Benicia School Edible Gardens

I have been a volunteer at Mary Farmar Elementary School Garden as their coordinator and Liberty High School Greenhouse for six years.  Both schools have the same mission:  to encourage young people to learn how to live sustainably by caring for diverse and productive gardens. Students eat what they grow in the garden and develop a posititive relationship with healthy food and the natural environment.  All of the activities in the gardens involve hands on participation.  To me it is more important that the students participe in all aspects of the garden, rather than achieving perfect outcome or production results.  I teach curriculum based on the seasonal needs of the garden or special requests from the teachers.  Sutdents  plant, care for, and learn about the total ecosystem of the garden, including: native plants, pollinator plants, vegetables, fruit trees, flowers and succulents. Students have built native bee nexts, work tables, built planter boxes, trimmed trees, and planted trees. At Mary Farmar I open the large garden once a week to the 500 students who attend.  Liberty High School has a smaller more intimate group serving as an internship opportunity.