at Miller Creek Middle School
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by Gabby Scharlach
6th Grade (Bacon/D4) submitted January 2010 to Principal Johnson
Proposal for an Edible Schoolyard
“Right there, in the middle of every school day, lies time and energy already devoted to the feeding of children. We have the power to turn that daily school lunch from an afterthought into a joyous education, a way of caring for our health, our environment, and our community.” - Alice Waters
The Concept:
The concept is to create a healthy garden with plants to be used by the kitchen and for the education of the students, specifically science. The positive notions coming out of this project would be having fresh healthy food used by the school kitchen and snack bar, beautiful landscape enjoyed by those who pass by and the enjoyment of the students who work and learn in the garden. You can even have some of the teachers (especially science teachers) show the students and share their knowledge of this small ecosystem and the environment.
Another part of the garden could grow plants that have medicinal value so that we can learn about natural medicine. The garden would need to have a compost area so that we can have zero waste and put the garden and lunch waste to work.
Lastly, this type of project helps in combating childhood obesity through good health education and fights global warming/cooling the planet in many ways such as growing of local produce, reducing waste, creating habitat, storing of carbon, and in creating a beautiful, social and educational place for students and the community.
The Location:
The most logical place for this garden is in the area by the track near the C buildings due to the sun direction, wind protection and proximity to water shown as #1 below. The other potential location, #2, is nearer to the rear bike parking but the problem with that space is that some of the bikers go through that area instead of on the path.
The Project:
Approximately a 50 x 30’ space would work for the edible schoolyard garden. Water would need to be close by for irrigating the plants. That is why the C&D building location works best. A deer fence with two gates (front and back) would also be necessary to keep out the deer as they like to nibble. The fence keeps the garden protected after school hours, during breaks and summer time. A gopher/rabbit barrier would also be needed at the base of the fence to keep them from eating our harvest. The compost area would be a minimum 3’ x 3’ - maybe even three of them to have lots of stages of compost. A small storage shed would be helpful to store garden tools. The garden could have a small shade canopy for hot days, and seating for an outdoor classroom. Plus, a table for creating projects and eating lunch would be a good idea. Rain barrels will harvest water for the plants and filter storm water off the classroom roof.
The types of crops that could be grown here in our Lucas Valley include: lettuce, peppers, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, kale, bok choi, turnips, garlic and potatoes. Herbs include mint, thyme, rosemary, chives, parsley, cilantro, lavender, sage, basil and oregano. Sunflowers will add color.
During World War II victory gardens started being planted in communities and many of the locations were at schools. The children even participated in building and taking care of them as seen below in this New York City example. Some are now being created again in cities such as Chicago and San Francisco to demonstrate that going green means also growing your own local produce or growing it yourself. It is getting popular because eating homegrown food and preparing it yourself is healthier and can help to reduce the rise in obesity that is in America today. Kids today need to learn more about nutrition and exercise. An edible schoolyard garden can help.
Local precedent: Martin Luther King Jr. Middle school in Berkeley CA
In the Bay Area, Alice Waters got involved in helping to build an edible garden at the Martin Luther King Middle School, Berkeley, CA. Not only do they grow food, they also learn to cook it and can take home the produce to share with their families. They have a large community table to eat together at. I read all about it in her new book where these pictures are from.
More pictures from Alice Waters book about the garden at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley CA
National Precedent: The White House Garden
Even our first lady likes to help out. This has proven to be a very good idea, at the White House for beauty, education, and for helping our environment. Mrs. Obama created this organic edible garden on the front lawn area of the White House. Both places are good ideas and offer inspiration for our garden.It is called the White House Farm.
Here are the ten basic steps to create the edible schoolyard (after getting permission from the School and School District of course! ) :
1. Select a proper location (solar, orientation, soil, water access, etc.)
2. Create a concept design that fi ts the selected site
3. Prepare a preliminary budget (most will be volunteer labor and supplies)
4. Funding plans begin
5. Start collecting the seeds
6. Prepare the soil/ground for the garden (Grading and tilling)
7. Build the perimeter fence
8. Build the outdoor classroom, compost area, seed starting area, etc.
9. Create the planting beds and pathways
10. Plant and harvest!
We will need a teacher to help sponsor the garden and parent volunteers to organize building and maintenance of the garden. April Philips Scharlach and Luanna Navarro are two of the parents who want to help out and both know a lot about green design and urban gardens. My Mom, April, who is a landscape architect, organized the Dixie Elementary Rain Garden the past two years. See more about Dixie’s green garden at: http://dixieschoolraingarden.blogspot.com/
For this year while we work out the details and prepare the above steps of 1-5, the fi rst phase once a site is selected will be to have a 12” layer of donated mulch placed in the area to begin adding more nutrients to the soil naturally. The mulch breaks down as it decomposes and will increase soil health and texture so that it is better when we are ready to build the planting beds.
Budget and Funding
For the approximate 1500 square feet, the garden would probably cost about $5,000 - $7,500 to build but if labor and many of the materials can be donated or funded, the cost would go down 30% -50%. If you add another 1500 square feet that it would cost around $10,00 - $15,000. The Marin Municipal Water District is interested in giving out grants to schools for green landscapes and would consider this project for their July 2010 budget cycle according to Mr. Dan Carney who is the water conservation manager there. My Mom worked with him to get the Dixie Rain Garden Bay Friendly certified and he mentioned this to her when she told him I was thinking about submitting this proposal.
Another possibility is to talk with Ms. Susan Adams who may be able to help us with other Marin County funding opportunities. There are also EPA grants and other federal grants that may be available.
Closing Statement
I believe an Edible Schoolyard Garden would make an excellent project for our Miller Creek School. It teaches students about good nutrition, provides both a learning and an active experience, can be used by our science curriculums to teach about environmental science and health, plus can be used by all teachers as an outdoor classroom location. It teaches students about volunteerism too. Lastly, this type of project helps in combating childhood obesity and global warming so it is good for the students and good for the planet.
Other inspirational images of an education edible schoolyard:
