The Edible Schoolyard

SCHEDULING THE CLASSES

The scheduling of the kitchen and garden into The Edible Schoolyard classrooms has developed over the years to meet the needs of the students and staff. All students participate in the kitchen and garden in grades 6, 7, and 8 at various levels and through different subject areas.

In the 6th, 7th, and 8th-grades, science teachers take their students to the garden. The emphasis is on the 6th grade students, who go for two 9-week blocks each year. Seventh-grade students go for two 6-week blocks, and the 8th-grade students go for two 3-week blocks. One block is scheduled in the first semester, the other in the second semester.

The teachers and garden staff teach 11 classes of 90-minute blocks in the garden per week. The double block schedule has 15 double periods in a week, the four remaining blocks allow for garden maintenance and class preparation.

Nine regular education 6th-grade classes and two Special Day Classes go during the 6th-grade schedule
Eleven 7th-grade science classes go during the 7th-grade schedule
Eleven 8th-grade science classes go during the 8th grade schedule

Whenever possible, the teachers are given a specific day of the week as their garden day. In this way both students and teachers can wear appropriate clothing and footwear. It also helps create a routine. Volunteers in the garden come on a weekly basis so that they work with one specific class. This allows students to get to know them, and creates a richer experience for the volunteer. Note that one-week is set aside each semester to create make-up opportunities for classes that were missed due to holidays or weather conditions.

Students in grades 6-8 also are scheduled to go to the kitchen. Some go with their humanities core teachers (grades 6 & 7), and some go with their electives teachers (grades 7 & 8). Eleven 90-minute classes are taught in the kitchen each week. The schedule rotates due to the complexity of scheduling 12 core classes and electives for all 7th and 8th graders. Additionally, the kitchen instructors do not have class the first double period on Monday so that food gathering and kitchen preparation can take place. Seventh-grade students go to the kitchen four times with his/her humanities core teacher and three times with their elective classes. Eight-grade students go to the kitchen three times with their elective course teacher. Sixth graders go to the kitchen with their humanities core teacher on a weekly basis for six weeks in the fall and six weeks in the spring.

SAMPLE GARDEN SCHEDULE
View illustrated sample schedule

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WHY TEACHERS GO WITH STUDENTS TO THE GARDEN AND KITCHEN

Since the inception of The Edible Schoolyard, classroom teachers have accompanied their students to the garden and the kitchen. The alternative was to have a pullout program in which the garden and kitchen classes are taken over by a teacher other than the regular classroom teacher. There are three reasons for this policy:

The desire of staff was to make Edible Schoolyard activities an extension of students' regular classroom education, not a separate experience. Garden, kitchen, and classroom teachers shared the belief that integrating the program into core curriculum would enrich students' overall educational experience. Teachers use garden and kitchen activities as common reference points to activate prior knowledge. Also, specific lessons that meet the California Content Standards are developed to build on experiences in the garden and kitchen. Some examples include compost and worm lessons, links to the Landforms science curriculum, plant structure and function, and ecology.

The opportunity for teachers and students to interact in a setting very different from the traditional classroom was seen as an important component. In the garden and kitchen, teachers have the experience of spending informal time with small groups of students. Participation in kitchen and garden activities enables students to build more complete relationships with teachers, volunteers, and one another. The program provides a new dimension in students' relationship to the school, by enhancing their potential to demonstrate their abilities and be successful. It also gives teachers insight into the whole child, an understanding that translates into the classroom environment.

Involving credentialed teachers in the garden enables The Edible Schoolyard to employ non-credentialed teachers who share their expertise and enthusiasm for gardening and cooking with students. The gardener' s responsibilities, for example, include determining the jobs necessary in the garden on a daily basis, care of tools and equipment, an overall understanding of the planting schedule, and coordination of staff and volunteers. Taking on these responsibilities allows the classroom teacher to focus on class management and to fully participate with their students in the garden and kitchen sessions.

EQUIPMENT IN THE GARDEN

The Tool Shed was built by Scott Constable of Wowhaus in 1998. It is constructed from one naturally fallen redwood tree that was hand milled. Several racks were designed to hold a variety of tools, as well as a rack that holds thirty pairs of boots. These racks are on wheels and are taken outside the shed for easy student access.

A double-burner propane range can be easily set up on a table or cart. It is used for making tea, popping amaranth, sautéing vegetables, cooking eggs, and boiling plants for natural dying.

The chicken coop was built in the summer of 2002. It houses hens at night and on weekends – they roam free in the garden during the day, providing snail management, soil aeration, and fertilization. Their eggs are used in the kitchen classroom.

The compost area is set up at the end of the garden in open piles. Vegetation and vegetable matter from the kitchen are mixed with horse manure, leaves, and straw in piles. These piles are turned by students to aerate and accelerate the breakdown of these components. Several piles in various degrees of decomposition are maintained and the finished compost is added to the garden beds.

Seed propagation takes place in an area organized to make potting medium, store pots and trays, and contains a large surface to do the actual seed starting. Starts are placed in the Propagation Table that is enclosed on three sides, and has a watering system.

A four-tier stackable worm bin constructed of wood, is used for decomposing kitchen scraps, and is used for lessons about vermiculture. The castings are prepared as make worm tea and applied to fertilize plants in the garden.

The wood fired oven was constructed in the spring and summer of 2002. The oven is used primarily to make pizza, but can also be used for a variety of foods like roasted vegetables, bread, and foccacia.

Students, garden teachers, and volunteers from the University of Montana's community service program built The Edible Schoolyard Ramada (Ramada means a shade structure or arbor in Spanish).It is circular in shape, with a 20' diameter, and a central pole supports its roof, designed after a spider's web. Deciduous vines and various climbing annuals, including kiwi, runner beans, and chayote, provide cover in the summer and allow sun to penetrate in the winter months. Straw bales provide seating for forty people, enough for a middle school class, their teacher, volunteers, and garden staff. As our garden is open to the public after school and on weekends, the Ramada offers the community a place for meditation, meetings, and celebrations.

Picnic tables offer space for a variety of jobs with groups of students. We have a very long table that accommodates an entire class on one end of the garden.

A washstand that is hooked up to garden hoses allows produce be washed before it is taken to the kitchen. Two double sinks provide soaking and rinsing areas. On either side of the sinks are tabletops for further handling of the produce, bundling, sorting, and arranging in baskets.

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SEASONALITY

The garden staff in conjunction with the kitchen staff makes the decision of what to plant. Garden staff uses their personal expertise along with reference guides, such as Golden Gate Gardening (Sasquatch Books, 1998). Here is a sample of some of the crops we plant and the season in which we plant them. This is what is best suited for our microclimate and ecosystem in Northern California.

February-March
Asparagus, Fava beans,Beets, Broccoli, Carrot, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Leek, Lettuce, Mustard, Onion, Parsnip, Pea, Potato, Radish, Spinach, Sunchoke, Swiss Chard, Turnip, Chayote Squash.

April-May
Basil, Bean (Scarlet Runner), Bean (snap, bush, or pole), Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, Corn, Cucumber, Lettuce (leaf), Pepper, Pumpkin, Squash (summer), Squash (winter), Sunflower, Swiss Chard, Tomato, Tomatillos, Cape Gooseberries, Cossack Pineapple, Yacon.

July-August
Bean (snap, bush by mid-July), Beet, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrot, Chicory, Chinese Cabbage, Corn (by mid-July), Endive, Lettuce, Potato, Radish, Spinach.

October-November
Artichoke, Fava beans, Cabbage, Garlic, Lettuce, Onion, Peas (during November), Rhubarb, Winter Cover Crop (including vetch, bell beans, clover), Collards, Strawberries, Perennial Fruits/Trees (when trees/plants are dormant).

EATING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GARDEN

Students are encouraged to eat produce grown in the garden during class time – this happens both explicitly through planned opportunities like tastings, and spontaneously, as students sample and explore. Foraging is encouraged, and certain crops are planted to encourage students to try tempting new foods. Examples include strawberries, raspberries, peas, fruit (apples, pineapple guava, figs, plums, kiwi), beans, cape gooseberries, and cherry tomatoes.

Tastings are often offered at the end of the garden classes. Some examples include lemon cucumbers, citrus, cherry tomatoes, pepinos, or edible flowers. Students have a choice in participating, although most do.

Students use amaranth to prepare a Mexican candy called Alegria (in India, it is called ladoos). Harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and popping amaranth is part of each garden class for several weeks in the fall. These activities culminate with the creation of Alegria bars - for a recipe, see The Splendid Grain by Rebecca Wood.

In their second garden class, sixth grade students harvest corn. As part of a school tradition, seventh graders plant corn for the incoming sixth grade students in the spring. Students harvest, shuck, and grill an ear apiece. The organic corn often has an earworm at the top of the ear - this is discussed and removed, and although many students are initially put off by it, they forget all about it by the time the ear is roasted.

Tea made from fresh lemon verbena and mint is made on cold or wet mornings - it is sweetened with honey and served in washable tin mugs.

Seventh grade classes eat salads of lettuce and other produce from the garden. Dressing is made outside, incorporating fresh herbs.

Pizza is baked in a wood fired oven that can also be used for bread. It is very hot and flat breads and foccacia do best. The pizza features produce and herbs from the garden.

The apple press is used in both garden and kitchen classes in the fall. Students enjoy turning the handle that chops the apples into small pieces, and then rotating the wooden bar that presses the juice out of the holding containers. The press is also used at school-wide events and workshops.

IMPORTANT PROCEDURES LEARNED FROM GARDEN CLASSES

Over the years we have learned, often the hard way, about procedures to help us manage classes in a garden setting.

Opening and Closing Rituals
The start and end of each class are critical to the success of each garden session. The Ramada, a shade structure, provides a place for students to meet at the opening and closing of each class with the garden staff, classroom teacher, and volunteers. It contains a circle of straw bales that seats forty people. Foam kneeling pads are used as cushions when the straw is wet. The ability for the group to focus is greater than in an open setting within the garden. Sitting together in a circle facilitates directions, information, and discussions. By sharing their experiences, students gain a broader perspective about the different jobs that are being done in the garden and why.

Jobs
Jobs are posted on a white board at the start of every class. Each job is briefly discussed and students have an opportunity to choose which job they would like to do that day. Over the years various techniques for assigning jobs and groups were discussed. Self-selection of jobs creates more buy in with students. Also, many students choose jobs based on the adult supervising that particular task. The jobs are based on the needs of the garden, or special projects that are taking place.

Clean-up
Cleaning up after as many as five different jobs that use a wide variety of tools in an acre garden could be a stressful experience, and it was until we put several clean-up procedures in place. First, we developed a signal for clean up – a tune banged out on a cowbell. When the students hear it they know it is clean-up time and there is little need to walk around the garden reminding students to clean up. Second, we designed racks, shelves, bins, and hooks that are all clearly labeled for equipment storage. Third, we have a tool clean-up area where there is a bucket of linseed oil mixed with sand and wire brushes. The students know how to brush off the soil and then scrub the tools with the sand-soil mixture before putting them away.

Clothing
Middle-school students often are very reluctant to get soil on their bodies or clothes. Boots, aprons, and gloves are available in each class.