Children from the Cheyenne River Youth Project® show off the fruits of their labors.

Over the past six years, the Cheyenne River Youth Project® (CRYP) has developed a 2-acre organic garden outside of the Billy Mills Youth Center.

The garden is named Winyan Toka Win, Lakota for “Leading Lady”, after the community elder, Iyonne Garreau, who inspired the garden.

Everything produced from the garden is shared between CRYP, the local elderly nutrition center, other community organizations, and Cheyenne River families.

In the garden, children grow:
• vegetables such as corn, peppers, and squash
• fruit such as melons and berries
• staples such as beans, carrots, and beets
• hard to find produce such as turnips, onions, and greens.

The children at CRYP are involved in every aspect of the garden from planting and weeding to watering and harvesting. They also participate in weekly classes addressing various topics, such as proper techniques and traditional agricultural methods.

For the past two years, the program has incorporated a native practice called “Three Sisters Planting” (corn, beans, squash) into the garden layout. This method not only prevents soil depletion, but also improves nutrient content, which is part of the practice of sustainable farming.

The Children's Garden has been nominated for several awards and has recently won the Garden Supply Company’s Garden Crusaders Award of 2005-2006.

As CRYP's affiliate, Running Strong provided a grant to support year-round work in the garden.