Grandview Elementary School garden outdoor kitchen.
THE NEW FARM AT VALMONTE SCHOOL ( details to follow)
The school campus is three schools, Valmonte Elementary, Sunrise, and Valmonte Early Learning Academy which comprises the Valmonte School campus.
In the past year, this school campus has created a small 2000 sq. ft. Children’s Edible Garden and bird and butterfly habitat garden that currently includes every student in planting seeds, transplanting, maintaining, harvesting and eating the food that is grown in the garden. In addition to the work of the kids in the garden, they also participate in Harvest of the Month, have individual classroom rolling cart gardens, a school farmer’s market and we have fresh organic Tanaka Farms CSA produce deliveries to our campus every Tuesday. Last summer a group of parents, teachers and food services individuals attended the Edible Schoolyard Academy in Berkeley and were inspired to make changes that would include edible education in Palos Verdes schools.
They returned to ESY this summer to train new volunteers as the interest in creating new and revitalizing old school gardens grows across the district.
This green group has made significant partnerships with local businesses that have helped support our school garden programs and are in the process of researching ways to create sustainability within the school garden network. The garden was started with $500 seed money from the PTA and a lot of generous community members/volunteers, teachers and administrators and an amazing Eagle Scout troop, San Pedro Science Center, Whole Foods Market-Torrance and Armstrong Garden Centers.
New School PARK at Valmonte Elementary in partnership with Valmonte Elementary.
3801 Via La Selva,Palos Verdes Estates,California, 90274
MAP
Saturday 15-Sep-2012
9 AM to 4 PM
Hospitality provided = Coffee and Pastries, Lunch
Scope of work = Composter, Native garden, Outdoor kitchen (Washing and food Prep), Fruit trees, Herb Garden, Winter Vegetables, Outdoor Seating, add a sprinkler system, Mulching
Contact Person/s= ( Tomas O’Grady 3233873866 tomasogradyenrichla@gmail.com, ( Bordeaux Martin 3235142812 bordeauxenrichla@gmail.com
Diana Heffernan
Garden Coordinator
310-528-7146
diana@heffernan.com
First the school garden. It’s built.
Now a much larger Nature/Edible garden on a one acre lot on the campus that was once a nature garden in the 1970’s.
There is no asphalt to pull up, just a very beautiful place waiting to be transformed…like a pretty green monarch chrysalis waiting to become a beautiful orange butterfly. There is also a need for irrigation to be connected from adjacent lines. There is room for a substantial fruit orchard and a large sunny space for edible rows. Off to the side there are mature trees that create a wonderful nature trail that will remain a part of the future garden. We envision a great spot for an outdoor classroom now shaded by big trees in an area that may have once been raised beds. It will be integrated into the school curriculum as early as next fall with hopes to begin the build early this summer.
For this new garden, the PVPUSD has partnered with the Transition to Independence program that helps special needs adults ages 18-22 transition into adulthood by providing life skills and employment. The TTI students will be working on the Valmonte Garden as part of their life/vocational training led by teachers from the district and vocational centers with over two decades of experience with both special needs students and horticulture/landscaping. The garden will also be utilized by the preschool (ages 2-4), special needs program (ages 3-5) and Transitional Kindergarten that all create the Valmonte campus as well as by the other 17 high, middle and elementary schools/preschool programs in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District. The garden will also be the new home of the Seed to Plate program that partners special needs high school students with local restaurants that purchase the produce they grow for use in their restaurants.
Nancy Nunez
Project Manager/Instructor seedtoplate@yahoo.com
310-561-4448
Shirley Resich
Principal
Resich@pvpusd.k12.ca.us
310-791-5078
Joleena Powell
Garden Assistant
Jpsocal310@gmail.com
424-757-2842
