22/06/2026
MORE THAN A GARDEN: HOW GARDEN LAB IS CULTIVATING CONFIDENCE, STEM SKILLS, AND COMMUNITY
Garden Lab combines agriculture, STEM education, and sensory-inclusive learning to help youth build confidence, skills, and community connections across the St. Louis region.
By VOTP News STL Staff
June 22, 2026
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — For many young people, a garden is simply a place where food grows. At Garden Lab, it is also a classroom, a sensory learning environment, and a place where confidence, responsibility, and life skills can take root.
Garden Lab is one of six sensory labs operated through Giant Rocket's Foundation, a youth development nonprofit co-founded by Rhonda Taylor. The program uses gardening and agriculture as a hands-on tool to teach STEM concepts while helping young people develop practical skills through exploration, observation, and real-world experiences.
The idea behind Garden Lab grew from a need Taylor saw within the community. Too many families, particularly those with neurodiverse children, were finding themselves excluded from programs and environments that were not designed with their needs in mind. At the same time, many young people lacked access to safe green spaces and opportunities to learn where their food comes from.
"We call our young people Giant Rockets," Taylor said. "Our mission is simple: remove access barriers so every Giant Rocket, regardless of ability, income, or neighborhood, has a safe, structured place to build real skills and real confidence."
At its core, Garden Lab transforms soil, seeds, and harvests into learning opportunities. Participants explore plant life cycles, pollinators, water systems, agriculture, aquaponics, and environmental stewardship while engaging their senses through touch, smell, sound, and observation.
Taylor describes soil as the ultimate sensory classroom.
The experience extends beyond science lessons. Participants plant crops, care for them, harvest them, and take home the results of their work.
"When a Giant Rocket plants it, tends it, harvests it, and takes it home, that builds patience, responsibility, and pride," Taylor said.
According to Giant Rocket's Foundation, understanding where food comes from helps young people develop a stronger connection to their health, environment, and community. For many participants, gardening also provides a calm, predictable setting that encourages focus, self-regulation, and personal growth.
Since launching June 8, Garden Lab has continued to gain support through a growing coalition of community, corporate, and funding partners.
One of the organization's most significant early accomplishments was securing a nursery site commitment from Waste Connections, which will help expand agricultural programming opportunities for participating youth.
The organization has also established community partnerships with the Recreation Council of Greater St. Louis, the River Kings Motorcycle Club, and community partner Steelo. In Florissant, the City of Florissant, through its James J. Eagan Center, is helping create opportunities for year-round programming and community engagement.
Support from the St. Louis Mental Health Board and the St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Commission is helping activate the foundation's sensory labs and expand access to programming for youth and families across the region.
For Taylor, those relationships represent one of the program's earliest successes.
"They represent people and organizations that believe in what we're building," she said.
"One organization can't remove every barrier. A coalition can."
While community gardening initiatives often face challenges related to land access, infrastructure costs, water access, soil quality, volunteer burnout, and long-term funding, Taylor believes another challenge is frequently overlooked.
Many community gardens are not designed with sensory accommodations in mind.
Garden Lab was intentionally developed to ensure neurodiverse youth and families have a place where they can participate, learn, and grow alongside their peers.
Looking ahead, Giant Rocket's Foundation is preparing for Hatchet to Harvest Day in August, which will serve as a public launch and community engagement event. Foundation leaders also plan to expand programming through the organization's nursery partnership with Waste Connections while continuing year-round opportunities through the City of Florissant's James J. Eagan Center.
Garden Lab is one piece of a broader vision that includes six sensory-focused labs: Garden, Skating, Music, Arts, STEM-to-Skate, and Social and Life Skills. Each lab is designed to be mobile, allowing programming to be delivered directly to schools, community centers, and partner facilities throughout St. Charles, St. Louis County, and St. Louis City.
The organization is also preparing for the Rocket Ball Gala in October, an annual signature fundraising event being presented in partnership with In Cahoots to help support future programming and expansion efforts.
For those interested in becoming involved, Taylor's message is simple:
"Pull Up."
Whether through volunteering, sponsoring a seat, donating supplies, supporting a lab, or connecting schools and organizations to available programming, she believes everyone has a role to play.
"Sensory is a Super Power," Taylor said. "And inclusion is a team sport."
