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HomeMy WebLinkAboutousd-highlightsEFG MONTHLY STORIESEFG MONTHLY STORIES HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS 2022-2023 HARVEST Lettuce harvest @ YAP That is equal to about 4 adult cows or 1 adult rhinoceros! corn cucumber persimmon leafy greens citrus cauliflower lettuce peas jicama HOTM produce was served as part of school meals, grow in school gardens, and tasted in cafeterias, classrooms, afterschool programs, gardens and more! Harvest @ McClymonds Grape harvest @ Acorn Woodland Pea taste test @ CCPA Taste Test @ Bella Vista Gardening @ EOP 93 Environment, Food, and Garden Champions at 67 sustained and grew their school gardens spaces and programs! of vegetables, fruits, and herbs were harvested from 56school sites between August 2022 and May 2023 HARVEST OFHARVEST OF THE MONTHTHE MONTH LEARN STEWARD BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album The EFG Champion is an integrated position for OUSD school site staff integrating the themes of environment, food, and gardens in their schools. EFG Champion(s) work closely with The Center Education and Community Programming Team to integrate these three prongs! Environment, Food, and Garden EFG school sites and 8 AmeriCorps service members 5436 pounds highlights of items harvested 80+different types of fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs were grown and harvested across these gardens! 6208 students An average of per month were engaged between October and May 286 teachers per month were engaged between August and May 279 parents, community members, and partners per month were engaged between August and May This includes lessons in the garden and classroom, community garden work days, taste tests, and so much more. Work day @ Burckhalter EFG MONTHLY STORIESEFG MONTHLY STORIES HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS MAY 2022 HARVEST "We finally harvested! The garden has been a start from scratch project. We spent the majority of the year cleaning up the area, getting Buildings and Grounds to improve the facilities, and building equipment. We planted in March and were able to give students lettuces to take home. It was awesome to be able to pull this off in one year! We still have a lot of aspirations. UFSA Planting @ MLK Radish harvest @ MetWest Tree planting @ Joaquin Miller Lettuce harvest @ Grass Valley Illustrating root vegetables @ Brookfield 437.7 pounds of produce was harvested by 35 schools in May. JICAMAJICAMA HARVEST OF THE MONTH LEARN 5214 students engaged, 413 teachers, 155 parents, community members, and partners engaged in EFG activities and education. STEWARD These schools harvested artichoke, borage, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, chard, cilantro, fava beans, greens, kale, lemon balm, lettuce, mint, nasturtium, onions, oregano, peas, radish, strawberry, turnips, and much more. Students enjoyed the jicama, and many were already familiar with it and how they preferred to prepare it. RUDSDALE During the recent strike, tensions and emotions were running high both inside and outside on the picket line. One of my favorite ways to decompress is weeding, believe it or not. Our landscaping in front of the school had a lot of foxtails and nasty undergrowth that made the school look neglected. I began pulling out the foxtails and some seedy grasses that had sprouted up in the garden beds. Pretty soon, other teachers and parents joined in and we joked and laughed and lifted our spirits, and before we knew it, the front of our school looked neat and tidy! Talk about turning weeds into wine! This was a win-win for both sides. BURCKHALTER 93 Site Champions, in collaboration with people at their 67 school sites grew their gardens & built community by watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more! TASTE This includes during classes, recess, lunch, and after school! So much is blooming in the garden right now. Spinach and cauliflower are finally growing, and so many flowers are blooming. It's a great opportunity for students to ask "What is this?" when they see a plant they don't recognize. So many pollinators and other beneficial insects are visiting our garden. Students just wrapped up a life science unit, so they are getting to see the isopods and insects they learned about in class in their natural habitat, and it's wonderful to see more curiosity rather than fear, and how their knowledge has blossomed over the year. ICS Students in our elective cooking and garden class were able to use fresh herbs, lettuce and cabbage from the garden in addition to incorporating fresh produce from our food bank distributions into their cooking activities during and afterschool. RUDSDALE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album "Wow, this food is fresh!" HOOVER STUDENT This month, students planted Kholabri, Tomatoes, lettuce and others in the new garden beds. They filled two of our garden beds with soil from a delivery. Our garden shed was installed and organized. I worked with POTO, principal and other teachers to put together a plan and budget for our garden for the coming school year. MONTERA "You don't see lettuce this big at the store" GRASS VALLEY STUDENT "The leaf of kale tastes better than the stem." CCPA STUDENT "Radishes taste like Wasabi!" BRET HARTE STUDENT EFG MONTHLY STORIESEFG MONTHLY STORIES HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS 447.7 pounds of produce was harvested by 25 schools in April. APRIL 2022 HARVEST "For garden snack, students got to pick their own fava bean leaves fresh from the garden. Students have also really been enjoying picking the fava leaves and making "veggie wraps" from green garlic, green onions, borage, and other herbs wrapped in the leaves." PERALTA Montera garden build day Pea taste test @ Esperanza YAP cooking up Harvest Monday Franklin garden harvest PEASPEAS HARVEST OF THE MONTH LEARN Pea taste test @ CCPA Pea taste test @ Brookfield 3609 students engaged, 237 teachers, 144 parents, community members, and partners engaged in EFG activities and education. STEWARD These schools harvested beets, broccolini, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chilacayotes, cilantro, collard greens, fava bean leaves, fennel, kale, lettuce, mint, mustard, onions, oranges, oregano, pak choi, potatoes, radish, rosemary, snap peas, strawberries, turnips, and much more. "The inside of the pea is like a gusher" CARL MUNCK STUDENT I have been working on the garden several days after school. Some 6th grade students who are in the after school program started to help and now ask me everyday when the next garden day is! They love it! They have pulled weeds, harvested, and plant new starts. They play and have pure joy while they are out there. They have also been SO excited to take home the harvest to their families. This has been informal but I hope to strategize around ways to make this a regular club and involve students more strategically next school year. Classes have also been going out to the garden to do SSR and just generally enjoy the space. LIFE ACADEMY 91 Site Champions, in collaboration with people at their 64 school sites grew their gardens & built community by watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more! TASTE This includes during classes, recess, lunch, and after school! "The high school students who volunteer with afterschool brought some first graders out into the garden to plant basil. The garden club took a pollinator walk where we observed many different types of pollinators that live in our neighborhood - from bees, syrphid flies, wasps, and birds." HORACE MANN "We held our third "Harvest Monday" where we harvest vegetables from the garden and cook them to share with everyone! This month we were able to harvest quite the variety of vegetables and made fried rice! It was fantastic!" YOUNG ADULT PROGRAM BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album Spring has sprung! This month we learned about pollination in the garden and seasonal changes. We focused on spring garden maintenance through weeding, fertilizing, planting, harvesting, and discovering pollinators. EMERSON For our 2nd grade class science fair project, we built bird hotels. Students have developed a new appreciation for bees and pollinators and garden helpers. MANZANITA COMMUNITY "It's pretty good." "Reminds me of oysters" OAKLAND TECH STUDENTS "Can I get many handfuls of peas to share with my baby siblings at home?" BROOKFIELD STUDENT We had an Earth Day work day prepping the space and planting, mainly corn. This was even planned by students. We also practiced farm to table concept. Students harvested produce and then used induction cookware to prep a meal. OAKLAND TECH EFG MONTHLY STORIESEFG MONTHLY STORIES BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME HARVEST HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS MARCH 2023 Burckhalter garden work day! Greens @ Emerson, Lettuce taste test @ Bella Vista Garden Stewardship at East Oakland PrideCabbage harvest at Joaquin Miller TASTE I went around to classes and either played videos, or did a Family Feud style game with the [HOTM] slides. I also took the lettuce taste bags that were delivered, and put lettuce into small bags and distributed them to students after school. Many students took bags and I ran out. Markham This month started with the lettuce [education] board. There was some confusion in the cafeteria since they were unable to locate the lettuce that was delivers. Once found, I distributed the lettuce to classroom to have students taste it. I find this most effective in which the majority of students are able to taste the harvest. Global Family These schools harvested arugula, beets, broccoli, calendula, chard, collards, kale, lettuce, onions, pak choy, purple tree collards, potatoes, rosemary, snap peas, swiss chard, thyme, turnips, and much more. TK students looked at the HOTM slides and then went to our school garden to count how many varieties of lettuce we are growing. Each student harvested a leaf and helped wash and cut it up for us to taste. Students loved tasting each kind. Our student council members help with our HOTM and data collection which has been a huge success. PAES STEWARD "We held a wonderful and fun garden work day... by the time I came out of my meeting, I couldn't believe my eyes! The entire afterschool program students had joined the work party and were shoveling, digging, and wheelbarrowing all over the place! There were about 30 students who joined the team, and one of the parents even got in some time once she came to pick up her kids! It was great! Our target that day was: 1. Reinforce the previously installed raised bed liners and replace them if needed; 2. Add soil, compost, and mulch to garden beds, 3. Rearrange the drip irrigation around the plants and water the filled garden beds, and 4. Clean up afterward. Everything went off without a hitch. This was such a satisfying and perfect way to end the school week! Thanks again EFG Team Burckhalter! You guys rock!! BURCKHALTER All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album LEARN LETTUCELETTUCE HARVEST OF THE MONTH "For my first lesson with new students, we used the lettuce scale to learn names and check-in with how we're feeling, reviewed garden expectations, and designed our "dream gardens" inside the classroom because it was raining. For the second lesson, it was also raining that week so we learned about Cesar Chavez, connected his legacy to farmers and the food system, and then wrote thank you notes to the folks contributing to our local food system." Brookfield In addition to lettuce for HOTM, students tasted many things from OUSD gardens, including lots of brassicas grown this winter, like purple tree collards and kale - students at Castlemont said "Purple Tree Collards are actually pretty sweet!" "I love this! Can I have"I love this! Can I have more?more? It tastesIt tastes sweet" sweet" (student was(student was surprised) - PAESsurprised) - PAES "Can I have more"Can I have more lettuce? I really likelettuce? I really like lettuce." lettuce." Christian, 4thChristian, 4th grade,grade, Global FamilyGlobal FamilyBased on reporting as of April 6, 88.8 pounds of produce was harvested by 8 schools in March. Although it's been a cold and rainy March, our interns have gotten out in the garden, between rain storms, to weed, prune, maintain compost and install a layer of wood chips to keep our school garden looking neat, tidy and weed free. To date, our interns have installed over 20 cubic yards of wood chips and 10 more are on their way to us. METWEST STEWARD EFG MONTHLY STORIESEFG MONTHLY STORIES BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME Garden landscape work party at Sequoia! HARVEST These schools harvested arugula, asparagus, bok choy, borage, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cilantro, collards, celery, chard, fennel, green onions, kale, lemon, lettuce, oregano, parsley, peas, potatoes, sorrel, swiss chard, thyme, and much more. HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS FEBRUARY 2023 "A great success this month was that the after school gardening club was able to take part in HOTM produce of the month and it made a big difference on how the youth reacted to Cauliflower. It put a smile on the youths' faces to know that they too will rep the the harvest of the Cauliflower that we just planted in our school garden." Madison Park Academy Upper 153.35 pounds of produce was harvested by 15 schools in February. "This month we focused on how a winter garden evolves. We focused on weeding and covering crops with row cover. In honor of Black History Month we learned about various African American farmers and activists in our community and made family trees to honor our families and loved ones!" Emerson TASTE "Students helped watered and weed the garden beds during recess time. One third grade class use the garden for instructional time where students observed the various plants in the garden and made predications about how weeds travelled and came to grow in the garden. A handful of students also helped harvest lettuce, kale and chard to be passed out to the 5th grade class." LincolnMetWest students cooking up garen harvest. All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album Garden Club exploration! "Students harvested broccoli florets, chard, kale and we turned them over to the cooking class, where the class chopped them up and used them for two cooking assignments - pupusa making and a chicken chili recipe." Franklin This month, we continued our garden club meetings. We observed the tulips and daffodils emerging for the spring, and colored worksheets to identify each plant. We also planted to prepare for the spring. Everyone in the garden club planted edible flowers, peas, pak choy, and more. We continued to eat our favorite treat, kale chips! Horace Mann LEARN CAULIFLOWERCAULIFLOWER HARVEST OF THE MONTH "For our taste test, many students came back for more cauliflower. We were really surprised by this because it was raw. But they loved it, especially dipped in ranch dressing!" Bella Vista Heaviest harvests were at MetWest and Claremont! For our taste test this week, I made vegetable soup entirely from garden vegetables, and students got to make "silly soup" out of garden ingredients (AKA, compost tea for our plants)! Peralta "Did you hear that, the garden is for us and we can visit any time to get oranges with friends and our families?" Korematsu 3595 students engaged, 152 teachers, 153 parents, community members, and partners engaged in EFG activities and education. This includes during classes, recess, lunch, and after school. 94 Site Champions, in collaboration with people at their 66 school sites grew their gardens & built community by watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more! "We had a staff party at a teacher's house where we shared sautéed purple cauliflower and arugula frittata from ingredients grown in our garden! Additionally, we have some students who enjoy snacking on the peas growing in our beds, so we allow them to do so while they are being supervised!" Joaquin Miller This month was the pilot of special taste test orders. "I did not know that"I did not know that cauliflower came in purplecauliflower came in purple and orange and green!"and orange and green!" "I love these cauliflowers!"I love these cauliflowers! I ate six of them!"I ate six of them!" Bella VistaBella Vista STEWARD EFG MONTHLY STORIESEFG MONTHLY STORIES HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS 237.7 pounds of produce was harvested by 29 schools in January. BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME JANUARY 2023 HARVEST School garden harvest was shared with students, staff, families, and community volunteers both at school and to take home. "We had 10 yards of woodchips and 1 yard of compost delivered for a volunteer workday at school. I thought it would be impossible to move that much material in 3 hours, but with the help of a half dozen parents and some dedicated kids hauling woodchips in green bins, wheelbarrows and buckets, we moved almost all of it. The garden areas look a lot better now and are much less muddy for the kids." Sequoia 5921 students engaged, 225 teachers, 176 parents, community members, and partners engaged in EFG activities and education. We are using the HOTM slides during our Science Club to learn about nutrition. The kids love the slides OAKLAND HIGH These schools harvested arugula, bok choy, beet greens, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, cilantro, collards, fennel, grapefruit, ground cherry, kale, lettuce, marigold, nasturtium, oranges, pansies, lime, radishes, snow peas, and much more. CITRUSCITRUS HARVEST OF THE MONTH ""HOTM test taste was a huge success. The Student Council made our poster and helped during 2-5 grade lunches. "Mandarins are sweet and juicy - more than one student This is so good ( had a huge smile on his face). Can I have more? This was asked by students over and over again." - Piedmont Elementary ""We met to clean up the garden after all the rain. We made sure that the plants in pots were not holding too much water and that the drains were cleared of leaves and trash [...] We plan to invite teachers to plant seeds with their students to help with the planting in the new beds." Global Family 94 Site Champions, in collaboration with people at their 66 school sites grew their gardens & built community by watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more!Garden Work Day @ Cleveland 2/4/22 TASTE LEARN Manzanita Community School Harvests and Tastes Snap Peas All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album Bella Vista Student Enjoying their Taste Test This includes during classes, recess, lunch, and after school! ""Well, my class went to the garden to explore the animal garden kingdom. We study isopods, snails and worms in kindergarten, so we went and explored, hunted and discovered these critters in the natural habitat. One student asked me when learning about isopods, "Does it bite?" I said, "No, the isopods don't bite you with their feet, they tickle you," and then he took it in his hand and started giggling. Then he asked me, "Maestra, can I take it home as a pet?" I told him that we can keep him in the garden and come back to visit him in his home whenever we wanted. Learning about the animals that live in the garden helps us to better understand how the plants grow and what they need to survive. It helps them to understand that the animals and plants share a home and are in relationship with each other. It gives them a greater understanding and respect for living things." - East Oakland Pride EFG Champion January Workshop "We distributed the beautiful HOTM calendars and hung our poster in the cafeteria next to the salad bar." - Joaquin Miller Street Academy is holding a monthly taste test and potluck. They say it's really helping build community and it's also helping students discover new foods and flavors! This month they taste tested three different types of citrus purchased from the store. , "I have a sweet lime tree at home" "I eat these in Guatemala, they are good" Global Family Broofield students water their greens The garden taste tests are very successful. The students taste testes mandarins, kale chips, and snap peas. The kids LOVE fresh kale chips! HORACE MANN Heaviest harvests were at Claremont, Reach, YAP, Peralta, Esperanza, and MetWest High School! STEWARD EFG MONTHLY STORIESEFG MONTHLY STORIES HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME NOVEMBER + DECEMBER 2022 HARVEST Students at Glenview work to spread compost COOKEDCOOKED LEAFYLEAFY GREENSGREENS Fremont High School: "Based on feedback and learning from the student garden club presenters at The Center, we tried some recruitment activities as a school carnival. It was a lot of fun, and I really appreciate having some direction. We had some success, and look forward to building off that during the rest of the school year." 6081 students engaged and 269 teachers engaged in EFG activities and education. These schools harvested lemons, peppers, tomatoes, chard, cucumber, basil, potato, tomatillos, greens, rainbow chard, lettuce, broccoli rabe, radishes, Italian basil, mixed herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon grass, oregano), sugar pie pumpkins, zucchini, kale, green onions, pumpkins, oranges, apples, pomegranate, calendula, , collard greens, squash, sweet potatoes, persimmons, sugar snap peas, fennel, stevia, lavender flowers and much more. TASTE 456.475 pounds of produce was harvested by 49 schools in November and December. HA R V E S T O F T H E M O N T H "Two advisories (both HS) cleared out garden beds and planted starts. One 8th grade reading class grew garlic bulbs in a DIY greenhouse (part of the book they read) and transplanted them to the garden in their own bed." "This was so much fun, I am a senior and I want to take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the garden more during my last year in high school." Life Academy 82 EFG Champions, in collaboration with people at their 67 school sites grew their gardens & built community by planting, watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more!Fremont Garden Club Students Planting Baby Plants All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album Students at Global Family try Fuyu persimmons from the produce bar at lunch. This includes during classes, recess, lunch, and after school! Salad Days @ Cleveland Peralta student and teachers taste, try, invent, and create magic with harvested greens and herbs "A second grader, Eva, said that we should make a garden salad from all the edible greens in the garden, and then make dressing from the spicier leaves and herbs. I thought it was an awesome idea, so I harvested a ton of greens and made a mild salad mix (baby pak choi, curly kale, cauliflower & broccoli greens, romaine lettuce) and a spicy salad mix (Italian arugula and nasturtium leaves) to serve to the second & third grade classes. I have the four classes after lunch on Thursdays back-to-back - it was hectic but super fun! Tons of kids were excited to try the garden salad (both spicy and mild) and loved the homemade dressing I made from garden herbs, lemon juice, oil, and vinegar ("more garden sauce, please!"). "We use lemongrass and all these other herbs in Vietnamese cooking all the time! Can I really take some home?" - Peter Truong, Community Partner Students harvest vegetables and learn about parts of the plant @ Cleveland "Our Student Council supported our persimmons and leafy greens taste test by passing out HOTM, collecting data and passing out stickers." Piedmont Academy Elementary School "Salad day was intended for our second and third graders, which was the culmination of studying all the different plant parts and their role/function. Students harvested from the garden, washed, and chopped various veggies. They then made a plant parts salad which they ate in our impromptu salad day Good Earth cafe." Cleveland Elementary Read about it on Parent Square MetWest harvests sweet potatoes and makes pie! PERSIMMONSPERSIMMONS LEARN Fremont High "Students really responded well to persimmons and in turn they had more from the cafeteria salad bar. "What is happening to my mouth, first it was sweet and then it got dry and sour" "Tastes like sugar", "I'm going to go to the market and buy these everyday!"" Cleveland Elementary STEWARD ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & GARDENENVIRONMENT, FOOD & GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME OCTOBER 2022 HARVEST 6,650 students engaged, 362 teachers, 646 parents, community members, and partners engaged in EFG activities and education. LEARN "The students made salads with the cucumbers as well as cucumbers & ranch, cucumbers with tajin. It was a great experience to see the different takes on how students like to eat them." EAST OAKLAND PRIDE Young Adult Program tastes cucumbers Cucumber taste test @ MLK These schools harvested apples, arugula, basil, bell pepper, carrots, chives, collards, corn, cucumber, eggplant, grapes, kale, lemongrass, lettuce, mustard greens, nasturtium, peppers, persimmons, pole beans, potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, tomatillos, watermelon, and more. At least two schools did contests for students to guess the weight of pumpkins grown in the garden: Global Family & Joaquin Miller! Joaquin-the-Wonder Pumpkin became a wedding gift to a staff member who adores pumpkins! "Students sampled roasted pumpkin seeds to connect with the pumpkin growing in our garden. Students observed with their 5 senses a pumpkin, estimated seeds, touched seeds, pulp and drew pictures to describe their pumpkin. Teacher roasted the seeds and students tasted them." PIEDMONT AVE 20 schools did a cucumber crunch with Persian Cucumbers served on the produce bar during lunch! 756.5 pounds of produce was harvested by 34 schools in October. CUCUMBERCUCUMBER HARVEST OF THE MONTH "We had a garden day after school where staff could come and help out in the garden, weeding, harvesting and cleaning up! I collaborated with our garden club leader, our principal on advisory planning, and with an EFG champion from UFSA. " LIFE 95 Site Champions, in collaboration with people at their 66 school sites grew their gardens & built community by watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more!Watering @ Madison Park Academy K-5 TASTE All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album This is over twice the number of people engaged in September! At WEST OAKLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL, students have been enthusiastic about trying new skills. "We learned about deadheading zinnias and marigolds and saving seeds to plant flowers at home or give to others. We've been comparing planting lettuce and peas from seeds versus from starts. The most unique experience was harvesting and hand threshing and winnowing quinoa, which students found very soothing, and naturally became a nice way to spend time together in conversation. I learned about students' families from their stories, and they reflected about the labor required for pre-industrial food production and how different life would have been if you had to do that kind of labor for extended periods to survive." "We held our annual pumpkin patch in the garden space, so every class visited the garden. We also encouraged the PK, three K, and the K-2 SDC class teachers to bring their classes out to harvest one of the pumpkins we grew for their classes, which they all did." ALLENDALE Cucumber taste test @ Allendale "We tasted cucumbers from our own garden and described the flavors, smells, and textures. Many students said "They smell like watermelon" as I cut and peeled cucumbers for them to taste." MONTCLAIR "We did a taste test during our "Science Club." My students are nonverbal. They will respond with gestures and smiles. Kids love the taste test." OAKLAND HIGH ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & GARDENENVIRONMENT, FOOD & GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME SEPTEMBER 2022 HARVEST "We have a huge increase in students willing to try items from the produce bar! This push has supported students in feeling full. Often students don't want to choose one item and would like both fruits or both veggies!" KOREMATSU DISCOVERY ACADEMY TASTE STEWARD "I think my mom would like the chard and squash better than I would." Alejandra, Gr 5 FRANKLIN 3851 students engaged (850 more than in August!), 212 teachers, 189 parents, community members, and partners engaged in EFG activities and education. Corn on the Produce Bar @ Global FamilyLEARN Harvest @ Korematsu "Wow, I didn't know we had corn growing, it's like a farm." PIEDMONT AVE Garden visioning at United for Success Academy: "We took the art class into the garden to learn about one point perspective and to envision what we wanted for the garden. Most kids want a menagerie of animals. Hahaha! We collected the drawings for our vision of the garden." 862 pounds of produce was harvested by 32 schools in September. That is 66 lbs more than in August! School garden harvest was shared with students, staff, families, and community volunteers both at school and to take home. CORNCORN HARVEST OF THE MONTH "For our taste test, SO MANY students came back for more. We introduced the salad bar which has been a huge hit. Students are excited to sample new foods, a variety of vegetables: salad, tomatoes, corn, edamame." PIEDMONT AVE ELEMENTARYThese schools harvested Asian pears, bell peppers, cucumbers, chard, eggplants, lemons, nasturtium flowers, pineapple sage, pomegranate, Thai chili, tomatoes, watermelon, and much more. 96 Site Champions, in collaboration with people at their 66 school sites grew their gardens & built community by watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more! "Gardening is fun!" Samira, Young Adult Program All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album This includes during classes, recess, lunch, and after school! "One of our science teachers brought her class to the garden to work with the dirt and clear out some beds. They will be using the garden in the future for all of their classes! " LIFE ACADEMY Three sisters @ Global Family Claremont Middle harvested 168.4 lbs, MetWest harvested 180.8 lbs this month! TK e x p l o r e s 5 se n s e s @ A l l e n d a l e "Our new picnic tables are awesome and needed but this is where litter is left behind by students. To mitigate the problem, I'm [working with] advisors and student leaders to organize a "Show Your MetWest Love" anti-litter campaign. I made a "litter display" (I put all the litter I picked up from the garden in one day in a Gorilla cart with a sign. I also created a "Litter On Campus" photo album to document litter problem on a daily basis. I shared the photo album with the principal, key staff and advisors asking for their help to educate our students about what it means to be a good environmental steward. Since then, we've experienced less litter but as a school community we need to be consistent. I'm excited about working on this problem as a community and lessening the litter problem." METWEST HIGH "We did school-wide taste testing for students and families on campus. In September they tasted cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, strawberries, lettuce." ALLENDALE "The students were observing and learning about the 3 sisters (pumpkin, corn and beans) since they were reading about this in class. I communicated with the 5th grade teachers to use the garden area with the corn, pumpkin and beans as a resources to their readings." GLOBAL FAMILY McClymonds harvest! "It's CORN!" REACH "Wow I do like tomatoes!" EDNA BREWER Grape harvest @ Acorn Woodland STEWARD ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & GARDENENVIRONMENT, FOOD & GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOLS 796 pounds of produce was harvested by 33 schools in August. BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE CENTER HTTPS://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/OUSD.ORG/THECENTEREDPROGRAMMING/HOME AUGUST 2022 HARVEST School garden harvest was shared with students, staff, families, and community volunteers both at school and to take home. Garden coordination tip from Joaquin Miller: "We sent out a form requesting teacher interest in stewarding garden beds with their classes, started a Slack channel for those garden teachers and requested garden volunteers at Back to School night." These schools harvested cucumbers, apples, basil, beets, berries, carrots, collards, edible flowers like bachelor button & nasturtium, eggplants, figs, grapes, kale, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radish, rosemary, strawberries, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, and much more. MELONMELON HARVEST OF THE MONTH "Both students and staff tasted a Moon and Stars watermelon from the garden and raved about it. About 12 staff and 10 students tasted the melon." MCCLYMONDS HIGH "Parents came together on the site work day and worked as a team to maintain the garden. Students harvested & weighed tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, & green beans. Parents worked together to weed the pathways between garden beds. We shared harvest items with families." CLAREMONT MIDDLE 91 Site Champions, in collaboration with people at their 64 school sites grew their gardens & built community by watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, cleaning up, and more! 3,000 students engaged, 150 teachers, 205 parents, community members, and partners engaged in EFG activities and education. Sharing garden bounty @ Lockwood STEAM TASTE LEARN Taste Testing Tuesday student leaders @ MetWest High All data based on self-reporting from EFG Champion Monthly Logs & photos from EFG Champion photo album Melon harvest shared @ Fruitvale This includes during classes, recess, lunch, and after school! "As the school counselor, I have been using the garden in therapeutic interventions for kids who were struggling adjusting to school and doing lunch bunches with students in the garden. If students needed a break, a leadership opportunity, or sensory engagement outside the classroom they helped me water, weed, and harvest food to distribute to students and staff." Lockwood STEAMGarden activities @ Montclair "Harvested the summer bounty that we had planted last spring!!! The new students learned about the garden and what we do to maintain it throughout the year." WESTLAKE MIDDLE Melon taste test results from INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL: We asked which melon was their favorite: 0 votes for cantaloupe, 20 votes for watermelon, 25 votes for honeydew, "This food tastes better than restaurant food." "I like everything you prepare from the garden." "Will you consider offering a cooking class? I would like to learn how to cook dishes like these." METWEST HIGH "Our second graders harvested and tasted the grapes." MANZANITA SEED Be e t & p o t a t o c h i p ta s t e t e s t @ J M