‘Growing the whole child’
Pictured, from left: Dunbar’s Alissa Pearce, Chris Everidge of Sassarini and Flowery, guest presenter Chef Ann Cooper, Altimira’s Kimberly Weber, and Adele’s Yannick Phillips.
By Sarah Ford | Sonoma Valley Sun — A group of four Sonoma school horticulture educators recently traveled to Berkeley to attend a five-day training at the renowned Edible Schoolyard Project (ESY), founded 20 years ago by Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters.
Joining educators from around the US were the Horticulture and Culinary Aides/Garden Coordinators from Adele Harrison and Altimira Middle Schools, Yannick Phillips and Kimberly Weber, as well as the Garden Coordinator for Flowery and Sassarini Elementary Schools, Chris Everidge, and Dunbar Elementary’s Garden Coordinator Alissa Pearce.
“It’s not just about growing food,” said Phillips. ”It’s about growing a whole child, academically, emotionally, and culturally ready for the world.”
Altimira’s Weber said, “It was not so much the horticulture and culinary curriculum covered that I enjoyed at ESY, it was the overall experience. The cultural diversity, acceptance, love, knowledge, and a common belief that all children are deserving of an organic school lunch.”
Everidge said she “enjoyed being together with over 100 people who share the same passion for educating young people about the importance of growing healthy food and being connected to the land.”
The goal of the edible education program is to create interdisciplinary, hands-on curricula for the school garden and kitchen. The lessons are tied in with students’ classes and state standards in humanities, science, chemistry, and other subjects, and they also emphasize life skills and communication as students work together on projects in the garden and the kitchen.
“I really enjoyed learning how they teach their cooking classes while integrating social studies,” said Elridge. “One of the classes that they shared with us was on the history of the Silk Road thru China, India, and Rome — sharing the spices and food from those regions and making it into a meal.”
The edible schoolyard curricula are shared with schools across the U.S. and abroad, and there are now thousands of schools worldwide that incorporate ESY’s edible education curriculum. In addition to providing a delicious, nutritious lunch to students for free, such programs empower students to make healthy and sustainable food choices for life.
