S09 - Session P1 - Role of urban horticulture youth programs in promoting identify exploration among inner city youth: A case study for Felege Hiywot Center (FHC)

Authors: Kathryn Orvis *, Theoneste Nzaranyimana, Mark Russell

There has been an increase in urban horticulture youth programs in the past decades in the USA. A major factor that contributes to this increase is understood to be the multiple skills that urban horticulture youth programs offer to the youth engaged in them, particularly those who live in inner-city areas with lower socioeconomic status. These programs provide access to healthy foods, urban farming skill development, as well as twenty first century skills needed by competitive employees, such as communication, teamwork, creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and leadership skills. This study explores the role of urban horticulture youth program in helping inner city youth from the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, Indianapolis, Indiana USA in exploring their identity and career readiness skills. The study used a sample of eleven participants (N=10) that included current youth participants, alumni, staff and parents. One on one interview methodology was used to capture each participant's experience. Narratives from interview discussions show that urban horticulture significantly helped inner city youth engage in the Felege Hiwot Center's (FHC) urban agriculture programing. The majority of participants, especially the youth, acknowledged the positive impact of the urban horticulture program in helping youth discover what they are capable of and exploring as possible careers, and how the program helped them to start to do new things as a result their participation at FHC. Key findings support the concept that the urban horticulture youth program provided a conducive environment where youth come and learn urban horticulture skills and develop their career readiness. This study helped understand the impact of the urban horticulture youth program, which provided an awareness for how to create programs that can significantly impact low income youth in discovering early what they are good at, which can be useful in their future career or choosing the right college major.