Congratulations to Burbank students for their successful end of the year Salad Day! Students from three classes of sixth and seventh graders harvested and prepared salad from the school garden and served it for the entire school at lunch. Youth and adults alike were grabbing salad bowls and eating up the tasty greens, with or without ranch dressing!
Several members of the press attended the event, interviewed students and took photo and video footage of the day's events for NBC's evening news, the SF Examiner (see above), KCBS radio news, and Sing Tao news. Students showed off their knowledge of gardening and the benefits of eating healthy food. The school was buzzing from all the excitement, and students were definitely recognized for their hard work in the garden throughout the year.Then, on Saturday, we had a Garden Party Work Day at Burbank attended by teachers, students, families and volunteers. We got a LOT of work done: we weeded the entire garden, planted beans, corn, turnips and sunflowers, caught a gopher, and enjoyed stir fry and chips & salsa made from garden-grown ingredients. Thank you, Garden Party attendees!
As the year winds down, in class we're doing closing circles that involve strawberries and appreciations, along with some end of the year reflection. We are gathering students' and teachers' thoughts about the year's successes, challenges, and learning through recorded focus groups and individual interviews. Later in the summer when all the info is compiled, I'll be sure to share the results. Hopefully positive outcomes will help all of us to show how important school gardens are in helping young people grow and develop, and in building a supportive school community.
