“AITG is one of the most inclusive, understanding,
and woke groups I have ever had the opportunity to work with. They consider everyone in every situation and stride towards inclusivity and fairness.” – Teacher

The Art in the Garden program has been a wonderful and transformative experience for me. Teaching and learning outdoors in nature has been a healing journey. The curriculum pedagogy and the lifestyle practices of the community makes the program influential for adults and children. As a PA Certified K-12 Art Teacher and Lead Teacher of Art in the Garden, I believe this has been a deep and meaningful professional development opportunity for me as an educator and community partner. Because of Art in the Garden, I now plan to facilitate a community garden in my neighborhood. More neighborhoods would benefit from programs similar to Art in the Garden.” -Teacher

“The Clay Workshop was such an important part of our week because we don’t know many people here yet since we just moved here. My kids got to interact with other kids and that was great. Also the meals we got helped immensely. I appreciate this program so much. Everybody is so nice and helpful and the garden is such a beautiful space.” -Parent

“My child has so much fun. Thank you for an awesome camp!” -Parent

I am entirely grateful for the opportunities Art in the Garden helped unlock for me. Coming back to school this year and putting things from AITG into practice has been instrumental for my work. Thank you! – Teacher

I felt communication and awareness increase for myself and for the people around me. I found I was better equipped to do my job in this safe space because I was confident in my abilities and my support system–the garden and my co-workers. – Teacher

Art in the Garden has gifted me a community that my soul longed for. The connection that Emily, her family, and community share with everyone who comes in the garden gives opportunity to heal, play, and share joy. The importance of connecting with nature is illuminated at Borland Garden, and I feel blessed to be able to share this knowledge with children. The children are accessing the power they hold to create a better world by not only honoring their environment, but by honoring themselves.– Teacher

The whole camp from beginning to end is warm and welcoming and supportive. Some of my favorite wholesome moments are when kids help each other with playing safely and include campers who might have felt excluded. There is a lot of love at Art in the Garden and I see that through care. – Teacher

Each summer after leaving the garden I feel as if I’ve shed a new skin and become a higher self. I am feeling extremely connected and spiritually aligned, and the garden brings blessings upon blessings to me. I am so excited to use the things I learned to transition to my new teaching role this school year. – Teacher

“I believe that the use of the skills taught by AITG helps to normalize the ways in which my child experiences the world. Through exposure and through practice and shared language, he is more receptive to using the skills and tools he has learned to help him navigate conflicts, bring self-awareness to a given situation.” -Parent

“Camp offered a safe, calm place for my daughter to do the kinds of basic things she does not get a chance to do at school and that bring her joy. She could sit, think, get dirty, pick fruit. Her teacher was soft spoken and had an even, calm energy that helped my daughter be more receptive to hearing about emotions and strategies for self-regulation.” – Parent

“This camp is perfect.” – Camper

“Practicing conflict resolution with new friends was an invaluable opportunity for my child. She came home singing every day.” -Parent

We live nearby and my kids love to visit and explore the garden whenever we are on walks, and we have happened upon the occasional community event at the space, so we figured we’d give Art in the Garden a try. In a lot of cases, my kids come home from camps over-stimulated and burnt out. At Art in the Garden, this is not the case. When I pick them up, they are calm and have also clearly enjoyed themselves. This a gentle, compassionate place with kind staff who see and recognize each child for the person that they are. My youngest absolutely loves the connection to the garden (there are things that grow on the trees…. that he can eat!) and the exposure to local artists has both of my children talking about how they can use art in their community. This is a truly unique program and I am so happy that we signed our kids up this year.  -Parent

Borland Garden is a truly magical place. My daughter loves Art in the Garden’s summer camp and brings the creativity and positivity home with her. I’m using one of the wands she made to dispel negative self-talk and limiting thoughts. So grateful for AITG!  -Parent

My child made new friends and has learned to express themselves more verbally. -Parent

What was most noticeable to me was how comfortable my daughter was with the camp environment. She regularly sang camp songs at home and taught them to her younger sister. She separated readily when it was time for drop off and loved having us visit her camp space.   -Parent

What I find very special about Art in the Garden is that amidst all of the amazing and enriching activities that the campers are engaging in, the emotional experience of campers is always central. That means that supporting a camper to navigate a moment of worry, anger, or sadness might be the most important learning. Sometimes we throw a lesson plan out the window because what we really need is a restorative circle to help mediate a conflict, or a quiet moment to draw about our big feelings. That’s what it means to me to be trauma-informed—we are always there for the campers as human beings first. –Camp Therapist

We were so grateful for the summer camp experience and can’t wait to come back next year. The staff were so kind and supportive and I really appreciated the emails that told what they did that week. Thank you for creating this safe space!! -Parent

I was blown away by how wonderful this camp is – my child went in nervous and anxious and would come out with a huge smile. I could see the calm and joy on his face. He is still young so couldn’t verbalize too much, but he was sure to talk about compassion (“passion”), doing stretches, breathing, and all of the new garden skills he was learning about. He even made a friend which is a big deal for my sweet kiddo. I felt comforted sending him there knowing he would be accepted, nurtured and held. Thank you for all you do. -Parent

They found joy and acceptance at camp. They have really enjoyed it! -Parent

My child’s curiosity and interest in the natural world increased.   -Parent

I think that it is wonderful to have a sliding scale, we were able to attend because of it. -Parent

My child really liked all of the camp teachers. They were incredibly supportive, especially for our older child who always needs a little extra love and attention from adults. -Parent   

Making cyanotypes made my child feel like a professional artist!  -Parent

Art in the Garden with its nice teachers and beautiful place gives us the sense of life and creativity.   -Parent

The children are empowered to engage with items in art & in nature that they’ve not used before and it excites them so much to do so! They’re so proud to share what they’ve made and what they’ve learned. -Parent

He always feels so welcomed and loves being with the teachers, helpers, and campers.  -Parent

We started going to Art in the Garden because it’s close to our home and after 3 summers, I would drive an hour to get them there! At AITG they experience all the things we value most (care for themselves, each other, and the planet) and they have fun doing it! We believe there are things that are taught and things that are absorbed and its easy to teach what you value but far harder and more important to immerse you children in a place where they absorb your values. We feel fortunate to have a camp where they spend their summer having fun and absorbing the things that matter most to us.  -Parent

I am so truly grateful for finding this incredible space for myself and my child. He had a really tough previous school year and it was great to find a place that as the parent I didn’t worry about him as I have with other places he’s attended. Because of his special needs, it is hard to find hidden gems like this in Western Pa. Thank you for all you do.   -Parent

This camp was a wonderful experience for my daughter. It built her confidence and filled her summer with joy. -Parent

Working at Art in the Garden really taught me to be more gentle with myself and to love myself more. -Teen Leader

I liked when they taught us about the different ways to work with kids. I learned how to be a leader and how to calmly handle situations. -Teen Leader

I learned a lot about composting and how that affects the planet and about a lot of edible plants.-Teen Leader

I learned how to be patient with the kids even when it wasn’t easy. I learned how to calm campers down by doing deep breaths, talking in a calm voice, and taking a walk. Then you want to try and slowly redirect the camper (once calm) to the rest of the group. -Teen Leader

Art in the Garden is a very calm and relaxing place. It has impacted me and my brother so much. -Teen Leader

Being a Teen Leader helped me better my relationship with kids and understand how to work a garden better. Working here betters you as a person. -Teen Leader

Speech from a young camper who was an honorary camp director in Summer 2023: “My name is Aileen and I have been the Camp Director since forever—I was in the stars doing this camp. I am thankful for this camp being successful. I am grateful everyone could come to this camp. Everyone’s happy making graffiti art with Max, Shane, and Jerome, discovering how birds sound with Nick, drumming with Travis, and learning about herbs with Sten. We play hula-hoop, make buttons, paint, discover the plants, eat mulberries, do gymnastics, find slugs and worms and insects. Credits to the teens: Will, Bazil, Asata, Junya, Logan, Kevin, Akeeylah, Alan, Devlin, Esmat, Darin, and Alayah. The teachers are really helpful. I appreciate that Valerie helps us do the camp; she is nice, kind, sweet, pretty, smart, and fun! The kids made good friends! Thank you!”