Inspiring Conversations with Aaron Gudenkauf of Just A Little Greener

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Gudenkauf.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My frustrations around the climate crisis situation peaked in 2019. The issue was critically important to me but like many others, I struggled to wrap my mind around how I could directly impact the situation. My wife prompted me to try and verbalize how I felt about the situation and my response was, “I just want to make the world a little greener for our (newborn) daughter.” And that was the start of Just A Little Greener (JLG).

Having volunteered with a few other climate action organizations, I knew I wanted to focus JLGs efforts on programs involving kids. I found myself inspired by the integrated gardening program at Manzo Elementary in Tucson, Az and JLG set out to partner with schools and other youth-facing organizations to encourage and facilitate the development of green spaces for kids.

Very quickly JLG received a large donation of seeds and started work to establish a network to distribute the seeds to programs that could benefit from them. Via that network, we established partnerships with a couple of schools that wanted to set up fully integrated gardening programs. While working on those programs, we discovered that many individuals/schools were interested in the idea of setting up school gardens, but didn’t know how to get started. In many cases, individual teachers were purchasing materials out-of-pocket to try and start gardens; this is how we stumbled upon the niche role of helping other organizations source materials. In this capacity, we have diverted materials destined for landfills and redistributed them to youth-serving organizations so they could be fully utilized.

Over time, our partner network expanded and we connected with Free Plant N Garden Stands, based in Phoenix.

Leveraging their network, we have distributed thousands of seed packets throughout Arizona – as far away as Flagstaff. Our next seed drop is scheduled for April 2nd, 2023, and will be used by Free Plant N Garden Stands and TigerMountain Foundation at community farms across the Phoenix Metro Area.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t exactly been a smooth journey so far. Manzo Elementary’s program is my aspirational goal for every partner school; a large-scale garden that is fully integrated into the educational curriculum for the students.

But the reality of school gardening programs is that they are often started by a single passionate individual (e.g., teacher, teacher’s assistant, etc.), and while that individual is actively engaged, we can make some great strides. But when that individual gets redirected to other endeavors or leaves the school, the programs often fall to languish.

We endeavor to set up as much of a garden project as possible as quickly as possible to maximize the gardening opportunity for the kids. Also, as a small nonprofit, funding is a constant battle.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Founded in 2019, our mission is to collaborate with schools and other youth-facing organizations to encourage and facilitate the development of green spaces for children. We help partner organizations with a whole host of topics including garden design, water harvesting, sourcing materials, curriculum integration, and digging holes to plant. We are always on the lookout for schools and other youth-serving organizations that are interested in exploring the possibility of setting up a garden program.

Gardens aren’t just about the physical act of putting plants in the ground or strictly focused on a response to the climate crisis. A fascinating process happens when you get kids outside and get their hands dirty. Guided by a program, a simple garden can integrate math, critical thinking, problem-solving, science, and more. Aside from the educational opportunities, there are also numerous psychological benefits from plants and gardening.

We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
You have to be willing to take on some risk to start any sort of business endeavor, both for-profit or nonprofit.

I think having a solid framework, like your organizational mission/vision, helps to guide your risk-taking – so you are not striking out completely blind. In this specific instance, however, the greater risk for me is the risk of inaction; the risk for me was NOT being an active part of the effort to address the climate crisis.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @justlilgreener
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justlilgreener