Shana is a college graduate from UCSD with a B.A. in Political
Science. She is an LA native who is passionate about music and
positivity, and enjoys exploring local venues and gardening in
her free time. Her favorite book is “Wuthering Heights” and she
loves to eat vegetarian Thai curry!
Join EnrichLA and all of our volunteers at Elysian Heights Elementary School THIS SATURDAY for an “Extreme Garden Makeover!”
Elysian Heights Elementary is located at:
1562 Baxter Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026
We will be installing a composter, building raised beds, planting a native garden, and building an outdoor kitchen! CLICK HERE to RSVP, or find us on Facebook to let us know you will be coming!
EnrichLA is now a part of the community contribution program at Ralphs. This means that if you choose EnrichLA as your community contribution organization, we will get a percentage of what you spent shopping!
Below is a step-by-step guide to how to create a Ralphs Rewards account and how to make EnrichLA your community contribution organization!
STEP 1:
First, go to www.Ralphs.com
On the top right of the screen (BELOW the navigation bar), you can choose to either “Sign in” or “Create an account.” (If you already have a Ralphs online account, skip to STEP 6)
If you do not have an account, click “Create an account”
STEP 2:
Enter your email address and create a password
STEP 3:
Enter your zipcode and confirm your local store
STEP 4:
Enter your Ralphs Club Card Number OR your alternate ID (phone number associated with the card), name and zip code.
STEP 5:
Choose which emails you want to receive (you dont have to select any)
Now, check your email and click on the confirmation link from Ralphs, which will take you to the website.
(YOU ARE ALMOST DONE!!)
STEP 6:
Log in
STEP 7:
From the “My Account” page click “Community Rewards” and then “Edit Community Contribution Program Information”
(If prompted, enter your physical address and click “Save Changes”)
STEP 8:
On the next page, in item one, enter the number: 93707
Click “Search”
Click the circle to select EnrichLA and then click Save Changes!
You are done!
Yesterday, EnrichLA gathered along with 250+ volunteers, including members of Gay for Good, Bank of America Volunteers, We Serve LA, and the Office of the Mayor, to build TWO new gardens at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in honor of the Harvey Milk Day of Service!
All of our volunteers got straight to work after arriving at 9:00AM in a combined effort to transform the sites of these new gardens! We had four teams of vounteers, each dedicated to a very important aspect of the garden build. Some helped with painting the new mural, others helped cut wood for raised beds and picnic benches. We transferred dirt and compost to these new raised beds, sanded down benches, leveled the ground, and most of all, had FUN doing it!
Stuart Milk, Antonio Villaraigosa, Tomas O'Grady, Paul Schrade
Just before lunch the entire group of volunteers gathered to hear inspiring words by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Stuart Milk, Founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation, Paul Schrade, Friend of Robert F. Kennedy and advocate for the RFK Community Schools, Mollie Thomas, the first openly gay contestant for Miss California, and EnrichLA Executive Director Tomas O’Grady. This great group of people came together to discuss the importance of being “inclusive,” supporting education and diversity, and the power of hope.
Soon after, everyone enjoyed a delicious, healthy and energizing lunch, and then got back to work! It was truly an inspirational day!
Thank you to all of our dedicated and hard working volunteers- we could not have done this without you, and we look forward to seeing you at future builds and, of course, at next year’s Harvey Milk Day of Service!
Justine, Tomas & Lauren O'Grady
FrontiersLA.com has included this Sunday’s EnrichLA event in their “Harvey Milk Day Celebrations” article! If you would like to be part of this great event, join us at RFK Community Schools located at
701 S. Catalina St.,
Los Angeles, CA 90005
“On Sunday May 20, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Stuart Milk, founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation and nephew of Harvey Milk, will host the 3rd Annual Harvey Milk Day of Service at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools.
At the first commemoration in 2010, Villaraigosa pledged to honor Harvey Milk through a day of service every year to acknowledge Milk’s legacy of community engagement. This year’s We Serve LA” project—held in conjunction with Gay for Good, Enrich L.A., FAIR, Latino Equality Alliance, UCLA Family Commons, Wilshire Center Business Improvement District, principals, teachers and students from the Los Angeles Unified School District, among others—will paint commemorative canvas murals, build two sets of edible produce gardens to be used in educating parents and students alike about nutrition and sustainability, and complete a campus wide clean up at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools.”
EnrichLA is excited to announce its involvement in the Silverlake Jubilee this coming Memorial Day weekend! Come visit our booth at the Jubilee and find some inexpensive edible seedings, herb bouquets from our school gardens, and have the kids join in making some seed bombs! We will also be featuring some fresh produce grown from our very own school gardens!
The Silverlake Jubilee implements a Zero Waste Initiative with the goal of 90% landfill diversion, water conservation, and use of renewable power resources, as well as being a single-use water bottle-free event.
Join us on May 26th and 27th, enjoy the music, good company, and help us celebrate and promote LA school gardens!
Some FAQ’s from the Jubilee website:
Q. Is the Jubilee going to be a life changing experience?
A. Yes. The Jubilee is full of changes to your life. This is the third year of the event.
Q. Where is the event?
A. At the Sunset Junction on Santa Monica Blvd in Silver Lake, at the intersection of Sunset Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd (4000-4400 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, 90029 ENTER at either end). Programming will also be located at El Cid, front entrance located at 4212 Sunset Blvd. 90029.
Q. How do I get tickets?
A. Online or In Store or Day of at the Sunset, Commonwealth and El Cid entrances
A. Residents, pick up tickets at the Jubilee office hours at 1523 Griffith Park Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Today we were joined by Tree People, Disney, USC Helenes, and De La Raza radio station for our garden build here at San Pedro El! Its been a great and busy morning, leveling our new garden space, digginf trenches for our pathway, and planting all typea of trees around this playground! Its so great to see all these volunteers here helping for a greater good.
“EnrichLA joins the celebrity (fun)draiser Electric Blue hosted by celebrity
Curtis Stone and Storage Wars star Dave Hester in Atwater Village on
Saturday March 24, benefitting Atwater Elementary School. Also featuring
Aussie icon Cameron Daddo, the famous Hollow Trees Kids bands, storyteller
Rebecca Martin and more! Silent and Live Auctions and loads of fun. Tickets
just $15 adults/$5 kids at www.flavorus.com/electricblue Atwater Elementary
were one of the first schools we built out last year and we’re absolutely
thrilled to support them. Go Blue!”
Chairs up for auction!
"Instant edible gardens" that will be up for auction!
Table is set for 32 people at the O'Grady Compound
Thank you to everyone that came out last night for our Second Saturdays dinner! Proceeds from this dinner will go toward our “Good Food Fair” at Markham Middle School on March 31st!
We had a full house of friends, teachers, and volunteers. It was truly a delight to gather around the lovely table and enjoy a delicious meal and interesting conversation! Our next Second Saturdays dinner will be, you guessed it, the second Saturday of April! RSVPs to our Second Saturdays can be emailed to Shana Baiz, EnrichLA Operations Director at shanaenrichla@gmail.com.
Thank you for believing in school gardens, and we look forward to seeing you at the next dinner!
Our lovely table!
Chef Deasy
This turned into a DELICIOUS meal!
Decor
Thank you to EVERYONE that came out and joined us at Nightingale Middle School today! It may not seem like the most exciting way to spend your Saturday morning, but everyone had a great time, enjoyed some delicious food, and truly TRANSFORMED the garden space at this school! We are so excited to see this garden flourish.
If you would like to be a part of our garden builds, please visit our volunteer page HERE.
Thank you to everyone who helps us do what we do!
-EnrichLA
A GARDEN IN EVERY SCHOOL
Students at Monlux Elementary School already have green thumbs. They’ve learned so much about ecosystems, seeds, edible plants and much more. Today, these little gardeners helped remove pesky weeds from the native garden and learned about the gardens friends and foes.
The garden at Alta Loma produced beautiful beets, chard, kale, cabbage and much much more! But…It’s that time of year to make sure the soil is healthy for our new crops. After the helpers amended the plots, we planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, thyme and cucumbers. Yummy food is just around the corner!
The Luther Burbank Middle School garden is in full bloom. Early this morning, birds, butterflies, bees and a slew of insects filled the space. Months ago, when we were nervous about morning frost we ventured out and planted potatoes, garlic, onions, kale and chard. This week we enjoyed the fruits of our labor. After harvesting…
The plants at Markham Farm seem to be enjoying the warmer weather. There are signs of new and tasty edibles in the future! Check out this young butternut squash. In some countries, young squash like the one below are considered a delicacy. The native area is full of many vibrant colors that are sure to…
The artichoke plant at Atwater attracts a lot of ladybugs in all stages of development. Great for learning!
The students at Atwater Elementary made heart-shaped seed bombs for Mother’s Day, made from old newspaper and other scrap paper. Each student got to make a heart filled with carrot seeds for their moms. It was a fun activity and as one of the teacher’s pointed out, the hearts are symbolic of our love for…
“Yummmm!” That was the first word that came out of a new student’s mouth. We worked in the garden for a bit and then prepared this quick snack. Everyone agreed that the fresh cilantro and lime juice made the salsa even tastier.
Green Mother’s Day Gifts What are some ways to be Green on Mother’s Day? Start by giving handmade, local, organic, Fair Trade, and eco-friendly gifts. Choose organic local flowers. Most flowers are mainly grown in other countries that use harmful chemicals and pesticides. Who wants to bring that into their home? Green Mother’s Day Gift…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/8/2013 Contact Tomas O’Grady. Tomasogrady@enrichla.org. 323 387 3866 The new learning Habitat and Farm at El Sereno Middle School is to be completed on May 18th, 2013 in celebration of Harvey Milk Day. 200 volunteers will build a mini farm, dry creek and native garden. This schoolyard habitat will offer an opportunity…
The Woodlawn Elementary School garden has well over 30 species of edible plants. Some of these wonderful fruits, vegetables, and herbs are hard to recognize in their immature stage so we decided to make signs to help our garden community. The signs were showered throughout the garden when we finished up the day. They’ll helps…
Hundreds of students at Wilton Place Elementary School came to their school garden today to transplant seedlings. While they were planting, they noticed some of the gardens living things. One student shouted, “Beeeeees!” Another exclaimed, “Worms!” Needless to say, it was a fun day in the sun!
