Seattle Tilth

Seattle Tilth educates and inspires people to garden organically, conserve natural resources, and support local food systems in order to cultivate a healthy urban environment and community. Key initiatives include classes, demonstration gardens, job training programs for underserved youth, volunteer education and training, cooking and gardening programs in underserved areas of King Coutny, a farm incubator program and a garden hotline. Our farm programs, demonstration gardens and classes teach people how to grow their own food organically, raise backyard chickens, goats, and bees, and develop healthy soil in an urban environment.  

Our farm programs focus on building stronger communities and local food access by working with low income communities. Farm programs such as Seattle Youth Garden Works teach employment and business skills to underserved youth. The Seattle Tilth Farm Works incubator program provides land and resources to help immigrant farmers start small businesses and grow local, organic produce. 

Our unique curriculum, Teaching Peace Through Gardening, is the centerpiece of our lessons for children and families. We maintain five separate teaching gardens, where we demonstrate innovative organic gardening techniques and offer hands-on experiences for those enrolled in our classes. The gardens are open to the public for self-guided tours.We work with community centers and schools to establish additional teaching gardens, and we are involved with a number of coalitions to address issues of food security for all.Our work is helping to conserve our resources, build healthy communities and provide healthy food for us all.

Through our garden hotline we offer individualized solutions to garden problems and educate the public on ways to reduce waste, conserve water and other natural resources, and minimize the use of chemicals. Our Water Smart program teaches regional gardeners the importance of organic garden and lawn maintenance to protect our watershed. The Master Composter/Soil Builder Volunteer Program trains volunteers in the latest composting and soil-building techniques to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and put it back in the ground. Trainees provide forty hours of outreach at events, schools, and neighborhoods, teaching the community how to build healthy soil. 

Community events connect thousands of adults and children interested in sustainability, local food systems, and community engagement. Through these events we provide local plant starts, connect people to their farmers, teach about preserving the harvest, and emphasize environmental stewardship.