The programme we run · Running now

Smiling Seedlings Kids Urban Garden

A children's garden programme delivered by Strides Foundation with the generous support of a partner foundation. We design the weekly lessons, lead the classes, and manage the garden at the host site, turning an ordinary patch of land into a place where children learn real skills.

Three colourful tyre garden beds full of healthy herbs, with a child watering them
Who it is for

Children, learning by doing.

The programme brings together a group of children to learn through hands-on gardening in a safe and friendly space. Activities are adapted for different ages, from the youngest who explore and plant, to older children who take on leadership tasks and help the younger ones.

What the children learn
Growing vegetables and herbs from seed
Caring for plants and where food comes from
Why healthy eating matters
Looking after the environment
Working as a team and sharing tasks
Taking pride in what they grow
In the garden

What is happening each week.

Why it matters

A small garden, a big lesson.

A garden may look like a small thing. But for a child, learning to grow food is learning that effort brings results. It teaches patience, care, and self-reliance, the same values that guide everything we do.

Smiling Seedlings shows what we can deliver when a partner backs our work. We would love to bring the same hands-on learning to more children and communities. If you would like to help us grow this model, or partner with us on something new, we would be glad to talk.

From the garden

A look at the work.

To protect the children, our photos show hands, plants, and activity rather than children's faces.