On Saturday, May 26, students from Glassell Park Elementary, along with Enrich L.A., came together to build a school garden. Through the sponsorship of $5,000.00, from the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council, Enrich L.A., founded by Tomas O’Grady and Glassell Park Elementary students were able to have garden beds, mulched walkways, and a timed sprinkler system. Over one hundred people gathered together to help commence the new garden. There also was an opening ceremony, which was conducted to welcome the new addition to the school and to thank Enrich L.A. for its valuable guidance. One of the many who attended was 13th District Council Member, Eric Garcetti, who helped open the garden. After the opening ceremony, students and volunteers, guided by Enrich L.A., worked till the evening to have their garden take form. All together, they were capable of planting native and edible plants in their newly built garden beds. Students were taught how to plant and maintain their new landscape. The new garden has become a valuable addition to the elementary school. Students will obtain the opportunity to learn about gardening, the species that reside in a garden, and healthy eating habits. The new garden is, both, educational and beneficial. What was once a vacant lot has now beautifully transformed into a place of education and natural growth. The students of Glassell Park Elementary will surely be pleased to see how their hard work has helped create such a wondrous place in their school. Not only will the students be benefited, but also, hopefully they will bring this healthy education to their homes and practice healthy eating with their families. With the installation of one small garden, a big difference can occur.
- Glassell Garden Grows!
Glassell Garden Grows!
Spring break gave the plants time to do their thing. They sure seemed to enjoy the mild temperature paired with light showers than Monday morning provided. Students eagerly explored the…
- Glassell Repurposes!
Glassell Repurposes!
Loads of kindergartners flooded through the garden last week. These little ones were very observant. They noticed changes among the edible plants and searched for the unwanted greenery, more commonly…
- Glassell Park, Idaho or Iowa?
Glassell Park, Idaho or Iowa?
This week students at Glassell Park Elementary School played around with some new crops. Before the planting could begin, there was some preparation that needed to get done.
The kindergarteners tried…
- The Glassell Garden Grows
The Glassell Garden Grows
Sixth grade students at Glassell Park Elementary School got down and dirty yesterday afternoon. Even though they were dressed to impress it didn't stop them from getting the job done.…
- Glassell Park Students Hard at Work!
Glassell Park Students Hard at Work!
The students at Glassell Park Elementary have been hard at work weeding and watering their garden! Some pesky bugs were responsible for slowly munching their way through our healthy peppers…
- Hungry, Healthy and Happy at Glassell Park
Hungry, Happy and Healthy at Glassell Park
As I walked through the halls of Glassell to get to the garden, students spotted me with a bag of fresh fruit and cheered; They knew they were going to…
- Fuit and Veggie Bingo Inspires Healthy Snacks at Glassell
Fuit and Veggie Bingo Inspires Healthy Snacks…
What better way to learn about fruits and veggies than through a fun game of bingo? Kindergarteners and 1st graders learned to identify unfamiliar foods and categorize fruits and veggies…
Glassell Garden Grows!
Spring break gave the plants time to do their thing. They sure seemed to enjoy the mild temperature paired with light showers than Monday morning provided. Students eagerly explored the garden gathering fresh veggies they could take home. See for yourself, there were was lots to choose from!
Some were amazed by the kohlrabi, while others went straight for the lettuce and cilantro!
It was fun for the students to observe the changes that occurred in our potato, corn, garlic and onion patch. The potatoes should be ready to harvest in just a few weeks!
Glassell Repurposes!
Loads of kindergartners flooded through the garden last week. These little ones were very observant. They noticed changes among the edible plants and searched for the unwanted greenery, more commonly known as WEEDS! Here’s one of the edible beauties they spotted while cruising around the garden beds.
Swiss Chard
We made a little end-of-winter snack made of garden-fresh lettuce, homemade lemon juice and valencia oranges. When we finished making the snack, we repurposed the citrus peels. We transplanted young seedlings into a natural biodegradable container. The peel serves as a safe home for the plant until it’s ready to withstand warm temperatures and pests on its own.
Repurposed Peel
Thanks Yvonne Savio, Master Gardener Program Manager who introduced me to this wonderful idea. For more great repurposing ideas, visit UC Common Ground and click on Recycle “Useless” Items into “New” Garden Tools.
Enjoy!
Glassell Park, Idaho or Iowa?
This week students at Glassell Park Elementary School played around with some new crops. Before the planting could begin, there was some preparation that needed to get done.
The kindergarteners tried their hand at tilling the plot, while their 3rd grade counterparts added compost to the soil.
Diggin’ In
When the next class came to the garden, they had the chance to plant sprouted potatoes. They dug 4” trenches and made sure that the heavy-feeders had plenty of compost.
Potatoes
The last class learned about planting corn. They discovered that this tasty crop needs to be planted in trios in order to be successful.
Corn Seedling
The Glassell Garden Grows
Students preparing the soil for planting.
Sixth grade students at Glassell Park Elementary School got down and dirty yesterday afternoon. Even though they were dressed to impress it didn’t stop them from getting the job done. After they loosened the soil, we added vermiculite and organic compost to both lighten and enrich the soil.
Here are the freshly prepped rows with garlic and red onions perfectly spaced apart. Way to go, kiddos!
Rows of garlic and red onions. Mmm, perfect for pico de gallo when summer rolls around.
Glassell Park Students Hard at Work!
The students at Glassell Park Elementary have been hard at work weeding and watering their garden! Some pesky bugs were responsible for slowly munching their way through our healthy peppers and basil, and we’ve been working hard to restore our plants’ health and add new plants to the garden.
Hungry, Happy and Healthy at Glassell Park
As I walked through the halls of Glassell to get to the garden, students spotted me with a bag of fresh fruit and cheered; They knew they were going to be tasting and creating something delicious that morning.
Students experimented with different topping combinations to go on top of whole grain crackers.
Kids were skeptical of the hummus at first, and enjoyed taste testing the spicy and classic style hummus and sharing their reactions with each other. The verdict? Most of them loved it! We experimented with combining opposite flavors like spicy and sweet or bitter and salty to see how it changed the flavor of the food.
The number one question students kept asking me “Where did you get this?”
Students were happily surprised to learn that they could recreate the snacks with just a few ingredients from their local grocery store and some help from the thriving school garden.
Top 3 Student Favorites using whole grain crackers:
1. spicy hummus, tomato slice, basil and sea salt
2. classic hummus, white peach slice and basil
3. classic hummus and golden delicious apple slice
Learning about Healthy Eating Habits through My Plate
Students learned about the importance of incorporating multiple food groups into their daily meals and portion size.
Fuit and Veggie Bingo Inspires Healthy Snacks at Glassell
What better way to learn about fruits and veggies than through a fun game of bingo? Kindergarteners and 1st graders learned to identify unfamiliar foods and categorize fruits and veggies while learning why they are good for us. 
After learning about the importance of eating fruits and veggies, we made healthy and delicious fruit caterpillars!
Kids loved the bright colors and making fun patterns.
The best part? Eating all the fruit and making another one!
Learning about Food Groups at Glassell Elementary
We had some much needed rain our first day out in the garden! While the plants were getting watered, students learned about different food groups and talked about what fruits and vegetables they wanted to see growing in their garden. They drew some beautiful pictures, and shared them with their classmates.
Students had fun using their senses to explore different varieties of fruits and vegetables, some they had never tried before!
Students took turns pointing out what was growing in the garden. We can’t for them to grow big enough to eat!
Glassell Park Neighborhood Council
Glassell Park Neighborhood Council
8/9/2012
Glassell Park Elementary
On Saturday, May 26, students from Glassell Park Elementary, along with Enrich L.A., came together to build a school garden. Through the sponsorship of $5,000.00, from the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council, Enrich L.A., founded by Tomas O’Grady and Glassell Park Elementary students were able to have garden beds, mulched walkways, and a timed sprinkler system. Over one hundred people gathered together to help commence the new garden. There also was an opening ceremony, which was conducted to welcome the new addition to the school and to thank Enrich L.A. for its valuable guidance. One of the many who attended was 13th District Council Member, Eric Garcetti, who helped open the garden. After the opening ceremony, students and volunteers, guided by Enrich L.A., worked till the evening to have their garden take form. All together, they were capable of planting native and edible plants in their newly built garden beds. Students were taught how to plant and maintain their new landscape. The new garden has become a valuable addition to the elementary school. Students will obtain the opportunity to learn about gardening, the species that reside in a garden, and healthy eating habits. The new garden is, both, educational and beneficial. What was once a vacant lot has now beautifully transformed into a place of education and natural growth. The students of Glassell Park Elementary will surely be pleased to see how their hard work has helped create such a wondrous place in their school. Not only will the students be benefited, but also, hopefully they will bring this healthy education to their homes and practice healthy eating with their families. With the installation of one small garden, a big difference can occur.
Fruit kabobs and painting fun at Glassell Park
Yesterday was yet another great day at Glassell Park Elementary- we painted thank you posters for the teachers for doing such a fantastic job teaching throughout the school year and enjoyed a delicious and refreshing snack of watermelon, bananas, and pineapple!
Picnic at Glassell Park Elementary
Now this is how a garden should be enjoyed!
The New Kitchen Arbor at Glassell Park Elementary
- Glassell Park Elementary Garden
Redwood Picnic Tables
Grape vines
The outdoor sink system. Designed and built by Tomas O'Grady
A highly successful build at Glassell Park Elementary
A week ago Tomas and I were standing in a pleasantly shady space at Glassell Park Elementary School. Despite being in the company of beautiful tall trees, a highly energized principle, and several friendly teachers we were incredibly nervous about the upcoming build. The space where the garden was going to go was not only huge and an odd shape, asphalt had been removed for the build and it all had to be filled up again with dirt. We were, in a word, intimidated.
Maybe it was the trees, maybe it was the positive spirit of the principle and the staff at the school, maybe it was the help of volunteers from FoxGives and Revolution Training Center from Church on the Way the day before the build, or the volunteers from the community and EnrichLA and elsewhere that came on Saturday to help with the build, or more likely all of the above, but by Saturday afternoon 6:30 Glassell Park had a new edible garden with raised edible garden beds, a native plant section, mulched walkways and a timed sprinkler system that was up and running!
The build at Glassell is not only evidence of how we are growing and becoming exponentially greater with each build, it shows how much can be done when a school and community is driven to doing great things!
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- Planting in the late afternoon sun
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- The beds are ready to be filled with dirt and compost
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- Friday pre-build with Revolution Training Center and FoxGives Volunteers
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- Sprinkler system, done!
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- Sprinklers are go!
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- Picnic tables are in
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- Leveling the garden
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- Benches are being assembled
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- Volunteers moving dirt and compost at the pre-build
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- Making a new path
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- Filling up the garden space
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- More than fifty cubic yards of compost and dirt was moved by the volunteers!
New Garden for Glassell Park Elementary School!
Site for the new garden to be built at Glassell Park Elementary
Very soon we will be breaking ground for a new garden to be built at Glassell Park Elementary school. The new garden will be beautiful and will engage the students in the process of growing plants and vegetables and consuming healthy food!
