New cameras, same ole magic

Posted on November 14, 2013 by kidsingardens

Kid with Cameras 4.0 just came to a lovely close. Through Julian United Methodist Church’s Gallo Fund, we were able to purchase ten “teaching cameras” for the project. Formerly, we worked with whatever cameras the kids had access to, and we spent a lot of time fiddling with each one. It worked, but everything is now so much easier–the cameras are always available, batteries are charged, instruction is given once to everyone, and we don’t need to download images at the end of every class.

Over seven weeks, we had a classes taught by various local photographers. Jeff Holt and Bill Bevill taught camera fundamentals:

Then Anne Garcia took us through principles of composition, using her own work as examples as well as a few photos of Graham Wilder’s.

We headed out to shoot in the school garden, with the objective of using some of the best images for a Garden Club photo card fundraiser.

Photo courtesy of Bill Bevill

Another class was held at Down the Road farm for farmer/chef portraits. Enlargements of some of the day’s best photos will be hung in the school cafeteria to help children make connections between their lunch and the people that had a hand in growing/preparing it.

Dave Pierce taught a class on still life, described here.

Graham Wilder, a new instructor with Kids with Cameras, showed the students some of his images, encouraging them to find the “extraordinary in the ordinary.”

Then we walked to downtown Julian to do just that.

Another new addition to the class was the process for choosing the “best photo” to exhibit. In the past, the instructors got together to look at film to pick the image. This year, each instructor took home the memory cards for two students after our last day of shooting. From those photos, the teacher narrowed them down to the best 10-12 images. Then during our last class, they sat with the students for 1.5 hours and talked through each photo, discussing them at length and asking the kids for feedback. Ultimately, the student picked their favorite. I think this approach worked great: the student had ownership of the photo to be exhibited, but they chose from a small pool already screened by the instructors, drawing upon their expertise. As educational experiences go, I think this class was simply incredible.

As is now our tradition, we ended with an evening reception at the public library. Instructors spoke about the class, students talked about their photos, and everyone enjoyed refreshments while milling around with the artists.

Photo courtesy of Bill Bevill

All photos remain on display for two weeks, and then the students get to take them home, along with a CD of all of their photos. Thanks to everyone involved for making this program an unqualified success!

Photo courtesy of Bill Bevill

Photo courtesy of Jeff Holt

Photo courtesy of Jeff Holt

Could the library get any cooler?

Posted on June 19, 2013 by kidsingardens

And I’m not referring to air conditioning, though I must confess that is a undeniable perk to the public library right about now.

I’m talking about “even better” as in look what our head librarian Colleen allowed Sunday and me to set up! Now along with checking out books, participating in excellent programs, ~~paying overdue fines~~, and otherwise taking advantage of all the many services a library provides in a small town (and elsewhere), a patron can now bring in his/her unused seeds and take home something new in exchange. As a garden coordinator, I receive all kinds of seed donations—far more than I could ever use. Now I can share my leftovers with the community and feel free to experiment with different varieties from my neighbors.

Thanks Colleen!

Daffodil show: win-win-win-win…

Posted on March 27, 2013 by kidsingardens

This past weekend was the annual Daffodil Show in Julian. (Last year I gushingly detailed all of the reasons I love this community event here.)

After a brief chat on Friday about how to choose a prizewinning bloom, the students spread out to harvest.

What to choose?

Then after school I took my boys home to pick their personal entries.

Ethan almost backed out this year but decided to enter again after listening to his mother go on and on about the importance of tradition. (A fistful of ribbons, including a “court of honor” distinction later, he was glad he followed through, and I made him promise to do it every year until he graduates high school. We’ll see. Elliot’s in, for sure.)

A friend visiting from out-of-town jumped right in on the excitement, watching the boys key out and arrange their flowers. (The paper flowers hanging from the ceiling and the watercolor paintings on the wall were all done by kids at school.)

The youth division took up one full wall with a record amount of entries.

Photo courtesy of Anne Garcia

Marisa’s beautiful display with children’s essays. The photos are of kids planting at school and around town—a yearly tradition led by Sally Snipes.

Photo courtesy of Anne Garcia

The ribbons and some of the flowers are now proudly on display in the front office of the school.

My friend Anne summed it up well in a post-show e-mail:

I think the Youth Division MAKES the show! It adds so much pizazz and meaning to why we grow the flowers. Pure joy!

Summoning the foodie advisors

Posted on March 21, 2013 by kidsingardens

As part of our year-long Farm to School planning grant, I have pulled together a group of excellent people in Julian to serve as my advisory board. They are a gorgeous slice of our community: parents, gardeners, health practitioners, alumni, farmers, grant writers, chefs, camp directors, business owners, school staff, board members, etc. We met this month for the first time.

After briefly reviewing progress with the grant, I broke them in to groups to circulate around the room and jot down ideas on posters with headings like: “Ideas for getting discounted or free produce,” “Lesson and fieldtrip ideas,” and “Ways to celebrate National Food Day.” We met again as a large group to read through these ideas and further stimulate the brainstorming. As “chief researcher” in this process, I then compiled all of the ideas and am now following the leads. I am thrilled to have such a knowledgeable and passionate group of folks to learn from throughout the grant process.

I’m reminded of the necessity and beauty of collaboration, as this has been a good week for it. The owner of a local winery swung by school on the weekend to prune our grapevines. Garden Beneficials (and husbands) visited over the weekend and after school to transplant strawberries, water and pull some mystery rebar out of the ground. I’m heading out the door right now to collect a donation of seeds from our feed store.

It is no cliché when we say our garden grows community!

P.S. If you live in Julian and want to join the fun, you are welcome! Just give me a call or write me a note—our next meeting will be in May!

To market, to market (to fund all our ideas!)

Posted on December 9, 2012 by kidsingardens

Today we held our annual Fall Garden Market on Main Street, Julian. Chances are we’ll be there tomorrow, because we have a lot of big ideas we want to fund. Here are a few snapshots from the day:

Tying up the native strawberry plants with burlap and raffia. Garden Ambassadors propagated the plants.

Photo cards from Kids with Cameras, apple print cards by the third graders and the seeds we saved from our snapdragons during a University of Wednesday class.

The kids helped set up and then made corn husk dolls. (Avery wore the Pooh costume all day!)

Rosemary wreaths were popular! I want to do this activity again with students—maybe a Mothers’ Day gift?

The sale always has the backbone of gourmet baked goods, thanks to Rita!

We sold daffodil bulbs in baskets, with directions for planting.

Marisa and Kathy worked all day! Thank you friends!

Raised today: $473!

Sculpture from the water’s edge

Posted on November 8, 2012 by kidsingardens

A solar fountain—on the wish list from the beginning of the project and now a charming, bubbling reality in the garden.

I’ve mentioned that I am now part of a network of Master Gardeners in San Diego County (I’ve written about it here and here.) We have a listserv on which I posted a question about solar fountains. The garden club decided to buy one, and I was looking for recommendations to help me sort through all of the on-line options. Running water in the garden is one of the few things we don’t have, and I knew kids would love seeing it pumped by the sun. I figured—not everything in the garden has to be unique—a nice, standard, store-bought fountain will be just fine. But then….

My classmate, Deirdre Allen, wrote to me to let me know she was currently making fountains. We had been seat mates during a MG fieldtrip, and I remembered seeing iphone photos of the beautiful pottery she does at home. A great price, a few e-mailed pictures, and next thing you know, she’s in Julian installing a gorgeous handcrafted piece.

(Meanwhile) the 2012 Master Gardener class has been self-organizing trips to see each other’s gardens. On Monday I had the pleasure of hosting my classmates at the school garden, including Deirdre, and I cloaked the fountain so that we could officially welcome it to its new garden home.

Thank you Stan Miller for all of the photos above!

Isn’t it beautiful? It’s nestled next to our dry riverbed, to which it lends the lovely spilling sound of water. The river stones in the basin and the tree stump make it look as though it was always meant to be in that exact spot. Deirdre’s business is called “Sculpture from the Water’s Edge” (she lives in a San Diego beach city), and you can call her with questions and/or orders at 713-857-5637.

Snip! goes one more ribbon

Posted on October 27, 2012 by kidsingardens

On Wednesday, October 17th we officially welcomed the James Hubbell Gate into our garden. Back-to-back with this celebration was a garden tour given to a group of people attending the No Excuses University conference in San Diego. Garden Ambassadors gave tours for a half an hour, and then we kicked off the ceremony.

Here’s me reviewing last minute tour details with the ambassadors:

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

The gate is tied up with a ribbon.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Holt

Just a taste of Rita’s always-remarkable catering:

Photo courtesy of Jeff Holt

Show time! Garden Ambassadors do their thing, informing the guests about the section of the garden at which they are stationed.

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

This ambassador is standing behind a display of student photography detailing the creation of the gate.

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

The entomology club talks to guests!

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

A student plays fiddle for guests who are being seated, just as he promised in his application:

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Sixth grade students read poetry written about the gate:

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

I greet the crowd and give a speech, explaining “… this is a story of many things: of dreams turned into reality, the making of new friendships, the power of imagination to reshape reality, the generosity of our community to the benefit of children and the doorway to new chapters.”

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

James speaks!

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

L to R: Susi Jones (Executive Director of Pathways), Kevin Ogden (Julian Elementary Principal and Superintendent), Ann and James Hubbell, me, John Wheelock (artistic colleague of James who worked on gate), Mike Gallo (who established the Pamela Gallo fund at the United Methodist Church which funded the gate) and Dawn King (pastor at Julian Community United Methodist Church.)

Photo courtesy of Lay Lay

Snip! goes the ribbon.

Photo courtesy of Lay Lay

The children walk through, as they will be doing for decades to come!

Photo courtesy of Lay Lay

Family Fun (work)Day

Posted on September 26, 2012 by kidsingardens

Once a quarter Mr. Pierce plans a weekend “Family Fun Day.” This past weekend the event was held in the garden, for a workday and BBQ. Simply amazing what many hands can accomplish!

Rangers at Heise Park dumped off a load of woodchips (seen in the background) which were loaded into wheelbarrows…

Photo courtesy of Scot Copeland

…and spread around the entire garden by kids and adults all afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

We removed an old raised bed, with rotting wood and gopher-punctured lining:

Photo courtesy of Scot Copeland

We built a brand-new, gopher-lined box: (Redwood and 1/2 inch hardware cloth)

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Moving it into place took a small team:

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Putting the dirt back in, plus buckets of compost we harvested earlier:

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Finished with peas planted and mulched (the prickly pinecones are supposed to deter creatures):

Turning bins and sifting finished compost:

Photo courtesy of Scot Copeland

Whole lot of weeding goin’ on:

Photo courtesy of Scot Copeland

Marisa leading a heroic effort with the kids to remove rocks from a future planting area:

Photo courtesy of Scot Copeland

A new family to Julian joined us for the day, and we all got to know each other a little bit more:

Photo courtesy of Scot Copeland

Finishing up with a BBQ:

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

And very last: spontaneous music at the end of the day, just as we were losing light!

Meet the “Garden Beneficials”

Posted on September 12, 2012 by kidsingardens

I’ve recently started this group, described as follows in our local newspaper:

You’re invited to join the “Garden Beneficials”

The “Garden Beneficials” * is a group of Julian residents who volunteer in the Julian Elementary and Junior High Gardens. Monthly updates and a list of volunteer opportunities are sent to the group, and volunteers pick and choose what they’d like to be involved with based on time, interest and skill. The group is low stress, low commitment—anything volunteers choose to do will be welcomed and very much appreciated! Garden Beneficials will also be invited as special guests to garden events throughout the year.

*As you may know, in the world of gardening “beneficials” are insects that do small but important work, like the ladybird beetle eating the aphid!

The first person to join was a retired woman who got in touch with me this summer, offering her gardening services. An absolute dream of a volunteer, she has come out to weed, to straighten out the ribbon garden, and to help with garden lessons on Wednesdays. Recently a neighbor donated a sweet and little but old and weathered bench to us, after having toured with garden the Julian’s Women Club. My (unnamed, as she prefers) volunteer took it home, refinished it and had her neighbor help with painting the little animals. As you can see, it is adorable! For now it is under the willow tree, inviting kids to come sit under the swaying leaves.

Something remarkable, part 3

Posted on August 21, 2012 by kidsingardens

Enough teasing—I will show you a picture of the Hubbell gate.

But first you must hear the story of how it came to be planted in our garden because at the end of the day, our garden is all about the stories.

It matters to me very much that gardens have a sense of place, by which I mean they sprout up in such a way that is specific to the place where they are sown. I think this is the “special sauce” of our garden. Yes, we have veggies, fruit, herbs, flowers and natives. But we also have layers upon layers of meaning every which way you turn—projects and structures and art pieces that tell stories about who we are.

From the beginning of our project, the idea of a Hubbell piece was thrown around. One obvious reason is that his work his ridiculously wonderful. But the other equally important reason is that he is our neighbor. When kids see the Hubbell gate, I want them to learn about shape and proportion and color and design. But I also want them to recognize Jim, our friend and fellow community member, who lives and works in our little town and gave our garden a big vote of confidence by choosing to place an original piece of art in it.

So all of us Garden Club folks threw the idea around for three years. Until one day Jeff Holt visited the garden on Global Youth Service Day and upon surveying the big gains the garden had recently made, casually tossed the question to me: So, what’s one of your next big dreams for the garden?

Hubbell, I blurted right out. I would love to have a Hubbell piece out here.

And in a very old-fashioned gesture, Jeff said he would “make the introduction.” He did, and I gave Jim a tour. He smiled a lot, and I think he liked what he saw. At the end of our time together, he looked at me with smiling eyes and said he’d like to contribute something. I can’t remember if I cried right then and there, but I’ll tell you I was crying on the inside. He told me to think about what the garden needed, and a few things were mentioned, like a small water feature or a sundial.

We met again a couple months later with Marisa. We got to telling stories, again. I was explaining that the junior high kids had been clamoring for a garden, having grown accustomed to having one. I mentioned the junior high kid who asked what he should do with his banana peel—after years of routinely composting his food scraps at the elementary, it seemed bizarre to start throwing it in the trash can at the junior high. So now a garden project at the junior high was getting off the ground. Jim lit up. His eyes sparkled, and he gently suggested, “Why don’t we build a gate to connect the two schools?”

See, the two schools are adjacent but are totally separated by a long, long line of chain fence on our side, and then a service road and another line of chain link. Jim suggested we connect the gardens, we connect the schools, we connect students’ learning. Then the talk turned magically philosophical—about how gates are portals to the next thing, the entrances to new beginnings, thresholds to fresh life chapters that may seem scary but are really just unknown—-much like the transition from elementary school to junior high, and of course, so much more.

Jim left, and Marisa and I cried.

And then a Julian resident, Mike Gallo, extravagantly stepped up and funded the entire project in a single swoop, in loving memory of his late wife. Jim drew a sketch and got to work with artist colleagues Bill Porter and John Wheelock. We started to tell people with excited little giggles, and they marveled with us.

The gate was on its way.

I began to write curriculum about garden gates which you can read about here. We also had students start to document the whole process, and I’ll show you their step-by-step photographs later when we celebrate the ribbon cutting.

But enough talking….take a look at this: