Slow Food in Schools teaches youth about the values of eating locally, seasonally and sustainably through hands-on projects.

The beginning...     August 2009

Thanks to the go-ahead from the open-minded director of the Charter School, Julie Durand, this piece of land was chosen for the garden.  It was an open field between a grove of trees and the softball field.  This ground was as hard as concrete after a considerable summer drought.  Creating an organic garden on this plot would definitely be a challenge, but Polly and I were up for it!

  Our community donated & built this precious potting shed to house the tools

Now, it's winter, and for the past few months we've been doing "lasagna gardening", or thickly composted layers topped with a cover crop on one quarter of the garden.  Pretty soon (when it dries up a bit!) we'll rotate the composted and planted areas, to try to inject vitamins and nutrients back into the soil. 

Our garden will continue to improve and sustain itself using natural methods.  That is the healthy choice for our children, for ourselves and for the planet!

The first week of school, we planted sunflowers, since they don't require good soil.  By the Fall Festival in November, we had a few that were over 8 feet tall !We were able to teach many lessons, including math, health, and the science of nature using these sunflowers.

check out our blog to see our progress:

www.apcsedibleschoolyard.blogspot.com

This gorgeous poster done in the art nouveau style was created by a local artist, Season Bivens.

She sells at our farmers' market- check our her work:

www.seasonbivens.com

The schoolchildren wrote letters to world famous, Chef Alice Waters, who owns Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.  She also happens to be the International Vice-President of Slow Food.  She has accepted their invitation and will visit the APCS Edible Schoolyard this March!Alice Waters

www.chezpanisse.com 

We will also be honored with the visit of Chef Joe Truex, who is a native of Mansura.  He now owns a successful, award-winning restaurant, Repast,  in Atlanta, Georgia.Joe Truex

www.repastrestaurant.com