Karlen Meinsen

Meinsen’s innovative teaching idea, “Game of Worms,” focuses on building capacity and knowledge for urban children without backyards through an ongoing integrated gardening curriculum using project-based learning (PBL). Using primary and secondary sources, students will design urban farming system components for spaces that would not traditionally be seen as suitable for food production — high rise walls, rooftops, classrooms and basements — that are sustainable, responsible and economical. Students will gain firsthand knowledge of growing food in their edible garden, observing and charting the stages from seeds to seedlings to mature plant to harvest.