NMHS Community Garden

WHO WE ARE

• NMHS SPECIAL NEEDS

A total of 153 students are classified as special needs. 43 students are in SDC (Special Day Classes).  Of those, 9 are in the Moderate/Severe SDC class.  The other 110 students with Individual Education Programs receive RSP (Resource Specialist) services.  The Garden offers a practical application of job and life skills training for the students that is incorporated in many classes for these students to augment, replace cirriculum outside their skill sets.

• MVROP/CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM

Mission Valley Regional Occupation Program is a partner school district that offers Career Technical Education classes.  The on-campus program offers a career path of three classes serving 210 students a year.  This program’s goal is to prepare students for entry to the workplace, specifically in the Hospitality Industry.   A garden provides a direct, interactive educational experience to students that address the curriculum’s strong focus on nutrition, food sourcing, and sustainability

• OHLONE FOR KIDS

Ohlone Community College has a summer program offered on the Newark Memorial campus: “Ohlone for Kids and Teens offers a unique blend of academic and special interest enrichment classes to students entering grades 4-11. For the Summer of 2017 Ohlone for Kids tentatively plans to offer a12-hour summer class titled “Garden to Plate for Kids.”  Students will help maintain the garden and then learn to prepare age appropriate meals using vegetables and fruits from the garden.

-   BE THE CHANGE
Student organization with the goal of improving inclusiveness in all parts of High School life.

WHAT WE’VE DONE SO FAR

Since the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, over 1000 students have participated in the construction of the garden.  Classes from the Culinary Arts Program and Biology Department cleared the areas of weeds and help prepare the soil.  The Fire Science and Law Enforcement classes moved over 3 yards of dirt into raised beds.  The Building Trades and Construction students built our first eight beds and a composter.  By June first we had in the ground 50 tomato plants, a dozen bush beans, a small patch of corn, peppers, eggplant, and several squash plants that are threatening to take over the place.

For the last year and a half, the Biology department and Art Department have also started using the Garden as part of their cirriculum.  Ceramics has contributed over 150 tiles made by students; Biology does regular soil testing for ph and also field projects for plant life cycle studies; Commercial Arts has four murals and are working on more.  Fresh produce from the Garden is used weekly by the Moderate-Severe Special Needs Program as part of their life skills training in food preparation. Almost one out of every four students on campus will have their education impacted by the Garden.

During the summers of 2014 and 15, volunteer students, with some help from several local hardware companies have:

• Built both a wheel chair access path and seven elevated garden beds that are easily reachable.
• Built and planted 12 garden beds, 8ft x 4ft
• Blackberry beds for 36 plants
• Blueberry boxes for 18 plants
• Strawberry patch, 21 window boxes on vertical garden beds
• Herb garden, 21 window boxes on vertical garden beds
• Drip irrigation for 40% of the beds.

We’ve also established a social media presence.  The Facebook page, NMHS Garden, has 234 members.  So far the posts have documented the progress of both our expansion and the growth of our crops.  As students take over, the page will eventually become a center for recipes, nutritional information, and links to community programs such as farmer’s markets.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Newark Memorial Community Garden is a living, inclusive place for all students.  The vegetables, fruits, and herbs raised in the garden will serve to help educate the student population By working together we raise awareness of those with special needs thru the common human threads of food, work, and respect. 

PROGRAM GOING FORWARD

It is our intention to reach and involve as many of our students as possible.  Here are the different avenues we’ll use and estimated numbers of students served

• VOCATIONAL TRAINING- SPECIAL NEEDS

Olivia and Kelly help.  Please include something about how many SN students end up in my program

• COOKING- CLASSROOM

The garden will serve several functions for my students

• Source of fresh, healthy produce with which to cook.  The tomato crop alone will provide enough sauce for 180 students to make and eat Cumin-Scented Tomato Soup, Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce for pasta, and Salad Caprese.  
• Alternate assignment/project for special-needs students.  Students who require more activity or more tactile interaction will be given assignment relating to the care and maintenance of the garden.  This will also apply to students with general behavior issues.  In the last few months of the year, I found that garden work helps to focus and settle these students.  There are studies that back this.
• Direct interactive education to food sourcing and sustainability lesson plans.

• HEALTHY CHOICES DEMONSTRATIONS

During the school year, the advanced culinary class in combination with several of the special-needs students will participate in lunch time demonstrations of food from the garden.  These demonstrations of healthy cooking will be open the to general student body and since there will be samples, I expect at least 30-50 students for each of the nine demos scheduled throughout the year.  First up will be Delicata Squash Fritatta with Ricotta (not only delicious, a ton of fun to say out loud).

• GARDEN TO PLATE FOR KIDS

Tentatively planned for Summer 2015, “Garden to Plate For Kids” will be a two week, 12 hour class where students work in the garden then prepare age appropriate meals.  The course will be offered four times, 16 students per class and the students will get to cook seven times during the class.