Students to learn about healthy eating, helping others at Si, Se
Puede! Learning Center after school program
The students at the Si, Se Puede! Learning Center made the most
of a ribbon cutting for their community garden March 12 despite
afternoon showers.
For more than a month, the students, staff and high school
volunteers have worked to transform an outside storage area into a
community space and garden. The group spent weekends and
after-school hours working on a mural, decorating rocks and wind
chimes, and preparing the ground for seedlings that will be planted
in the coming weeks.
Students to learn about healthy eating, helping others at Si, Se Puede! Learning Center after school program
The students at the Si, Se Puede! Learning Center made the most of a ribbon cutting for their community garden March 12 despite afternoon showers.
For more than a month, the students, staff and high school volunteers have worked to transform an outside storage area into a community space and garden. The group spent weekends and after-school hours working on a mural, decorating rocks and wind chimes, and preparing the ground for seedlings that will be planted in the coming weeks.
“The whole project was an idea completely started by the students,” said Charles Miller, a coordinator at the Si, Se Puede! Learning Center.
At the opening ceremony, the students prepared a presentation about the garden and what they hope to accomplish, which they gave to community members, parents and others gathered on the Friday afternoon. Mayor Victor Gomez attended to cut the ribbon and talked to the crowd as well.
“We started by having a vote on what we wanted to give back to the community,” Miller said, before the presentation started. “They are also learning ways to eat and live healthy.”
Staying with the healthy theme, snacks served at the event included spinach, carrot and celery sticks.
Thomas Guzowski, another coordinator, who helped design the mural on a face in the garden, sees the project as an opportunity to teach kids on more than one level.
“The biggest thing is that they are not only learning science, but the importance of the environment and eating locally,” Guzowski said. “If you put in extra effort, you get a huge return back. The kids have been part of this entire process.”
He added that they will continue to be involved in watering the garden, weeding it and other maintenance.
San Benito Bounty, run by Tim and Nants Foley, will be donating seedlings and seeds for the garden. The San Benito Bounty is to promote healthy and local eating, and Foley helped connect Si, Se Puede! staff with the San Benito County Farm Bureau. The Farm Bureau is sponsoring the Harvest of the Month club at some after-school programs, including Si, Se Puede!
The spinach served at the afternoon event came from the Harvest of the Month club, for which Si, Se Puede! signed up two months ago.
“It’s been great,” Miller said. “It’s really been interesting. We started off with broccoli and spinach and you think it would be a slow start, but they give you recipes to really make food that is healthy and kid friendly.”
Earlier in the week, the kids made Shrek shakes using the spinach.
“We are hoping to continue with the theme of local eating and also healthy diets,” Miller said.
They have a responsibility to provide a snack everyday, and Miller said it can be tough to get fresh items on a budget.
Miller said the Foleys will also offer support through compost and other measures, to ensure it is sustainable.
“It’s a really good partnership,” Miller said. “They are really determined to make sure we follow through with it.”
While one goal of the community garden is to teach the kids about healthy eating, another goal that the students came up with is sharing the food in the community.
“They are more excited to share it than even using it for our own use here,” Miller said.
He said the students mentioned donating produce to such places as Emmaus House and other nonprofits. If they have enough produce, they may also hold a farmers market or distribute produce to people in the community.
Giving back to the community has been a theme for the students since the Learning Center celebrates Cesar Chavez day at the end of the month. The students will be participating in other events such as a walk-a-thon on March 20 and a book fair later in the month.
Gomez spoke to the crowd about Chavez, recalling a match from San Juan Bautista to Veterans Memorial Park when he was 6 years old, when he shook Chavez’s hand. He recalled growing up in a low-income neighborhood and in a Spanish-speaking household.
“Once you have the veggies, you can have your first vegetarian pizza,” said Gomez, who owns the local Papa Murphy’s Pizza. “I will donate cheese pizzas and you can throw all the [vegetable] toppings on it.”
The students also participated in the ceremony, getting up in groups of three or four in front of the crowd. Each student shared something about the garden, from what types of vegetables they might grow to how compost can be used.
“We made the garden to get fruits and vegetables to eat that are yummy,” one student said. “It will be a place to chill out and have fun.”
After the ribbon cutting, the staff shared a slideshow of photos from the weeks of preparation. The kids laughed and giggled as their images appeared on the screen.
“It’s been a really great process of going through it,” Miller said.
