KAEE 2024 Conference

Is your EE program stuck? Do you want to expand your programming and increase your participation but are having trouble attracting new audiences? In this session we will use The Parklands of Floyds Fork S.E.E.D. program as a case study for program growth and capacity building.

The Outdoor Classroom program at The Parklands of Floyds Fork began in 2014 serving students throughout the Louisville, KY area. However, The Parklands quickly realized they were only serving schools that were able to afford the field trip fee. Schools who could not afford this fee were generally not participating. Upon further investigation of this issue, The Parklands found that both the field trip fee and the cost of bus transportation were the primary factors preventing students in Title 1 schools from visiting The Parklands for a field trip.

To address these barriers, The Parklands started the S.E.E.D. (Stewardship, Education, Exploration, Discovery) program. Students in the S.E.E.D. program attend Title 1 schools in the Louisville area and receive at least four hands-on science programs throughout the school year at The Parklands and in their schools. The Parklands waives all program fees and pays for bus transportation to and from the park. The S.E.E.D. program started in 2016 serving 900 students and is on track to serve 11,500 students in 2024.

This program was born by directly addressing the barriers to program participation in the Louisville community. The growth of this program did not happen overnight and required effective grant writing, planning and the cultivating of deep partnerships between The Parklands and the public school system. During this session, we hope to share the story of S.E.E.D. growth with other EE programs that are looking to expand their audience, grow their program capacity, and incorporate new audiences.

Activities
1. Story of S.E.E.D.- presenting the successes, failures, and challenges during program growth
2. Small group discussion - participants work in small groups to identify barriers to program participation in their own programs and potential ideas to break down those barriers.
3. Group presentation and Q and A- small groups will present their ideas and receive feedback from the group.

Learning Objectives
1. Participants will identify barriers to program participation for their audience- including things like transportation, program cost, and access to healthy food.
2. Participants will brainstorm ideas on how to eliminate the identified barriers to program participation through dialogue and discussion between peers.
3. Through coaching, participants will form ideas on how to break down the identified barriers to take back to their organization.