ROCKPORT – Starting May 8, 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 kids and parents to growing vegetables for healthy eating.

Registration is open for 12 families with children between the ages of 7 and 12. A series of six hands-on gardening classes will be held in the community garden at the Erickson Fields Preserve May through October. 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 group sessions at the preserve’s gardens, then practice their skills in their own 3’ x 5’ raised bed gardens at home.

Classes are led by MCHT staff as well as many dedicated volunteers. An orientation for parents will be held Wednesday, May 8 from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. at Aldermere Farm, 70 Russell Avenue in Rockport. Monthly meetings will be held on the first Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Erickson Fields Preserve.

The cost for the entire program is $60. Financial assistance is available on a sliding scale. Space is limited. Registration is recommended by Monday, May 6. For more information and to register, call (207) 236-2739 or email jalbury@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.