Among the wide range of activities carried out over the past two weeks to prepare the project’s foundation, our staff has held a training for teachers on how to develop and maintain school gardens; introductory classes for students on the basics of agriculture; and the first round of planting to ensure that the garden begins producing healthy, locally available fruits and vegetables as soon as possible.
“It’s exciting for the school community because word about the benefits of our project has traveled across San Lucas, where we have now implemented four different organic school gardens over the past two years,” says Ana Cabrera, the project manager and most recent addition to our in-field staff. “And it’s exciting for us, because we’re seeing tangible results in our current partner communities driving interest and engagement in others.”
With this new adventure just beginning, it’s strange to imagine that this broad plot of land will soon transform into a thriving, productive school garden. But if our past experiences in San Lucas schools are any indication, we have no doubt that the San Andres community will soon rise to the challenge and take full advantage of the benefits the organic school garden project has to offer.