Youth Gardeners
Youth Gardeners introduces children to various aspects of gardening and encourages an appreciation of nature, sustainability and the environment.
Summer Sunflower Room Project 2026
Gloria LaMonaca, Shannon Nicoloff, and Sarah Schott, members of The Garden Club of Johnstown’s Youth Gardener Committee, worked with three twelve year olds to create a Sunflower Room on farmland along Thomas Spory Road off of Somerset Pike. The project began on June 4th with the planting of approximately 400 Mammoth Sunflower Seeds around the perimeter of an 11 foot cleared and prepared circle. The seed planting and watering was accomplished through the hard work of Amber King, Hunter Trexel and Cameron Williams.
By the beginning of August, the sunflowers were over 5 feet tall! The cleared ground forming the floor of their developing sunflower room was sprouting weeds. Amber, Cameron, and Hunter cut and placed sheets of landscaping material down first before mulching the entire middle of the 11 foot circle. Taking a break from their work, they painted a flag and rocks to decorate their sunflower room.
At the end of August, the sunflowers were 8 to 9 feet tall and were starting to bloom. The kids enjoyed relaxing and eating pizza in the shade of their sunflower room. They even played a few games of UNO! It was rewarding to watch them enjoying the fruits of their labor as they spent an afternoon in a special little space they created as a summer planting activity.
Cameron, Amber and Hunter will get together one last time in the next few weeks to collect seeds from the dried sunflower heads. The seeds will be placed in envelopes they decorated and shared with their friends, their families and members of the Garden Club for planting in the spring.
Their determination, hard work and commitment to the sunflower room project was amazing. By clicking on the slide show you can view the project from start to finish.
Gloria LaMonaca and Sarah Schott, co chairs of the the Youth Gardener Committee, worked on a project with a small group of ten year olds to develop an understanding of how ecosystems work and the important role plants. water and soil play in an ecosystem.
Each child built a tiny ecosystem in a two liter pop bottle. The top third of the bottle was removed to allow easy access. The children began by placing a layer of pea gravel in the bottom of the bottle followed by a two inch layer of potting soil. After sprinkling approximately one half cup of water on the soil, they planted radish, cat grass or johnny-jump up seeds in the soil. A few small pebbles were added for decoration. The previously removed portion of the plastic bottle was taped back in place, and the bottle was sealed with a cork. Each child created a second ecosystem in another bottle and chose a different seed to plant in the bottle. The children were told to place their bottles in a well lit area and to rotate their bottle regularly.
To conclude the activity, the children were each given a journal and were instructed to date and write an entry explaining what we did to make the bottle ecosystem. They added illustrations of the bottles and labeled the layers. They were encouraged to continue to date, write and draw in their journals as a way of recording their observations over the next few weeks.
The children learned that all ecosystems need plants, soil and water. They learned the importance of the water cycle, and that everything works together in an ecosystem. We discussed the various types of ecosystems that exist in the world around them. Finally, they learned that small changes can affect the entire ecosystem. The project was an excellent learning experience for the children.
Youth Gardeners August 2024
Bottle Ecosystem
The youth gardeners prepare their tiny ecosystems by adding pea gravel, soil and water to their containers.
Next, the seeds are planted, along with a few decorative pebbles and the tops of the plastic bottles are taped back in place.
The youth gardeners are shown with their end products and writing their journal entries.
Green Thumb Certificate Awarded
The Youth Gardener Committee is happy to report that Cameron, one of the scouts from our May seed sowing activity, did an outstanding job with the seeds he planted, turning them into plants and finally a full raised garden bed! Cameron has worked very hard at gardening. He has also been helping with the family garden.
Cameron attended our August garden club meeting and shared pictures of his garden and brought some of the items he harvested. He was presented with a Green Thumb certificate for his efforts and success at gardening, along with a certificate for a special ice cream treat.
Preschool Birdfeeder Project
Members of the Youth Gardener Committee visited the Geneva Preschool in February to create wafer ice cream cone birdfeeders in honor of National Birdfeeder Month.
GCJ member, Sarah Schott, reading a book about backyard birds to a group of preschoolers before constructing the birdfeeders.
GJC Club members, Gloria LaMonaca and Tiffany Taha, explaining the birdfeeder project to the children in the four-year old preschool class.
The three-year old preschool class enjoyed making their birdfeeders.
Seed Planting 2023
Thanks to GCJ members Gloria LaMonaca and Sarah Schott, thirteen young scout members had the opportunity to plant vegetable and flower seeds in biodegradable seed starter containers.
After filling the containers with appropriate seed-starting soil, the children choose a variety of seeds to plant. Craft sticks were labeled to indicate the seeds planted. It proved to be a fun and educational gardening experience for the children.
The scouts were provided with information on how to care for their seeds and plants. They were asked to send pictures of their plants at various stages to Gloria and Sarah. Stay tuned to see the results of this planting project.
National Garden Club Youth Sculpture Contest 2022
Nine sixth graders from a local elementary school entered the NGC Youth Sculpture Contest under the guidance of Gloria LaMonaca GCJ Youth Garden Chair and the school’s STEM teacher.
The contest encourages students to keep our planet green. Students in grades 4 through 8 are eiligible to create a sculpture of recycled, reused and reduced materials following the contest’s guidelines.
Upon completion of the projects, the GCJ Youth Gardner Committee decided to send all nine entries to the State Youth Gardner Chair, with hopes of moving on to the Regional and National levels. The students did a phenomenal job on their creations and need to be commended to their effects.
1st Place-Grade 6
Methuli Jayasooniya
3rd Place-Grade 6
Roan Malcolm
Other Sculptures
Flower Show- Youth Division - 2019
Gloria LaMonaca, chair of the Youth Gardeners, organized the Youth Division projects for the Flower Show.
Youth Division Plants and Bird Houses
Youth Division section - Long View of Tables
Youth Division- Planters
Youth Division Planters- Closeup
Youth Division- Bird Feeders
Youth Division-Little Sprouts
1st Award
Youth Division- Succulents
The Youth Gardeners visited area pre-schools to work with students. Other sessions were held at the library to prepare projects for a flower show.
A planting project is underway with the students at this pre-school class. Their interest is pretty evident! (Some faces are blurred for the children’s own protection.)
The importance of plants were discussed. Then students were given step by step instructions for planting.
Finished products were ready for display.