Thanks for School Gardens  

By  Kathleen Hill                                                                            

This past Monday, Facebook brought up a memory for me with a lovely photo of the now late and dear chef John McReynolds and his assistant demonstrating cooking vegetables to Altimira Middle School science students.

Many of those students squirmed at first, not really interested in what was going on. Their interest warmed as McReynolds made Butternut squash salad, a kale salad, and other goodies from what these students had grown in their school garden.

Most had never tasted Butternut squash or kale, but eventually several of the kids asked for seconds, thirds, and even fourths. They couldn’t believe they had grown the ingredients and that they could make them taste this good.

Then-Superintendent Louann Carlomagno was there and afterward said to me, “Kathleen, do you realize what you have done? You have created safe places for many students to grow and nurture plants and themselves, and then take a few vegetables home to their families. Some of the kids even find peace and a sort of sanctuary eating their lunches in the gardens.”

I had not realized that.

Our garden coordinators put on a fundraiser at Ramekins Culinary School, and I raised money from Sondra Bernstein’s Fig Foundation, Clover Stornetta (now Sonoma), and from Sonoma County via then-Supervisor Susan Gorin. Tony Garcia of Sonoma Materials donated loads and loads of materials. Russ and Pat Meier-Johnson made a fabulous video of the school gardens that the District never posted on their website.

Last year, when I was informed by the now-current Acting Superintendent that there was no more money for school garden coordinators, who were paid a whopping $1,800 per year, I asked if I could use the money we had raised to pay them. She informed me the money was gone, saying she had made the decision to use it elsewhere, emailing, “I made the decision to use the funds for the Altimira Instructional Aide because the board wanted to save the position.”

Many teachers received those slim garden stipends and put in lots of extra effort since they knew the educational value of the gardens. Those teachers knew their first commitment was to teaching academic subjects.

But many of us learn differently. Let’s hope we can restart our school garden project with the respect and excitement our students and teachers enjoyed for many years.