WHAT PARENTS SAY
I feel comforted sending my child to Art in the Garden knowing he is accepted, nurtured and held.
This is a gentle, compassionate place with kind staff who see and recognize each child for the person that they are.
Art in the Garden offers 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 can sit, think, get dirty, pick fruit.
When I pick my children up, they are calm and have also clearly enjoyed themselves.
My son’s curiosity and interest in the natural world increased.
My daughter loves her time at Art in the Garden, coming home with beautiful art, including the brilliant mulberry stains on her face. I feel completely confident that I am leaving my child with a truly kind staff who welcome her and care for her particular needs. It feels a bit as if I am also leaving her in the care of the garden itself, which is a splendid, magical space where children can dig and play and learn.
Both my kids warmed up and connected with the group amazingly fast, and I am 100% sure it is because of the trauma-informed, sensitive, respectful approach that all the adults at the program apply.
My children found joy and acceptance at Art in the Garden. They have really enjoyed it!
He always feels so welcomed and loves being with the teachers, helpers, and campers.
Practicing conflict resolution with new friends was an invaluable opportunity for my child. She came home singing every day.
At AITG my kids 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 it’s easy to teach what you value but far harder and more important to immerse your children in a place where they absorb your values.
The children are empowered to engage with items in art and 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.
WHAT STUDENTS SAY
People here are more supportive here than other places.
It’s super cool that we have all different types of art workshops like drumming and graffiti. We get to do so much art. It’s outdoors and active and has a bunch of fruit trees. I get to see my friends.
Art in the Garden has free meals, and I love that.
The teachers are so kind. I loved making a graffiti mural, making mint and lemon balm tea, and playing with the parachute.
My favorite part was when made a nettle smoothie with mulberries. Now I make smoothies for my family every morning!
I loved being with people and having fun outside.
I learned how to be okay with getting dirty and how to take care of the earth.
This camp is perfect.
WHAT TEEN LEADERS SAY
Working at Art in the Garden really taught me to be more gentle with myself and to love myself more.
I learned how to be a leader and how to calmly handle situations.
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.
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.
I learned a lot about composting and how that affects the planet and about a lot of edible plants.
I liked when we learned about the different ways to work with kids. I learned how to be a leader and how to calmly handle situations.
Art in the Garden is a very calm and relaxing place. It has impacted me and my brother so much.
WHAT TEACHERS SAY
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.
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.
The culture of community, care, and joy is magical to be a part of. Teaching this curriculum is meaningful to me because it provides crucial yet accessible life skills for anyone existing on the planet. This is the summer camp we all wish we had gone to as kids!
The whole program 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 kids who might have felt excluded. There is a lot of love at Art in the Garden and I see that through care.
Speech from Aileen, Student and Honorary Camp Director
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!
Check out A Day at Art in the Garden, a reflective document through the words of Art in the Garden campers and the Newsletter created by 2021 Teen Leaders.
Art in the Garden 