people is always so inspiring. Because in the day to day work of what is on our own work load we can sometimes fall short in taking time to learn other best practices. But certainly it is a priority to learn and share and grow without being in a silo.” - 2025 attendee

  • Increased inspiration among garden-based learning professionals in the Mid-Atlantic. Following the Summit, 100% of survey respondents agreed that they felt inspired by the work happening in the Mid-Atlantic garden-based learning community and left with ideas that they could put into action in the coming year.

    • “This event was so well curated. I left with new skills,  a new network of colleagues and most of all inspired.” - 2025 attendee

  • High satisfaction among Summit attendees. Following the Summit, 100% of survey respondents stated that they felt welcome and included at the Summit, the content was relevant to their interests and priorities, presenters demonstrated expertise, and they would recommend the Summit to a colleague.

    • “The energetic inviting environment of the container really stood out. While it was one 1.5 days long, the way everything was presented fostered an environment to build deep connection” - 2025 attendee

Gratitude: The 2025 Summit was planned with the input of a Core Planning Committee and an Advisory Committee. The Core Planning Committee includes Lyndsey Waugh and Erika Karner (Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation), Emily Hestness (United States Botanic Garden), Tristana Pirkl and Daniel Barrera Ortega (SGSO Network), Laura Menyuk and Laura Genello (Great Kids Farm), and Willa Pohlman, Jillian Fan, and Rafael Woldeab (City Blossoms). The Advisory Committee composed of the following individuals and organizations: Ashley Rattanawan (School Garden Educator, DC), Ronnie Webb (The Green Scheme, DC), Carlos Duque (Amazing Life Games Preschool, DC), Jennifer Cipolla (Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids, DE), Shandra Furtado (The SNAC Garden Foundation, DE), and Juan Pablo Echeverria (Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, VA). Primary funding partners which make the 2025 Regional Garden-based Learning Summit possible include the United States Botanic Garden and Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation!

Want to create a summit of your own? Click here to find out how to do it! 

City Blossoms, in partnership with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and the United States Botanic Garden created a toolkit that captures the planning, reflection, and learning that led to a pilot Regional Garden-based Learning Summit for the Mid-Atlantic region. It provides a collection of resources created at various stages throughout the project, including:

  • Getting Started: Offers guidance on determining your Summit’s purpose, goals, and audience; creating an evaluation plan; building a planning team; conducting a needs assessment; and considering funding sources and a timeline.

  • Shaping the Summit: Discusses creating and reviewing attendee applications; communicating with registrants and assessing their needs and interests; creating a Summit agenda; and managing event logistics. 

  • Implementation: Provides an overview of activity ideas to engage Summit participants and discusses run-of-show best practices. 

  • Follow-up: Suggests ways to follow up with participants after your Summit and communicate publicly about your Summit’s success. 

We hope that this toolkit serves as a useful guide to others who are interested in similar efforts. 

2023 Regional Garden-based Learning Summit Recap:

City Blossoms, the United States Botanic Garden, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (Washington, DC) collaborated to develop and host the 2023 Regional Garden-based Learning Summit on July 27-28, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

The Summit gathered 54 garden-based learning professionals representing 34 community-based organizations in DC, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. It provided an opportunity for organizations to deepen community and connections, share resources and best practices, and be inspired by all of the incredible work happening in our region, with the ultimate goal of carrying this all back to their communities to enhance garden-based learning opportunities for children and youth.

Day 1 of the Summit was hosted at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). Activities included attendee-led lightning talk sessions, a self-guided small group networking activity, and a “solution seekers” workshop, which engaged attendees in group-supported troubleshooting sessions focused on common challenges experienced within garden-based programming. 

Day 2 of the Summit was hosted at The Farm at Kelly Miller behind Kelly Miller Middle School, a collaborative production farm and garden-education space, co-run by City Blossoms and Dreaming Out Loud. Activities included attendee-led garden lesson demonstrations and a reflection exercise.

Key outcomes of the 2023 Summit included:

  • Increased connection among garden-based learning professionals in the Mid-Atlantic. Following the Summit, all (100%) of survey respondents felt more connected with their colleagues (93%) or sustained a strong existing sense of connection (7%). All (100%) survey respondents expressed that they planned to keep in touch with one or more colleagues they met at the Summit.

  • Increased awareness of garden-based learning programs in the Mid-Atlantic. Following the Summit, all (100%) of survey respondents felt more aware of the work of other garden-based learning programs in the Mid-Atlantic.

  • Increased awareness of resources to support garden-based learning in the Mid-Atlantic. Following the Summit, nearly all (97%) of survey respondents felt more aware of resources to support garden-based learning in the Mid-Atlantic (86%) or sustained a high level of awareness (11%).

  • Increased inspiration among garden-based learning professionals in the Mid-Atlantic. Following the Summit, 100% of survey respondents agreed that they felt inspired by the work happening in the Mid-Atlantic garden-based learning community, and 86% increased their sense of inspiration from pre- to post-Summit.

  • High satisfaction among Summit attendees. Following the Summit, 100% of survey respondents stated that they would recommend the Regional Garden-based Learning Summit to a colleague. 

Gratitude!

The 2023 summit was planned with the input of an advisory committee composed of the following individuals and organizations: Jennifer Cipolla (Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids, DE), Laura Genello (Baltimore City Public Schools, MD), Juan Pablo Echeverria (Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, VA), and Ashley Rattanawan (Friends of the National Arboretum, DC).

A huge THANK YOU to all attendees for contributing time and energy to the 2023 Regional Garden-based Learning Summit. Also, a special shout out to our passionate core planning group members, Emily Hestness (U.S. Botanic Garden), Ray Mims (U.S. Botanic Garden), Sam Ullery (Office of the State Superintendent of Education DC), Darian Artis (City Blossoms), Willa Pohlman (City Blossoms), and Rafael Woldeab (City Blossoms). Additional support which made the 2023 summit possible was provided by The Bainum Family Foundation.

We are inspired to continue this work in community with you and look forward to connecting in the coming weeks and months.

With gratitude,

Rafael Woldeab, Willa Pohlman, Emily Hestness, Ray Mims, and Sam Ullery
City Blossoms, United States Botanic Garden, and Office of the State Superintendent of Education (Washington, DC)