Summer is finally over and students at Loma Vista Middle School in Alvord Unified have returned to start a new school year. The student garden club held their first meeting on August 22, 2019. Regina Linton, the school garden teacher, was pleased to see over 50 students joining the club this year, including several students who returned from last year. Regina started the garden club in 2015 and obtained a grant to expand the garden following year. These efforts helped the school win the Gold Award twice from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's National Healthy Schools Program. To keep the school garden club going, Regina relies on the help and support from CalFresh Healthy Living at University of California (CFHL,UC) and Master Gardener Program from University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE).
On this hot afternoon, the students were excited to see several weed filled garden beds waiting to be cleaned up. UCCE Master Gardeners Debbra Corbin-Euston and Kim Coons-Leonard, CFHL,UC Educators Claudia Carlos and Itzel Palacios-Sanchez, and two interns from Loma Linda School of Public Health, Jennifer Tran and Sarah McAfee, were on hand to help supervise students. The two master gardeners taught students to differentiate weeds from the baby nasturtiums which are edible plants, and how to use tools for weeding. With so many hands, a lot of work was accomplished in just one hour. The garden beds soon were presentable and ready for the next step. The students will get to plant a winter crop later this month, and a couple of garden beds will be used to plant a cultural garden for Shaping Healthy Choices Program which is being implemented in Mrs. Hipp's class this year by CFHL,UC.
