JMG NLT Welcome & Introductions
DAY 1 General Session
Lisa Whittlesey, Junior Master Gardener Program Coordinator,
Extension Program Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Lisa has been an invited speaker to over 285 regional and national conferences and her recent work has focused on utilizing the Junior Master Gardener program (Learn, Grow, Eat & GO curricula) as an intervention as a part of a 5 year USDA AFRI funded Extension and Research project focused on child and family interventions for obesity prevention. Lisa is a lecturer for the freshman university course AGLS 125, guest lecturer for floral design and socio-horticulture classes at Texas A&M University and does educational videos for the public through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension social media outlets.

JMG & Conference Overview
DAY 1 General Session
Randy Seagraves, Junior Master Gardener Curriculum Coordinator,
Extension Program Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

A former 3rd grade teacher in College Station ISD, Randy is the lead author of 8 JMG® curriculum guides, including the evidence-based Learn, Grow, Eat & GO! curriculum &  Early Childhood Learn, Grow, Eat & GO! curriculum.

He guest lecturers for horticulture and education courses at Texas A&M and has been a guest host for the Weekend Gardener television segment for local CBS affiliate in College Station and regularly speaks at regional, state and national conferences across the country.

HANDS-ON with JMG Core Curriculum 
Randy Seagraves, Junior Master Gardener Program, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

This session will include everything you wanted to know about the elementary level JMG Teacher/Leader Guide & JMG Youth Handbook, The session will give you in-depth working knowledge of the comprehensive, JMG “Core Curricula,” you’ll get a chance to become familiar with many of the popular, proven JMG lessons you could use with a group of kids next week, YOU will have an opportunity to take part in a LIVE HANDS ON activity during during the session, AND before the session closer there will be a drawing (from attendees in the room) for a FREE JMG Teacher/Leader Guide & JMG Youth Handbook DOOR PRIZE.

HANDS-ON with JMG LEVEL 2
Lisa Whittlesey, Junior Master Gardener Program, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

This session will include everything you wanted to know about the middle school/junior high LEVEL TWO curricula featuring the novel Operation Thistle, Plant Growth & Development Teacher/Leader Guide and the Operation W.A.T.E.R., Soils & Water Teacher/Leader Guide. The session will not only provide great familiarity with the engaging format and many of the lessons that make up this novel, “Mission Impossible” inspired curriculum, but YOU will also have an opportunity to take part in a LIVE HANDS ON activity AND before the session closer there will be a drawing (from attendees in the room) for a FREE JMG Operation Thistle and a FREE JMG Operation W.A.T.E.R. curriculum DOOR PRIZE.

HANDS-ON with JMG Learn, Grow, Eat & Go!
Randy Seagraves, Junior Master Gardener Program, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

This session will equip and empower you to effectively implement the popular, evidence-based Learn, Grow, Eat & Go! curriculum with your class! Created by teachers, this standards-based, multifaceted school garden curriculum is fun and academically rich. Through a linear set of hands-on, proven lessons, your students step through process of establishing a thriving garden that is easy to create and maintain! but YOU will also have an opportunity to take part in a LIVE HANDS-ON activity AND before the session closer there will be a drawing (from attendees in the room) for a FREE Learn, Grow, Eat & Go! curriculum DOOR PRIZE.

HANDS-ON with the JMG Early Childhood Learn, Grow, Eat & Go! Curriculum
Julie Boyle, Junior Master Gardener State Coordinator, University of Nebraska Extension

This session will help you to grow a classroom of thriving students, with the new Early Childhood Learn, Grow, Eat & Go curriculum that combines rich plant/garden learning, food exposure, fun brain- & body-boosting physical activities, AND novel parent/school community engagement in a fun, teacher-friendly format! Save planning time with this step-by-step, 4 week unit that equips teachers with daily engaging lessons, group activities, and journal prompts that lead your class to create a simple, thriving vegetable garden. Weekly featured songs, literature connections, classroom garden kitchen recipes, innovative family engagement tools, and effective center resources complement learning and maximize benefits to students. Created by Head Start teachers, kindergarten teachers, and content experts, this multifaceted garden, nutrition, and physical activity curriculum is specially designed for teachers 4 & 5-year-olds. YOU will also have an opportunity to take part in a LIVE HANDS ON activity AND before the session closer there will be a drawing (from attendees in the room) for a FREE Early Childhood Learn, Grow, Eat & Go curriculum DOOR PRIZE.

HANDS-ON with JMG Literature in the Garden/Wildlife Gardener curriculum guides
Lisa Whittlesey, Junior Master Gardener Program, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

This session will include everything you wanted to know about both the popular Literature in the Garden curriculum and the Wildlife Gardener curriculum developed for use with elementary students. Literature in the Garden will help you to cultivate a connection to children’s literature & gardening with this award-winning curriculum. You’ll be engaging children through powerful garden and ecology-themed children’s books to inspire learning through outdoor activities, creative expression and open exploration. Dozens of hands-on math, science and language-based activities encourage leadership development, individual responsibility, community involvement, and the development of critical thinking skills. With Wildlife Gardener, your students will gain a greater understanding and strengthen appreciation for the wildlife that is part of their local community. Your class will enjoy novel, hands-on, project-based learning as they have fun gardening for wildlife. And your class will work and learn together to create components of wildlife gardening habitat. The session will not only provide great familiarity with the engaging format and many of the lessons that make up these unique curriculum options, but YOU will also have an opportunity to take part in a LIVE HANDS ON activity during the session AND before the session closes there will be a drawing (from attendees in the room) for a FREE Wildlife Gardener/Literature in the Garden curriculum DOOR PRIZE.

Videos are for Reels
John Chivvis, Virtual Engagement Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife

John Chivvis shares how short informational videos are becoming the norm for those looking for answers. Whether educational, entertaining or “edutaining”, these videos are now how information is transmitted. For the educator, these videos are new ways to provide greater access to information and the Master Gardener program as well as new avenues into platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. John will lead attendees through a look at the whys, the how’s and the where’s and simple techniques, tools and tips to get started with video.

Planting the Seeds of Technology- Nurturing the Future of Agriculture
Shea Ann DeJarnette, Robeson County 4-H Youth Dev Agent,
North Carolina Cooperative Extension

This workshop focuses on providing foundational knowledge and inspiration in technology, to enhance topics in gardening. It uses the metaphor of “planting seeds” to represent the initial steps in learning about technology and its potential growth as it relates to youth and gardens. After all JMG is all about growing great kids. This workshop will focus on the tools that will allow youth to become a more successful gardener in any location and how to use them. This is a hands-on interactive workshop for educators who want the tools to grow their technology gardens.

With A Little Help From My FrAInds
Ally Audas, John Rex Charter School

At John Rex Charter School in downtown Oklahoma City, students are using technology in innovative ways to bring a diverse urban school garden to life. Led by Enrichment Specialist Ally Audas, this tech-integrated program empowers over 500 students annually to become designers, researchers, storytellers, and problem-solvers—right from the garden.

This session will spotlight how students use artificial intelligence to design raised bed layouts based on square-foot gardening and companion planting principles, study Oklahoma birds using AI-powered bird feeders, and build a mobile plant reference app. Attendees will also explore how students produce iMovies to capture pollinator behavior in slow motion, craft laser-engraved plant labels from their own artwork, and design digital scavenger hunts to reinforce vocabulary and garden knowledge.

While technology drives much of the innovation, the learning remains deeply rooted in real-world experiences: tagging monarch butterflies for symbolic migration, comparing hydroponic and soil-based systems, building worm bins to support composting, and participating in community projects like a recycled-material scarecrow contest.
Attendees will leave with curriculum-aligned resources, recommended apps and tools, and inspiration to bring meaningful, tech-enhanced, garden-based learning to life in their own schools.

Stories in Bloom: Cultivating Literacy through Garden-Based Learning
Lisa Nelson, Project Specialist, Promoting Early Education Quality (PEEQ),
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Imagine a place where a seed in the soil sparks as much wonder as a story on the page. Gardens and children’s literature share a natural kinship—both nurture curiosity, imagination, and a love of discovery. This interactive session explores how books and gardens can work together to spark early literacy, creativity, and a love for nature. With a focus on Early Childhood Education and the Junior Master Gardener program, participants will discover engaging book recommendations paired with simple, hands-on garden activities such as seed planting, scavenger hunts, and nature journaling. Together, we will discuss strategies for using read-alouds, storytelling, poetry, and art to build vocabulary, comprehension, and social-emotional skills—grounded in research-based early childhood best practices.

Gardens + Books = Kindness + Community
Erin Dealey, Author & Growing Good Kids Award Recipient

Like Izzy shows us in Dealey’s picture book, JUST FLOWERS, gardens connect our community, schools, generations, and –when given the chance—might even help our grumpiest neighbors or classmates bloom. Dealey’s book, DEAR EARTH…From your friends in Room 5 shares earth-friendly activities Earth Heroes can do to help our environment and sustainability throughout the year. In this session, author/teacher Erin Dealey will share easy, creative, hands-on activities to integrate her children’s books, as well as those by other current kidlit authors, into garden-based learning. Dealey’s goal is to encourage young and old to find connections, friendship, kindness (not to mention fascinating flowers and delicious food) and hope in the magic of gardens, and the power of words and persistence. 

From Soil to Student: Cultivating a Sustainable School Community
Tami Lynn Bhadai, Cesar Chavez Elementary

This session will highlight how hands-on sustainability projects can transform student learning and school culture. Using programs such as Eco-Rise student-led grants, Junior Master Gardener certification, and FFA Junior, participants will explore practical ways to integrate gardening, sustainability, and science into elementary classrooms. Attendees will gain strategies for fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and environmental stewardship while building a supportive school community. Examples of student-led initiatives—including participation in Region One’s first South Texas Sustainable Showcase—will demonstrate how sustainability empowers young learners to envision unique career pathways and take pride in their contributions.

No Thyme for Boredom: Active Learning Strategies for Budding Gardeners
Clarissa Chairez, University of Florida/IFAS Extension Orange County

This session will highlight how hands-on sustainability projects can transform student learning and school culture. Using programs such as Eco-Rise student-led grants, Junior Master Gardener certification, and FFA Junior, participants will explore practical ways to integrate gardening, sustainability, and science into elementary classrooms. Attendees will gain strategies for fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and environmental stewardship while building a supportive school community. Examples of student-led initiatives—including participation in Region One’s first South Texas Sustainable Showcase—will demonstrate how sustainability empowers young learners to envision unique career pathways and take pride in their contributions.

Sustaining a School Garden Program in a Digital World 
Casey Wiedenman, Curriculum Integrator, Champlin Brooklyn Park Academy

The JMG program at Champlin Brooklyn Park Academy (CBPA) and the school garden it helps to support have been around since 2003. It has survived a school closing, Covid-19, staffing changes at the administration and classroom level, and several curricular shifts that have increased the minutes for technology, reading and math that leave precious little time in the school day for anything else. Despite these challenges the JMG program at CBPA continues and has helped sustain our school garden.

Sustaining a school garden is a significant challenge and one that requires dedicated teachers, administrators, families and volunteers. Learn how CBPA has managed to maintain a successful gardening program over the years by focusing on grade level themes, curriculum integration, volunteer/family involvement, online promotion and a strong partnership with the Junior Master Gardener program. CBPA is an award winning specialty school that has made its garden program a priority over years and always looks to improve through reflection and feedback from the stakeholders involved.

What’s the Buzz on Bees in Education
Lauren Ward, Honey Bee Program Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Honey bees hold the power to fascinate children and adults alike. These well-studied and charismatic insects can serve as an excellent model to explore a wide array of concepts like social behavior, insect anatomy, and ecology. By including bees in their programs, educators can create fun and interactive learning experiences for students. This presentation outlines how bees can be utilized in a classroom or garden setting and offers tips for setting up bee programs in schools.

Discovering Herbs: A Gardener’s Journey
Nancy Kreith, Extension Educator, Horticulture, University of Illinois Extension

Transform your classroom into a living laboratory with the power of herbs! This program is designed for educators who want to engage students with hands-on, plant-based learning.
We’ll start by exploring our themed demonstration gardens, from the Tea Garden to the “Herbs of the World” collection and our Swallowtail Station ‘Butterfly Habitat.’ You’ll discover how we utilize Master Gardener expertise for best practices in herb care, including seed harvesting, managing plant spread, and raising caterpillars on host plants.
You’ll leave with practical skills and ready-to-use lesson ideas, including how to:
• Create engaging interpretive signage for your own school garden.
• Being inclusive by learning about herbs from different parts of the world.
• Overwinter tender herbs in your classroom.
• Craft hands-on projects, like dried herb sachets and potpourri, to extend the learning experience for your students.