Growing Gardeners was created in 2019 to nurture an interest in gardening and science in elementary age children.  A series of three classroom lessons on “Seeds and Plants”  was created with guidance from the educator at Dunbar Garden.  These lessons are hands-on and engage all the senses in both full class and small group learning modes.  They also were designed to integrate with the Little Rock School District’s third grade Science unit on Seeds and Plants. LRGC members started teaching these lessons to the third grade classes at Bale Elementary.  In 2023, additional hands-on lesson plans were developed to teach students about growing herbs and food items for cooking, including making a salsa in the classroom , as well as planting and caring for perennial plants, with small pots then ready for the students to take home. Each year the lessons are enhanced and redesigned to meet student needs. In Spring, 2025 lessons were taught to students at Gibbs Elementary and to area Girl Scouts for their gardening and horticulture badges.

The project has been funded by the LRGC since its inception. In the spring of 2020, we applied and were awarded a grant from the Greater Little Rock Council of Garden Clubs to help perpetuate this project at Bale Elementary. Growing Gardeners is a joyful and rewarding interactive experience for the students and for our many LRGC volunteers.