Cultivate Kids started in 2019 at the Cave Junction Farmers’ Market with a vision to provide hands-on activities to children that visit the farmers’ market, with a focus on sustainable farming, earth friendly gardening practices and connecting to a sense of place. From pressing apple cider, making planter pots from newspapers,  honey bee demonstrations and caring for baby goats, the Cultivate Kids program has always been about fun, connection to nature and wonder.  Last year was our first year creating an on site garden, and the children planted and cared for a dozen varieties of shade trees, while creating permaculture pollinator friendly gardens around the trees! We look forward to continually working on these community shared gardens in 2024, with a hope to raise funding for purchasing more hand tools, wheelbarrows and irrigation equipment. This year we have a special  collaboration with RiverStars teen students, some of whom will be mentoring this late winter with a collective of teachers in a series of pedagogy classes, and will be co-teaching the Cultivate Kids program at the Cave Junction Farmers’ Market!