Kids like planning gardens, not weeding

ITHACA, N.Y., May 26 (UPI) -- Children's gardens to promote exercise and healthy eating have mushroomed in the last 20 years, but what kids like is the planning, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at the Cornell University say children will engage in learning more readily when given responsibility for decision making and planning.

Gardens are popping up in schools, communities, public venues and informal settings and what interests children is how they may be involved in decision making and planning, and how they can benefit from their involvement, the researchers say.

"Adults make many assumptions about children and gardening, and instead of enlisting the creativity and innovative thinking of young people, they often involve children in the more mundane tasks of planting, weeding, and watering," lead researcher Marcia Eames-Sheavly at Cornell University's Garden-Based Learning Program says in a statement.

"In an era in which there is grave concern over a lack of young peoples' engagement with nature, children's gardens offer a way in which children and youth can interact with the natural world."

The study and abstract are available on the American Society for Horticultural Science HortTechnology Web site: http://horttech.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/2/247.