ROCKPORT — Starting May 11, Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) in collaboration with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension will host a six-month session of Kids Can Grow, a program introducing families with children between the ages of seven to twelve to growing vegetables for healthy eating.

Families will receive materials – lumber, soil, nails, seeds, and seedlings – to build their own raised beds at home and will be assigned a garden mentor to provide inspiration and assistance with their home garden bed once a month. Kids and adults will learn the basics together in six monthly group classes at the preserve’s gardens and practice their skills in their own 3’ x 5’ raised bed gardens at home.   

The program will begin with an orientation for the adult family members on Wednesday, May 11, from 4 to 5:15 p.m., at Erickson Fields Preserve, 164 West Street, in Rockport. MCHT staff and Master Gardener volunteers will lead a series of six monthly group classes from 4 to 6 p.m., at Erickson Fields.

The first class will be held Wednesday, May 18. The following classes will be held on the first Wednesday of each month, June through October.   

The fee to participate in the program is $60. Financial assistance is available on a sliding scale. Space is limited. Registration is recommended by Monday, May 9.

For more information and to register, visit aldermere.org/kids-can-grow, call (207) 236-2739 or email aldermere@mcht.org.   

Erickson Fields is a preserve of MCHT, a statewide land conservation organization. More information about MCHT and its community programs is available online at www.mcht.org.