Call for Presenters

Blueberry_Ant

We Will Learn So Much From One Another!

We aspire to build a constellation of stars, generously sharing ideas and resources with one another in support
of vibrant school garden programs for all children.

Type of Presentations

  • 75 Minute Workshops*
  • Deep Dive Workshop (3-4 hour sessions)*
  • Outdoor Lessons*
  • Cooking Classroom Lesson Demonstrations*
  • Main Stage Lightning Talks*
  • Poster Presenters & Exhibitors
  • Field Trips Experiences (to be proposed by Phoenix-area organizations and schools only.) Field Trip Proposals due Aug. 15.

 

*If selected for these presentation types you will receive a $100 registration discount

Summit Presenter Timeline

August 1st 11:59 pm PST – Calls for Presenter Proposals Due

August 15th 11:59 PST – Field Trip Proposals Due

September 1st – Session Presenters Invited

By September 19th – Presenters confirm by completing Summit registration

 

Questions? summit@sprouts.com

 

Do you plan to apply for a Summit scholarship?

Presenters Scholarship Applications are being accepted, now through August 1. Apply for a Presenter Scholarship here.

What: 75-minute workshops on Summit themes

When: Workshop sessions will be held on Friday, February 20 – Sunday, February 22, 2026

Optional Consideration: 3-4 Hour Deeper Dive Sessions take place during the field trip time block and will allow presenters an extended period of time to share workshop content at the hotel site. To be considered as a Deeper Dive Session Presenter, check the box in the 75-Minute Workshop Proposal Application that states your interest in presenting your topic for 3-4 hours.

2022 Workshop Presentation
The Story of Our Food: Gardening & Cooking to Build Awareness and Acceptance of Cultures
Zach O’Donnell & Regi Jones – Edible Schoolyard New Orleans

Outdoor Lesson Demonstrations

Outdoor Garden Themed Lesson session leaders will teach a hands-on outdoor lesson designed for K-12 students. 

The Outdoor Lesson spaces will take place around the hotel property on lawn or patio areas, some surrounded by landscaping shrubbery.  Shade structures, projection and amplification will not be provided outdoors.

Outdoor Lesson 2024
Outdoor Lesson Shared in 2024
Classroom Cooking Demonstrations 

 Indoor Classroom Cooking Lesson session leaders will teach a cooking classroom session designed for K-12 students. 

Indoor Classroom Cooking Sessions will have a great team of volunteers to support most equipment needs, ingredient sourcing/washing, compost bin, removal of borrowed equipment, and removal of extra ingredients/compost.

These sessions will be presented in smaller “classroom” sized rooms with a capacity of up to 25.

Cooking Lesson from 2024
Cooking Lesson Shared in 2024

Share a 5-minute inspiring story or concept at a general session on the main stage for 700+ people.

What: Lightning Talks often include storytelling and the engaging presentation of an exciting idea. For more information on Lightning Talks, click here, and/or watch videos of Main Stage Lighting Talks from the 2022 Summit and the 2024 Summit.

When: Lightning Talks will be presented as part of our General Sessions on each day of the Summit.

2024 Main Stage Lightning Talk
What Makes a Successful School Garden
Jennifer Morrison, MS, RDN
Graduate Research Assistant, UT Austin

What: Poster Sessions are an opportunity to share your expertise, ideas and innovative program with a broad network of school garden leaders and educators.

When: Poster sessions will be staffed/presented for a one-hour interactive networking session near the start of the Summit. Posters will remain displayed in a prominent location throughout the Summit.

Exhibitors: Please share your interest to Exhibit on our Exhibitor Interest Form

Life Lab PD Poster
The Power of Garden-Based Professional Development Poster

Field Trips - For Phoenix Area Schools & Organizations

What: Field Trips are off-site excursions to local school, educational garden or edible education program sites. Lunch and bus transportation will be provided.

When: Field Trips will take place Saturday, February 21. Buses leave from the Arizona Grand Resort no later than 10am and return to hotel no later than 2pm.

Field Trip hosts are invited to apply for a site enhancement grant to support the preparation of their tour sites. See details and apply in the application.

Field Trip Proposals due August 15th.

Darnell Charter School - San Diego
AppleButterfly
OrangeCaterpillar

Summit Themes

Presentation topics should fall within one of these themes to align with the Summit’s educational goals. 

Workshops in this theme will focus on what and how we teach in garden classrooms. Topics under the theme of what we teach might include connecting the garden with Next Generation Science or Common Core standards; project-based learning; garden-enhanced nutrition curriculum; lessons that promote nature connection; youth leadership and empowerment; lessons on climate change or regenerative agriculture; and the like. We will look for a balance of workshops to address different age ranges. Topics under the theme of how we teach might include district adoption of garden curriculum; sequencing garden lessons throughout the year; hybrid indoor/outdoor learning; outdoor classroom management; supporting Special Education in the garden; and the like.

Workshops in this theme will focus on how we can use school gardens to promote student wellness, including nutrition/healthy eating, mindfulness, and social-emotional wellbeing. Topics might include using gardens to address health inequities, to provide students with regular access to nature, to teach about food systems and food justice, to engage in physical education, and/or to provide an upstream approach to community health. Workshops in this theme might also include guidance for leading cooking classes, taste taste testing programs, garden to cafeteria programs, and other forms of edible education.

Workshops in this theme will focus on the physical elements of school gardens and outdoor classroom spaces, with an emphasis on elements that support learning, ease of maintenance, and long-term sustainability. Topics may include school gardening basics, promising practices in garden maintenance, youth- or community-led school garden design, and the like.

Workshops in this theme will focus on promising practices for effectively training and supporting school garden educators, including interns, volunteers, classroom teachers, pre-service teachers, and/or SGSO staff. Topics may also include pathway models that provide participants in SGSO programs with opportunities to step into educator or leadership roles within SGSOs.

Workshops in this theme will explore how school garden programs can engage in mutually supportive partnerships, such as with students’ families, local communities, Boys and Girls’ Clubs, after-school programs, school food service, the health care sector, chefs, farm to school, wellness committees, colleges and universities, and the like. This theme could also include workshops on youth-led micro-enterprise programs.

Workshops in this theme will focus on what current research tells us about the impacts of garden education, and also effective ways to assess the impacts of our garden programs and share those impacts with others. Workshops in this theme may include summaries of findings from school garden researchers, and practical tips for assessing outcomes related to academics, nutrition, social-emotional wellbeing, student agency, engagement, and more. Workshops may also include methods for sharing the impacts of garden education, such as storytelling, developing compelling annual reports, creating videos, and the like. Additionally, workshops in this theme may cover how to develop programs that are driven by and responsive to research.

Workshops in this theme will focus on garden education staffing and instruction models. This may include strategies of how to incentivize classroom teachers to teach in the garden; partnerships that provide garden instruction; school funds allocation to pay for garden instructors; or innovative funding models that support garden instructor salaries or stipends.

Workshops in this theme will focus on how we can best serve all of our students and colleagues and disrupt systems of oppression within our workplaces and within our teaching. Topics might include culturally responsive garden curriculum, affinity groups, hiring practices to reflect the populations we serve, restorative justice in the garden, supporting diverse learners, and the like.

Workshops in this theme will focus on organizational effectiveness. Topics may include fair and equitable hiring practices, strategic planning, logic models, digital tools for running your organization, fundraising, methods for making meetings more effective, effective communication strategies, and the like. These workshops may be more relevant for program directors, administrators, and managers.

Workshops in this theme will focus on ways to be an effective organizational leader, administrator, network lead or manager.

Workshops in this theme will explore the big ideas around what we can achieve together, for example in terms of advocacy, policy change, and coalition building specific to sustaining school garden programs in your region, state or nation.