When exploring the geography of informal STEM venues, Botanical Gardens play a critical role, yet are often forgotten about. In fact, they have a rich history of educational outreach through on-site gardening programs for children, youth, and families that often also imply some level of intergenerational programming. Some of the following questions have become of particular interest to me:

 

• What role do botanical gardens play in engaging urban youth with science, technology, engineering, mathematics and urban agriculture (AgSTEM)?

 

• In what ways do botanical gardens address food security issues?

 

• Do they engage in local food activism?

 

• And more generally, what role do botanical gardens play in terms of sustainability education?

 

These are some of the questions I have been trying to address in the context of my collaborative research with the Botanical Garden in Montreal.

 

In 2005, I followed youth as they gardened all summer in Jardins-jeunes, a gardening program for young children and adolescents at the Botanic Garden in Montreal, modeled after the first ever such program at the Brooklyn Children’s Garden. I studied the kinds of learning opportunities a summer gardening program offers to urban youth who volunteer to participate.