A MESSAGE FROM THE GARDEN MANAGER
Susie Walsh Daloz

FALL 2007

In August, I had the privilege of becoming the Garden Manager and Teacher of the Edible Schoolyard. For the past nine years the garden has been cultivated and guided by Kelsey Siegel. I had the joy of working with Kelsey last year as the Assistant Garden Teacher, learning from his passion for food and education, and his tireless commitment to the students. His work is evidenced in every corner of our beautiful, productive garden and in all the people he has taught over the years. I am excited to carry on this impressive legacy.

The school year starts with a bountiful garden and the excited buzz of 950 students returning to King. Our tomatoes and basil taste of pure summer, while the winter squash ripening under their big leaves remind us that change is coming. It’s a dynamic time in the garden, with sunflowers towering over baby lettuce, apples and pears ripe on the trees, and our fall seedlings germinating in the greenhouse. The work leading up to this moment in the garden was guided by students’ creativity and commitment. They helped build structures in the garden - from bamboo fences, to a gourd tunnel, to a brand new pond. We experimented with mushroom cultivation, and the successful harvest became the basis for soups and empanadas in the kitchen classroom. A pair of new chickens, Hippity and Hoppity, joined the coop, and 6th graders took a garden walk to reinforce their classroom lessons about Mesopotamia. There were activities around soil structure and many spontaneous learning moments – watching a sleepy bee with pollen laden legs start to fly, or snacking on broccoli wondering “why doesn’t the stuff from the store taste this good?”

This fall we are exploring new territory with our students to solidify their understanding of the crucial connection between the vegetables they grow in the garden and the food they prepare and eat in the kitchen. Their very first experience at Edible will establish the essential link between the work of cultivating beds and preparing a delicious bowl of potato leek soup. To help elucidate the seed to table process, the garden and kitchen staff will co-teach the first class for the 6th graders, introducing both spaces at the same time. The 8th grade classes will also participate in a joint garden-kitchen endeavor, highlighting seasonality and preservation. Thus, King students will begin and end their time at Edible with their feet in the garden and their hands in the kitchen, being reminded that soil is the foundation of every meal.

The 6th graders’ curiosity mingling with the veteran students’ know-how makes for just the right balance of exploration and expertise in the garden. The new students bring fresh perspectives on a familiar place and the returning ones delve deeper into the ever-changing landscape. I look forward to the moments when students of all grades show me an insect I’ve never noticed, a ripe bean that eluded me, and reveal their curiosity and wisdom that make my job as beautiful and dynamic as the garden itself.

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