Finally, I made it to the Mecca of school gardens: The Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California.
Wow.
I was not disappointed. First of all, the place is Enormous! Much larger than I had imagined—about a third of a city block. Plus, the space feels larger than it might (if it were, say, a soccer field) because there is so much going on. If I were a kid, I could imagine running around and exploring this place for hours.
There is a giant (purple) building to the south of the garden that houses an industrial kitchen, dining area, and offices for the staff. There is a solar-powered waterfall. A greenhouse. A cob tool shed. A poultry palace. A rainwater catchment system. There are water fountains, fruit trees, row crops, arbors with kiwi vines climbing over them, hand-tiled retaining walls, and of course, compost. Totally mind-boggling.
As my friend Maggie said, “These folks have a lot of funding.” Yes, they do, certainly in relation to other school gardens I’ve seen. Then again, this site is designed as a model classroom, and you can tell they are experimenting with anything and everything that can be done with a garden at a middle school. (Interestingly, the garden program is actually a non-profit run next door to the school, but obviously it’s a close partnership.)
I took about a billion photos, but here are some of the highlights from our visit:
A super tall arbor tunnel. I just love how they really went for it. This thing must be at least 12 feet tall!
The fluffiest chicken that I ever did see.
Asparagus fruit in the evening light. Happy Holidays!
The Edible Schoolyard
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