CONNECTING KIDS WITH COMPOST, HEALTHY FOODS

摘要

Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center (OGLC) in National City, California has made impressive strides towards fulfilling its vision "to connect and motivate students and families from diverse backgrounds through organic gardening, environmental stewardship and nutrition education" and empower them "to be healthy and active citizens." Fertile compost-amended soil in the gardens sprouts healthy fruits and vegetables that school kids and volunteers help to grow. Between student field trips, community visits, classes and tours, nearly 8,000 children, adolescents and adults have already visited Olivewood since it opened in February 2010. Olivewood has three levels of gardening classes: 101, 201 and 301. Students are scheduled to come four times over the school year. Composting is a key component of the gardens' fertility, but OGLC lacks sufficient feedstock to produce enough compost to meet its needs. To be able to provide extensive programming, OGLC relies on volunteers. Show less