Maharishi School Garden of Bliss

The Edible Schoolyard Program at Maharishi School in Fairfield, Iowa, enriches the education of our students by introducing them to gardening, composting, seed saving and the tasting of new vegetables and herbs. Our facilities include a large greenhouse, butterfly garden, courtyard orchard and a Nature Explore classroom. This year, we added an outdoor garden to help supply our newly completed teaching kitchen with fresh produce.

Maharishi School provides a Consciousness-based education to students grades K-12. Our ESY Program helps our students make responsible food choices, nurture sound nutritional practices and promote environmental stewardship. Students learn to appreciate the connection between their everyday food choices, their personal health and the health of the environment.

The Maharishi School greenhouse gives our students first-hand "seed to table" experience and understanding of one of the most important aspects of life - the food we eat. Our organic greenhouse, which makes up one side of our central courtyard, or Brahmasthan, produces an abundance of organic vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers.

An added sustainable component of our greenhouse program is the rainwater catchment and solar powered drip systems used to water the plants throughout the year. The greenhouse staff uses double tunnel growing and cold frames to extend the growing season of the unheated greenhouse and allow vegetables to be grown as late as December and seeds planted as early as February.

Seed-to-Table Program

In our Seed-to-Table program, students plant and care for vegetables and fruits that they will later harvest, cook, and eat together. They learn about the nutritional value of what they are growing, preparing and eating. In this way, they establish life-long patterns of eating and a love of good food that creates healthy individuals and healthy families.

Read more about the activities of the Maharishi School ESY Program at our blog, Garden of Bliss.