After disaster struck with the Thomas fire and Covid-19 pandemic, the catastrophic effects were seen within our own garden, being left unattended and in shambles. With a $4,000 grant provided by the NOAA Ocean Guardian School, the garden sees new beginnings.
The garden’s disorganization has been a result of several factors, the garden hasn’t had it easy, and its recovery has been gradual.
The garden began its rebuilding process last year, when environmental science teacher Michael Yorke’s field studies class began plucking weeds and restoring the garden in hopes of restoring it into an operating garden, and a home for native plants.
“There’s so much value in creating something that will sustain itself and continue to keep going and providing for people,” senior Madysen Hawley said. “It’s an honorable way to create something that will then create for other people.”
If successful, the garden will be used as a place where students can utilize agricultural skills and connect with nature. A place where students can learn about the importance of native habitats and water conservation.
“[The garden] gets a lot of people involved,” senior Jasmine Paramo said. “It brings us together and builds a community.”
The garden will also be a source of produce for the culinary arts class where students will have the opportunity to utilize materials that were grown within their very own school.
”Culinary [won’t have to] outsource their produce, so we can mitigate their carbon footprint,” senior Madysen Hawley said.
In May of last school year, Hawley worked closely with Paramo, and had guidance from environmental teacher, Michael York, in the drafting process of the grant proposal.
The NOAA Ocean Guardian School grant, supports environmentally conscious projects in schools. To be an eligible candidate the project must connect to one of the program’s five ocean and literacy pathways. These include watershed restoration, refuse/rethink/reduce/recycle, energy and ocean health, or schoolyard garden/ habitat like Buena’s garden.
The restoration of the garden is a slow moving project, but with the consistent hard work from students in Yorke’s class and the recently revived garden club, the garden is expected to be up and thriving throughout the next couple of months.
