Spring: The Beginning 

After being introduced to Photovoice during the first meet-and-greet session, youth Market Leaders and Garden Leaders were equipped with cameras and their own personal devices to begin capturing important moments at the spring field trips. After each trip, they uploaded photos to the shared #photovoice Discord channel along with captions exploring those moments. 

8 field trips and about 50 Discord posts later, and the youth were ready for more in-depth photography training and a deeper exploration of Photovoice before embarking on summer activities. 

On our May 23rd training day, we invited Abigail Matheson to lead a photography workshop, focused on basic photography techniques (composition, lighting, angles), the ethics of human-centered photography, and how to use photography as a tool for reflection, storytelling, and community connection. 

Summer: The Ramp-Up

Throughout July & August, the youth continued to capture their experiences as they led their Markets and garden work. A select group, the “core team” of 12 youth, also took part in a series of 4 workshops to discuss themes, develop narrative, choose photos, and put together their final Photovoice deliverable. 

 The first workshop began with an ice breaker activity to get the youth well acquainted with one another, setting the stage for open, collaborative teamwork. Through group discussions, activities, and reflection exercises, the youth began connecting the images they had taken over the season with meaningful stories and identifying themes related to the program’s research questions. 

As the project progressed, the youth selected and reflected on photographs they had taken throughout the season, sharing captions and personal interpretations with the group. Through collaborative discussions, they identified common themes, explored connections between their individual experiences, and considered how their photographs contributed to a broader collective story. Activities such as mind mapping, group reflection, photo analysis, and theme development encouraged youth to think critically about food systems, community, belonging, leadership, and the experiences that shaped their summer.

In the final workshop, the youth worked together to organize photographs into shared categories, select images together for public display, and prepare for the end-of-season Photovoice Celebration which was an Art Gallery Walk. They created posters in groups with their photos and captions organized onto them. These sessions provided opportunities for the youth to practice communication, collaboration, and presentation skills while ensuring their voices and perspectives were represented in the final exhibit. The Photovoice process created space for youth to reflect on their experiences, celebrate their contributions, and share their stories with the wider community in a meaningful and creative way.  

End-of-Season Celebration: The Culmination

The Photovoice project wrapped up at the August 22nd End-of-Season Celebration Art Gallery Walk, where the youth presented their photographs, captions, and collective themes to community members, staff, adult allies, partners, and fellow youth. 

Across their photographs, captions and group reflections, youth shared stories about learning, relationships, confidence, responsibility and community. They wrote about learning to grow and harvest unfamiliar foods, developing gardening and communication skills, becoming more comfortable interacting with customers, working collaboratively and taking on leadership roles. They also reflected on the relationships they built along the way including friendships with other youth, connections with Garden Mentors and community members, and encounters with people working across the local food system.

Through their collective analysis, five themes emerged:

Knowledge & Exploration of Nature: Learn & Grow: Learning through hands-on experiences with food, gardening, and the natural world.

Core Memories: The friendships, experiences and moments that made the season memorable.

Behind the Scenes: Seeing the people, work and processes behind growing, selling and sharing food.

Strengthening Roots: Building confidence, communication and leadership through teamwork, customer interactions and new community connections.

Work Ethic: Learning the value of hard work, patience, responsibility and teamwork through caring for gardens, overcoming challenges and seeing the results of their efforts.

The display and presentations highlighted the experiences, perspectives, and learning that happened throughout the summer, allowing the youth to share their stories in their own words. 

Explore the PhotoVoice Exhibit 

The stories don’t end with the gallery walk! The posters created by the youth brought together their photographs, captions, and reflections around the five themes that emerged through the PhotoVoice process. Browse the slideshow below to explore the posters created and presented by youth at the End-of-Season Celebration.