End of Season School Garden Wrap-Up
That’s a wrap for the fall semester of our Seed to STEM Sequence! Two 4th-grade classes at Mann Elementary practiced making careful observations of their school garden ecosystem, categorizing abiotic and biotic factors, experiencing ecosystem interactions and energy flow in real time, and even engineering changes in their garden ecosystem. Along the way, these students have popped freshly harvested rainbow popcorn, dug up nearly 30 pounds of sweet potatoes, and experienced the juicy joy of a huge watermelon they lovingly nicknamed “Sandy la sandía.”
At Hodgen Elementary, the 5th grade class examined the structure and function of all 6 plant parts, and started a “Pumpkin Graveyard” to see the full life cycle of a pumpkin plant from seed to seed over the course of the school year. They celebrated with a Plant Part Harvest Party that included their very own harvest of sweet potatoes, bok choy, kohlrabi, kale, collards, and broccoli.
We also wrapped up our time with a group of 12 teens at the Division of Youth Services residential treatment facility in North County. This crew learned about the benefits of growing food, set both personal and communal goals for their time in the garden, and gained direct experience in the foundations of community-based food growing. They enjoyed garden-fresh hot honey carrots, pickles, fried okra, tomatillo salsa, candied sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and rainbow popcorn. Most importantly, growing and sharing food allowed these youth to practice patience, resilience, gratitude, tenderness, and care.
Shoutout to Tony Rushing of The Ville Family Community Garden and Urban Harvest, and Nick Speed of Ujima for taking the time to visit these youth and share their stories!