Do you want to give kids the gift of a green thumb? Learn how to teach children about gardening at a two-day educational symposium, "Education in Blossom: The School Garden - Community Partnership," July 31 to Aug. 1, at the State University of New York College at Cortland, hosted by the college and Cornell.

Teachers, parents, community leaders, youth leaders, master gardeners and interested adults are encouraged to attend. Workshops include information on how to:

• Use the garden to teach children about science and to make other interdisciplinary connections;
• Get families, volunteers and community organizations involved with gardens;
• Reach people with special needs;
• Develop intergenerational programs;
• Lay out, plant and maintain a garden using texture, fragrance, sound, light, shade and water.

The symposium will also feature several keynote speakers:

• Jane Taylor, Michigan State University curator of the 4-H Children's Garden, will discuss "Imagination Blossoms in a Child's Garden and Grassroots Fund-raising."
• Sharon Lovejoy, contributing editor to Country Living Gardener Magazine, will discuss "Growing Gardeners - Growing Caregivers" and approaches to cultivating Earth stewardship through gardening.
• Marcia Eames-Sheavly, a Cornell horticulture educator, will talk about "Making Interdisciplinary Connections to the Garden" and ways to capitalize on the learning experience.

The registration fee for the two-day symposium is $125. (After July 1, it will be $145.) Fees do not include hotel accommodations.

For further information contact Marcia Eames-Sheavly at (607) 255-1781. Or write Marcia Eames-Sheavly, Education in Blossom Symposium, 124 Plant Science Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853. Electronic mail may be sent to marcia_eames-sheavly@cornell.edu.