Gateway To Gardening
Program Details
Established in May 2022, the Gateway to Gardening program was created to provide an educational and community-focused component of Long Beach Organic, Inc. Through generous funding support from the Munzer Foundation, LBO has been able to maintain a commitment to provide regular, free education and garden-based activity programming for children and adults in the greater Long Beach community. Our program goals continue to include providing free classes and events in our gardens, and to have the necessary resources to be able to provide community access to our safe, accessible green space at the Zaferia Junction Community Garden.
Host a Garden Event with Long Beach Organic!
Are you interested in hosting an education event at one of our eight community garden sites? Fill out the form below! If you need accommodation for any of our events, please email oliver@longbeachorganic.org.
Gateway to Gardening Community Feedback
What kind of events do you want to see Long Beach Organic host in the future? Fill out our survey here!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Pick Your Pesto Pizza Party: A Garden Cooking Workshop
June 27, 2026 Join us for an afternoon of garden-made foraged pesto and wood-fired pizza making! In this workshop, we'll be exploring the possibilities of foraging in the city and how we can incorporate the food that grows all around us into our meals. Participants will get to collect local plants from the garden to make fresh pesto and create their own pizzas in our garden's earth oven.
RSVP here!From Garden to Table: An Evening of Food Sustainability with Rancho Los Alamitos
July 23, 2026 Long Beach Organic is excited to be partnering with Rancho Los Alamitos for an educational and interactive dinner event focused on building community-led food systems. Join us as we explore the past, present, and future of urban gardening in Long Beach. Attendees will participate in cooking and seed-starting workshops designed to demonstrate the tangible link between growing our own food and sustaining our communities. These demonstrations will be accompanied by a dinner prepared with select locally-sourced ingredients, highlighting the work of local gardeners and land stewards. Space is limited.
RSVP here!Past Events
For the Love of Spring! A Garden Art Workshop
Participants in this art workshop got to explore the historic botanical photography method of cyanotype printing. After learning about the process firsthand, we gathered materials from around the garden to create our own pieces of art.
Learning Garden Refresh Party
Volunteers helped reset garden beds in Zaferia's "Learning Garden" for the spring growing season. We learned about soil amending, organic fertilizer use, mulching, and how to set up baby plants for a bountiful summer!
"It's Alive!" Soil Fertility Workshop
Hosted alongside our annual Plants-R-Us fundraiser, participants learned about soil health and how we can help feed the life in our soil. Each participant learned how to make compost tea and got to take home their own compost tea bags.
IVA Middle School Field Trip
Students from IVA Middle School came to Zaferia Junction Community Garden for their "Day of Service" to help with garden maintenance and learn about land stewardship principles.
Girl Scout Troop Field Trip
"Our Girl Scout Trip had an amazing morning with Long Beach Organic at the Zaferia Community Garden. Brianna was kind, patient and engaging as she taught the girls about how the garden works, what organic gardening means, and how to plant radishes. She even sent us home with little herb pots and seeds to grow at home. The girls then got to do weeding and mulching, which was very fun and great experience for these city kids. What a great way to earn a badge! We’ll definitely be back. Thank you, Long Beach Organic!" Monica, Troop 733