I was thrilled beyond words to hear of plans to break ground today on the new White House vegetable garden spear-headed by Alice Waters, a world renowned chef, local food proponent and creator and backer of the Edible Schoolyard. Michelle Obama has explained there will be arugula (which we love) but no beets (her husband doesn't like them, neither does mine). And the best part is the garden will be planted and harvested by local school kids, and presumably some awesome parent volunteers.
Alice Waters is a legend in the Bay Area for her food, her adherence to seasonal schedules for eating and cooking, and for turning a neglected Berkeley middle school yard into a thriving organic garden that's integrated into the school curriculum.
Growing your own food teaches kids the value of their labor, connects them to the land and teaches them what real fresh food looks and tastes like. It's a great science and nutrition exercise.
School gardens like this are nothing new, but a common thread is that they need involved and committed people to make them happen. How can you make this happen at your school? Check at Alice Water' Chez Panisse Foundation web site for resources, and see if local organizations are available to guide or sponsor you. Then you just need a core group of leaders (hopefully a couple with some gardening experience) to spearhead each step of the project.
Once you've identified a site, the tasks become pretty clear: fencing to keep out critters, soil preparation and garden layout, water delivery and irrigation, transplanting and seeding, weeding, pest control (hopefully organic) and finally harvest. Each of these steps requires people to show up and take on a job, and making it as turnkey as automated drip lines is what VolunteerSpot does best.
As you spearhead your garden planning, plot the jobs in VolunteerSpot. Your garden development and plant growth will take months -- but it's easily to build a long term calendar using the VolunteerSpot planning wizard. It sets up quicker than it takes to stake a tomato plant, and it will make the project so much more successful because all the volunteers will have a simple place to check to see what's happening and how they can help. And nothing gets forgotten, because the email reminders to every volunteer for every shift are all automated.
We salute the White House for growing their own food and involving local kids. Now here's to the rest of us setting up community gardens for our own school kids.
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