What I did on my summer vacation

Posted on August 21, 2013 by kidsingardens

I’m back, with stories to tell.

In fact, one of my first stories is one I’ve been keeping close since May, and now I can finally let it out to all of you good readers. IT IS SO EXCITING I WILL HAVE TO REFRAIN FROM WRITING THE ENTIRE POST IN ALL CAPS, but I will try.

But first….what I did on my summer vacation, garden-wise.

In July the school garden committee of Master Gardeners was treated to a tour of the garden at Paul Ecke Elementary in Encinitas, with Mr. Hank as tour guide.

“School as garden”—an idea that the whole campus is a garden with different sites where all subjects can be taught.

Their outdoor “cooking lab” has an underground drain which waters the baby citrus tree to the left.

Water plants, not friends—apparently a school garden universal.

A neat application of the painted rock concept.

I like seeing other garden educator’s tricks of the trade. Here Mr. Hank has made a device in which he can arrange the tools needed that day and kids can quickly choose from that limited supply instead of sorting through the shed.

A rain chain adds a grace note to this rainwater cistern.

Pallets set on their sides create the stage for a lesson on vertical gardens.

In the boxes below, veggies are planted by color to emphasize the principle above.

School as garden—here citrus plants, herbs and ornamentals enhance another building’s facade across campus.

Even little flower gardens enliven a school campus as they create habitat.

The same day I visited the ambitious 1-acre farm project on the campus of Ocean Knoll in Encinitas, a vision steered by two women/parents who lead the non-profit organization Healthy Day Partners. They are building raised beds, compost bins, and tool sheds with a view to supplying the salad bars in the district’s nine elementary schools. As a food justice project, fruit trees are being planted along the street side of the property, purposely planted to hang over the fence so that fruit is available to any neighbor passing by.

As part of their school’s international focus, the upper elementary students built this greenhouse with “eco-bricks”—discarded plastic bottles filled with inorganic trash. Schools in Latin America have been built with this simple technology, and the Encinitas kids worked through the organization Hug it Forward to help fundraise for one such project in Guatemela, later skyping with the Central American students about their shared experiences.

A beautiful multi-purpose stage for activities from yoga to outdoor meals stretches along one side of the garden. Stumps arranged around the platform create a perfect performance area as well.

Good reminder that rural, suburban, urban—we all got our critters to exclude.

This is a team, and a district, with a lot of vision, and I look forward to following–and celebrating–their progress!

Early morning wonders

Posted on June 1, 2013 by kidsingardens

Beginning to tidy up the garden for this weekend’s tour, I opened the small cedar hutch and found myself looking directly at this:

I immediately closed the door and ran to get my favorite fifth grade entomologist out of class.

The swallowtail must have been drying its wings because it was perfectly still, allowing us to move the box to which it was attached and put it under a tree.

Avery and I spent a good ten minutes taking pictures and video, making observations just inches away, and marveling together. It was wonder-full.

Here’s another wonderful thing: I knew her teacher would allow me to take her out for ten minutes, missing a bit of class time, for this teachable moment. Thanks Mrs. Croman.

Garden Tour: May 2013

Posted on May 28, 2013 by kidsingardens

Time to wander around the school garden. Join me.

Let’s start with the roses.

When the breeze is blowing, and you get a waft of honeysuckle flowers, it’s a little bit of heaven.

Another 3×3 square foot gardening model, with the pvc criss-cross hoop. Planted with kale, swiss chard, peppers and marigolds.

Gazebo windowboxes planted with flowers purchased at the Warners Springs Mother’s Day plant sale as well as plants I scored for free at the end of Master Gardener Spring Seminar.

Also new to the gazebo, an inhabited bird nest in the rafters!

Peas, glorious peas.

GARDEN FAIL. We planted this out with three varieties of spinach, which barely sprouted then turned yellow, despite babying. Keepin’ it humble, in the garden.

Sidewalk art adjacent to the garden.

We took our artist-made solar fountain inside for the winter so that it wouldn’t crack in the low temperatures. It’s now back home, though in a different location—closer to the habitat bed.

Looks like we may have our first crop of grapes when school resumes.

Kat Beck introducing the preview films in order to introduce the Wild and Scenic Film Festival at an all-school assembly. After watching “Watermelon Magic,” we’ve witnessed students standing over plants and whispering, “grow, grow, grow!”

Lastly, giving Backcountry Collaborative partner awards, I got to gush about my Garden Beneficials and University of Wednesday parent helpers. I made the point: not only do they do A LOT of work in the garden, but they also love the garden with me. I am grateful for both.

Harvest of the month: peas

Posted on May 11, 2013 by kidsingardens

Next year I will be leading the effort to introduce a Harvest of the Month program at our school. To get it started, we’re doing a pilot this month.

The backbone of this program is a set of excellent resources provided by a Network for a Healthy California (http://www.harvestofthemonth.cdph.ca.gov). For each fruit or vegetable, they provide an educator guide, a parent newsletter, a community handout and a menu template on which you can print your school lunch calendar.

I attended the all-district staff meeting at the beginning of the month to introduce the program and pass out information to the teachers. These multi-page guides have lots of information about the selected fruit or vegetable: nutrition, history, botany, recipes, science, literature links, etc.

During a University of Wednesday class, the children rotated to three stations related to peas. Here’s a craft template I created for an indoor station. (It was windy that day!)

Tip: Michaels has a single pack of cardstock greens in all different shades.

At another station, the students did a set of drawings of peas, which were planted in succession so that they could observe them at different stages of growth—also, to stretch out the harvest.

At my station we sampled sweet pea hummus, and we talked about all of the ingredients. We also did a fennel taste test because I had some to use from our donated produce box.

I’m going to teach more pea-themed lessons this month so I’ve been checking out every children’s book I can find with the word”pea” in the title and creating a working annotated bibliography. I’d love to find a grant to eventually purchase every title on the list.

We also made some decorations for the garden to announce the monthly harvest. Here our 8th grade PLUS leadership kids are finishing up a banner started by the fourth grade.

This is a banner I had printed locally.

And finally, a taste test! Snap peas were in our Be Wise Box this week, and I supplemented them with 2 lbs. from the Warner Springs Farmers Market I visited last night. An ambassador took data (“”Do you like it?”), and once again, the peas have it!

Big ideas, big events in our small town

Posted on May 8, 2013 by kidsingardens

If you are a Julian/San Diego local, consider yourself invited to the following events that relate to gardening, Farm to School and environmental activism/awareness. If you’re not, consider this a window on some of the super cool stuff coming up in the next four weeks in our little town.

Wild and Scenic Film Festival

For the last eleven years the Wild and Scenic Film Festival has kicked off in its home, Nevada City. After that, it travels. Local committees organize to bring the films to their city, and Julian is lucky enough to have a group of visionary folks (read Nancy, Brian and Terry!) and a supporting organization (Volcan Mountain Foundation) who successfully brought it to Julian last year and are bringing it back again this year, bigger and better. From Friday to Sunday (May 17-19), our little town will show 44 films about the planet—from gorgeous nature films to inspiring environmental activist stories to thrilling adventure documentaries. Along with the films, there are hikes, naturalist-led children’s activites, food, receptions, chats with the filmmakers, and more. I can’t wait! This year, the committee has also arranged for films, all featuring children and the environment, to be shown at assemblies at the elementary schools and junior high the week before the festival. (See list of kid-related films below.) And during the festival itself, Cafeteria Man will be shown and the director will be present to discuss the project. (Remember, we got a chance to talk with Cafeteria Man—a charismatic chef who revolutionized Baltimore’s public school lunch program— at our recent USDA conference.) To top it off, the event benefits the Volcan Mountain Foundation which I’ve written about here.

Learn more about the festival, buy on-line tickets and/or drool at the general awesomeness of this event at: www.julianfilmfestival.com

Julian Garden Tour

As a fundraiser for Julian’s Farm to School program, the Julian Garden Tour will be presented on Saturday, June 1st from 10:00-4:00. Presented by the Julian Triangle Club and supported by the Julian Educational Foundation, this self-guided tour will feature seven gardens with their resident gardeners on hand to chat with visitors. The gardens will range from an ambitious permaculture project in Pine Hills to an integrated waterwise residential landscape in Kentwood to our own charming school garden. A $20 ticket buys a map to all locations and can be purchased at the elementary school or Julian Town Hall. Seedlings donated by Heather Rowell and Julian-specific gardening handbooks, compiled by Sally Snipes, will be available for sale. (Many, many thanks to Sunday Dutro—the dynamo behind this incredible effort.) More info? Check out the Julian Garden Tour Facebook page.

Family Fun and Fit Day

This Farm to School fieldtrip is the first in a series which will help Julian families explore our local food economy. We will be visiting Cook Pigs Ranch, a family-owned farm that specializes in sustainably raised heritage pigs. To learn more about their passion for happy animals and good food, please visit: http://www.cookpigs.com (This is just for Julian families—please r.s.v.p. to me directly if you’d like to come along.)

All together now: Goooooooooo Julian!

SAMPLE FESTIVAL FILMS

Young Voices for the Planet, Citizen Scientist

13-year-old Anya, an indigenous Siberian girl, sees her world literally melting away. She joins Arctic scientist Max Holmes’ research team, learns about her ecosystem and shares what she learns with her schoolmates. (4min)

Young Voices for the Planet, Olivia’s Birds and the Oil Spill

Olivia loves her New York forest and the Louisiana gulf coast where her grandparents live. When the BP Oil Spill devastates the coast, Olivia creates 500 paintings of her feathered friends to raise funds for Audubon’s bird rescue. (7min)

Watermelon Magic

Richard Power Hoffmann

International audiences will delight in this nearly wordless burst of color and music that draws inspiration from film classic “The Red Balloon”. Weaving together documentary and narrative elements, “Watermelon Magic” chronicles a season on the family farm, as young Sylvie grows a patch of watermelons to sell at market. The film employs a dynamic visual style that uses high-resolution stills at varying shutter-burst frame rates with stunning time-lapse sequences to trace the journey from seed to flower to fruit. When harvest time arrives, Sylvie must decide if she will share her precious watermelon babies with the world. www.springgardenpictures.org (USA, 2013, 38min)

How The Kids Saved The Parks

Andy Miller, Robin Moore

You know those movies where the kids get together and do something awesome? When they unite to overcome insurmountable odds? Maybe win the championship from the favored bad guys. Maybe embark on an epic quest to stop the grown ups from doing something stupid. This is one of those movies, except this one really happened. This is the story of a group of great kids that worked day and night to save the California State Parks that they love – this is ‘How The Kids Saved The Parks’. www.plusmproductions.com (USA, 2012)

Why do we forget food can be simple?

Posted on May 3, 2013 by kidsingardens

And by we I mean me. Do you forget this too? I sometimes think a meal or a packed lunch has to be more involved than it needs to be, when simple foods are often whole/raw/minimally prepared and really the best for you.

A compelling example follows.

A couple weeks ago I picked up our first box of donated organic fruits and vegetables from Be Wise Ranch. For the first activity I decided to teach the Garden Ambassadors to sauté zucchini and run a taste test for their fifth grade class. The recipe I found called for garlic, ginger, and soy sauce, and after I gathered these extra ingredients I thought….nope, change of plans. We’re going to cook these zucchini with a little bit of safflower oil and salt. By isolating the variable, we’d know whether or not they like zuc, without the ginger or garlic confusing their “yum” or “yuck” vote.

The maiden voyage of our outdoor food prep station!

My lesson plan got simpler too. Nonetheless, there was so much to teach:

-the importance of weighing our yield, how to read a scale, how to subtract a tare (oh my goodness, high school chemistry coming from some deep recess of my brain), the different smoke points for different cooking oils, food safety, how a wok works, how to spell wok, how to spell sauté, why it’s important to cut veggies in similar sizes, and on and on and on……

The kids took turns stirring, rotating around the island

And here are three incredible outcomes:

1) 26 kids voted “yum.” Only one recorded a “yuck.” Remember this is unadorned, lightly stir-fried zucchini, and kids “hate” vegetables.

2) I had three zucchini left over, and each of ambassadors was begging to take them home. I offered one to the first kid who remembered how to spell sauté. Then we drew slips of paper for the other two. (One read–“Yay, you get the zucchini!” The other: “Sorry, maybe zucchini next time.) It bears repeating: WE DREW CARDS FOR ZUCCHINI.

3) I spoke with the mom of one of the ambassadors later that day. She said her daughter not only asked to stop at the store that afternoon to buy zucchini so she could show her family how to cook it, but she had also called her grandmother to make sure she put a few zucchini plants in her spring garden this year.

This is the hope, and in our garden, the reality: that these little lessons learned at school in gardening, nutrition, and science get transferred home.

The low-hanging fruit?

Posted on April 14, 2013 by kidsingardens

If you’ve been to Julian, you’ll know we are associated with one thing above all else: apples. Orchards, apple pie, the annual Apple Days celebrations, apple-themed gifts in the shops, etc.

Say Julian–think apples.

And every day in our cafeteria we serve apples from Oregon and Washington State, even when Julian apples are in season.

This is one of a million ways in which our food systems are disconnected. It happens all around the world, to the detriment of our planet (all that transportation!) and our palate (stored and shipped food is often inferior, for obvious reasons.)

Naturally, in my role as Farm to School planning grant director, this is one of the first things I’m tackling. And as simple as it sounds—swap out one apple vendor for another—it’s really very complicated, in ways that you can only appreciate when you dive into the specifics of the ways things are, as I’ve been doing.

Big thought for the day: systemic change is hard.

But not hopeless. We are working away diligently on the ways things could be by investigating how to get local apples and pears onto our school lunch menu.

Until then, we’re going to do one better: plant apple trees on our campus.

Yesterday the organizer of the newly-formed Julian Apple Growers Association, Teak Nichols, came by school to spend the afternoon putting bare root trees in the ground with our Garden Ambassadors. Raised here in Julian, Teak has a passion for preserving the collective knowledge base, economic importance and cultural resource of apples. So we worked with a handful of kids to enlarge our small orchard. He’ll be back to teach pruning, and I imagine many other things as we connect his group with our efforts at school.

Teak had just asked a question like, “Who wants to plant the Fuji?” Um, is the enthusiasm of these kids coming across?

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Under Teak’s instruction, the kids dug the holes, properly sited the trees, filled them in, watered, staked, labeled and wrapped sunburn protection around the trunks. (Notice their official gear. The shirts were meant for formal occasions, but these kids love any excuse to put on their ambassador shirts.)

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Beautiful weather, outdoor education, the promise of fruit, excited kids….I’m not great at containing my excitement.

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Photo courtesy of Marisa McFedries

Science Day in the garden

Posted on April 3, 2013 by kidsingardens

Last Thursday was Science Day at our school during which students went from “station” to “station” spread across campus for science-based lessons. For example, San Diego Country Office of Education brought their traveling Splash Lab (microscopes and chemistry experiments) and Green Machine (soils, integrated pest management, water cycle) programs.

Almost every student passed through the garden for a 30-minute class. In the morning, we had the younger classes combined by grade so I divided the children into groups with an adult (teacher, parent, and/or aid) and explained that they would go to 5 different stations for 5 minutes each. Each station was set up with a clipboard of simple instructions and the necessary equipment. I went from group to group to answer questions, point things out and re-set materials.

Station One: Planting Peas

Station Two: Watering peas

Other classes had already planted peas in other beds. At this station kids observed their growth and watered.

Station Three: Storytime

Station Four: Smelling herbs

Station Five: Looking for habitat elements

Mrs. White demonstrating how our beautiful fountain turns on when she holds the panel to the sun. A wonderful day for hands-on learning!

Love me a good mission statement

Posted on March 4, 2013 by kidsingardens

In my role as “school garden consultant” through Master Gardeners, I am now working with three schools. The school I met with recently in San Diego is just starting off with their project, and I am excited because they have all of the ingredients for an amazing garden: a supportive principal, a passionate lead teacher, other interested teachers, potential community partners, possible funding and an amazing space (Flat, sunny, with water! Oh my!)

As y’all know, good projects start with a mission statement. Some people find this part of the process tedious and kinda academic, but not me. How do you know what to do if you don’t know where you want to end up? As such, I like the process of writing out objectives. It helps keep me on track, sort our priorities, and assess progress.

Here is ours. We are in process of having an artist transfer this to a large sign for the garden, reminding us all of what we’re growing…

What we grow in the Julian Elementary Character Garden

We grow food.

We promote good nutrition by planting, tending, harvesting and eating organic fruit, vegetables and herbs.

We grow citizens.

We connect children to the natural world and create environmental stewards.

We grow character.

We learn leadership, responsibility, and respect when we work in the garden.

We grow practical gardening skills.

We learn the nuts and bolts of growing a garden.

We grow beauty.

We enjoy our peaceful, beautiful garden as it relaxes our bodies, inspires our minds, and ignites our creativity and imagination.

We grow academics.

We study biology, ecology and natural history in our garden classroom.

We grow stories.

We develop a “sense of place” as we build a garden that reflects who we are as individuals, as a school and as residents of Julian and the backcountry.

We grow community.

We create positive relationships among students, staff, parents and neighbors when we work together.

Here’s hoping the trend becomes the future

Posted on November 13, 2012 by kidsingardens

School and community gardens are exploding. I hope that it’s not just a good trend, but a move toward the new normal.

There is so much to learn from others’ efforts, and I love to get out and see what’s happening other places.

Last week I took my kids to the Great Park in Irvine where they have an impressive demonstration garden called the Farm + Food Lab. Wow! Also, my sister is involved with her girls’ wonderful school garden in San Jose. I posted pictures of cool ideas from both places under the Children’s Garden Ideas tab in the black menu above. There are also pictures of “best practices” from school gardens across the state from last year’s road trip. Please visit! And if you have a photograph of an outstanding idea, feel free to e-mail it to me and I’ll include it in the library. Thanks!