Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Produce from the garden is used by the school for the lunch program, while the excess is sold at the local
farmers' market, to restaurants, and to a food co-op. This is more about community outreach than actual
profit.
Who are the gardeners?
The garden tasks are broken down so the students understand them and will be successful. Martha Egnal is
the garden supervisor and has had invaluable help from an AmeriCorps member who worked with her for
three years, enabling expansion of the garden in size and scope. Now the garden has a FoodCorps service
member and is partnered with the Volunteer Center in town. There are workdays with a few dedicated volun-
teer families. Members of the community are asked to contribute their skills to the garden. Parents required
to provide volunteer hours also work in the garden.
Does the neighborhood have any impact on the mission?
The vision is for the garden is to become a resource in a hard-pressed community—for people to learn about
home gardening, raising small animals, beekeeping, food preservation, cooking, and nutrition. Garden lead-
ers are also looking at needed youth programming; in the works are a new school that might be built for a
variety of age groups, and the expansion of the program into agricultural production that would include skills
and job training.
Is there an educational mandate for the garden?
Education in this garden is about balancing production with enrichment—and the need to be process oriented
rather than just produce oriented. There are three levels of participation in the first through sixth grades.
Every week children work in the garden, planting seeds and harvesting. Older children keep garden journals,
observing one spot over time to identify bugs and plants, doing plant pressings, painting, and writing. The
community members are also partners in the success of the garden and participate in the growing and educa-
tion.
Is the garden genesis driven by some other need, example, or force?
Martha Egnal believes in the therapeutic value of cultivating a seed—to her, the potential benefits are huge.
This garden founder felt something was broken about the food system. She has a passion for social change,
and wanted a way to create social change peacefully, combining environmental work with a hands-on project
that brought the community and the school together.
THE HOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT, SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA
MISSION STATEMENT
In the soil of our urban farm and garden, people find the tools they need to build a home in the world.
Are any existing organizations sponsoring or starting the garden? Do their missions need to be part of
how the garden is developed?
The first organic garden was a program by the Citizens Committee on the Homeless, located on two acres of
land owned by the city; it was a temporary location from the start, and, in 1995, the garden moved. The new
spot was developed on three acres of private, donated land with a month-to-month lease.
Are funders sponsoring the garden? Do the funds dictate the garden mission in any way?
