Seed Spoon Science

Seed Spoon Science is a multifaceted, holistic, and community engaged program that works with elementary school children, UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz) undergrads, and the community to foster STEM identity, build environmental awareness, and community resilience. Seed Spoon Science was created thanks to seed funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Seed Spoon Science aims to inspire future generations of Spanish-speaking STEM students by partnering Spanish-speaking STEM undergraduates with local families to engage children in garden-based science education. This program is open to all Spanish learners. We seek to do this by providing space for children to investigate science, either in their home garden or in the Tierra Viva garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  

Our projects are co-created with faculty, students, and the community. Projects have a strong STEM focus but are also highly interdisciplinary with faculty partnerships spanning Astrophysics, Art, Education, Environmental Studies, and Agroecology.  Our recent project on rainwater harvesting was hi-lighted in this recent news article. 

Please visit our activities and research pages, and explore our photo album!

Goals:

1. Build community amongst Spanish-speaking STEM students at UC Santa Cruz 

2. Empower children through hands-on nature-based science exploration

3. Share science and food growing knowledge amongst students and community members 

4. Conduct research to understand the impact of the Seed Spoon Science program on community members, children, and undergraduates.