Twenty years ago, some West Adams residents of Los Angeles and their friends had a novel idea: take a jackhammer to the asphalt and cement of their neighborhood's 24th Street Elementary School to plant shade trees and a garden.
They created Gardening School Foundation to support the project, which school and foundation officials say was a forward-thinking decision. Elizabeth Hall, director of outreach and development for the foundation, says the gardens at 24th Street School are critical to teaching climate literacy to 453 students in preschool through fourth grade. About 90 percent of the students are classified as low-income at the Title I school.
An orchard including pear trees in the garden at 24th Street Elementary School.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
School teachers have a deep desire to teach climate literacy, Hall said, but few LAUSD teachers have received the training needed to do so.
An outdoor learning center sits at the heart of the 24th Street Elementary School garden, which now covers a lush acre with groves of shade trees, an orchard with kumquats, apples, pears and pomegranates, and too many vegetable, herb and flower beds to count.
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The foundation developed the outdoor learning curriculum, Hall said, which is integrated into regular classroom science lessons as well as other subjects, particularly language arts.
24th Street Elementary School is “special,” said Principal Veronica Brown, now in her second year. Students learn where their food comes from, how to grow and cook it, and then recycle waste into compost. “This should be replicated in every school,” she added.
This spring, the school was named a California Green Ribbon School, the only one in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The award recognizes campuses that have reduced their environmental impact and costs, improved the health and well-being of students and staff, and provided effective environmental education.
What's the best thing about the garden? Earlier this year, three third-graders said they liked sunflowers and eating fruit, especially blackberries. They were glad that “the juice gets on your clothes.”
Mildred Hernandez, center, and other students sample sour sorrel in the garden at 24th Street Elementary School.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
The nonprofit's close relationship with school staff has made it easier to survive staff changes and LAUSD's budget problems, Hall said. When a full-time gardening teacher takes another job, the foundation can step in and find a temporary replacement until a permanent teacher can be hired.
The foundation maintains the gardens and organizes 1,400 hours of community volunteering each year at this particular school.
Last year, she raised $210,000 to support a full-time teacher who works in the garden, part-time parent-filled staff positions, a free twice-monthly farmers market for school families, and a lunchtime sharing table where students can leave unopened cafeteria food or grab second helpings.
24th Street School is one of 10 Title I schools in Los Angeles where at least 40% of enrolled students come from low-income families eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, with gardening programs supported by the foundation.
Garden assistant Nurjannah Wiryadimejo waters plants in the garden while students are at recess on the playground at 24th Street Elementary School.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
The goal of the garden program is to create lifelong habits of sustainability in students and their families, Hall said. Last year, the school converted 16,000 pounds of cafeteria food waste into 1,600 pounds of compost.
“Once kids understand how and why it’s done, they like how gross it is,” said Ann Dang, the school’s composter. “They dig around in the mud and pressure their parents to do it at home.”
