Organic Educational Center at Sage Hill
Issue: Environmental Responsibility
Grant Amount: $73,901.00
Newport Coast, CA
Year Funded: 2011
Organization: Sage Hill School
Contact Information
Jason Gregory
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The purpose of this project is to create an organic farming ranch at Sage Hill School that will be used to teach Sage students the benefits of organic, healthful, and sustainable food farming. More importantly, the ranch will be used as an educational center for Sage Hill students to teach younger children in underprivileged areas the benefits of organic foods and how their consumption nurtures a healthier lifestyle.
This project addresses the issue of environmental responsibility, teaching students at Sage Hill as well as the students in underprivileged areas without the access to the proper supplies how to cost-effectively grow food organically that will benefit the ecosystem. Also, this project gives these underprivileged children access to a higher education of health, where they may gain hands-on learning of what they really are putting into their bodies day by day, and this will provide them with the proper learning tools to make wiser nutritional choices later in life. You could also argue that we are closing the achievement gap, by sharing our resources to open the doors for students who would not otherwise have that learning opportunity. It fulfills part of our Public Purpose as a school, and a desire reach out to our community at large and make a significant difference.
Project Updates
Facebook Site
We have just started our very own Facebook site, including project updates, fun photos, and interesting facts! Check it out and give us a "like"!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Organic-Educational-Center-at-Sage-Hill/197907486952206
January
Now in the month of January, things are getting truly exciting. We have already met with the landscape architect for the proposal of the new layout of the garden, and things look exciting indeed! By the end of January, we have slated out a time with Savannah's Organic Ranch to propose our curriculum for not only our garden, but many surrounding school gardens in the nearby vicinity. This will be a busy month, and a promising one as well!
End of January
We finally had our first group of over 200 students come visit! Our freshmen were each able to partner up with 2 3rd grade "buddies" from one of our grammar partner schools (El Sol Science and Arts Academy and Edward B. Cole Sr. Academy) and teach them about organic gardening as well as the environment we reside in! Groups were split up into 3 sections: Plant Adaptations, Soil Composition, and Garden Fun. While the first two were more seminar-based and the Freshman taught their "buddies" by way of a structured curriculum, the Garden Fun rotation consisted of each 3rd grader planting seeds of herbs and vegetables (such as swiss chard and kale) in raised beds. Thanks to the State Farm Grant, we were able to provide these 255 students with a healthy lunch catered by Sapphire Kitchen. See the link below for newspaper coverage on the big day! And make sure to stop by the Facebook page for photos!
February
This month of February has been an exciting for the garden as well as the larger ranch portion. We already have solidified our relations with a prospective chicken coop manufacturer and look forward to bringing live fowl to our campus! Our group of students has worked hard to fill the newly-constructed large herb beds with soil (this surprisingly takes a long time!)
On a more exciting note, we have finally broken ground in the larger portion of the garden! We have planted our first batch of trees lining the far end of the garden that borders the main driveway. These trees include Holiday Dwarf Avocado, Italian Everbearing Fig, Washington Naval Orange, Pink Eurika Lemon, Red Baron Peach, Burgundy Plumb, and Pomegranate! Make sure to check out the photos on our Facebook page that cover the humble beginnings of these soon-to-be blooming trees.
We also mixed up a new batch of soil whose composition is noticeably less dense than the mixes we have made in the past. It contains vermiculite, a mineral used for insulation and moisture retention for the soil. We have placed it in one of the raised bed, and are anxious to see just how life grows in this new soil mix!
March
During March, our group of dedicated high school gardeners/innovators had time to solidify the stunning progress we have made throughout the year, along with coming together to decide on how to progress in the future.
This year, we have met every goal of ours, ranging from building up the garden area to teaching 3rd graders using hands-on activities. We have discussed how to expand our horizons by getting the teachers from our 3rd grader partner schools more intimately involved. This means that the learning would not stop in the garden, but be integrated in the classroom along with the science and math coursework. In respect to the garden itself, we look to expand our technologies offered to aquaponics and chicken farming.
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