Advance coordination and planning

Before Meeting with Youth

1. Distribute and collect completed parent/guardian permission forms of youth participants. Adult leader(s) also needs to sign photo release form if their pictures will be submitted to the website. (permission forms)
2. Identify gardeners in the local community who are willing to share their opinions about growing specific vegetable varieties. Community gardens are a great place to find gardeners passionate about growing vegetables. If you need help identifying a community garden or other source of vegetable gardeners, contact your local Cooperative Extension office for suggestions. Increase your odds of drawing gardeners by using multiple methods to recruit; for example hanging posters (at least 2 weeks ahead of your scheduled interviews), emailing community gardeners, and contacting your local Cooperative Extension office. (recruit poster)

   Keep in mind: The ideal ratio of youth participants to gardeners is 2:1. This allows all youth to play an important role in asking questions or recording responses. You may need to arrange for a translator if the gardener speaks another language. If some of the youth in your group share a language with the gardener, they may be able to translate.

3. Decide on the format, date and location of your interviews. Meeting in the garden is a wonderful way to engage youth and provoke further questions. You may choose to host a pizza party, offer door prizes, or collaborate with an already-planned garden event to encourage gardener attendance. Seek out donations of goods and services from local businesses. Seeds make a great give-away for gardeners. You may find that gardeners are excited simply by the chance to speak with young people about their garden. (sample request letter)
4. Contact the gardeners to arrange the visit. Describe your group and share the goals of Vegetable Varieties Investigation and your purpose for coming to their garden. Arrange a specific time for the youth to conduct the Vegetable Varieties Investigation and make arrangements for a rain date if planned outdoors. If you are in phone or email contact with gardener(s), confirm two days prior to the scheduled interviews. (sample letter to gardener)
5. Develop a general time line for conducting the conversations with gardeners from start to finish. Add the specifics and assign times for each activity to create your agenda for your garden visit. Modify this approach according to your group's needs and resources. Be sure to allow enough time at the garden for all components of your plan. (sample agenda)
6. You will need to ask permission to interview and photograph the gardener and garden. Have the Gardener Permission Form ready to use. (gardener permission form)