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Photo Credit: Jack Mejia
Juniors Tony Mai and Jazmin Garcia and sophomores Pearl Joy Balagot and Diego Garcia prepare spring rolls using vegetables grown at the Media Academy garden.
June 3, 2011
Reese Brown, Media Academy
A group of students at Media Academy in Oakland has been earning some green for working — and learning — in the school garden. The six students meet after school on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to plant, water and maintain the garden.
The program is taught by Matthew Green, a former journalism teacher at Media. Green received grants from the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation and S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation to run the garden program.
Crops include carrots, peas, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, broccoli, chard and a variety of flowers.
Garden Club member Kim Mejia-Cuellar, a junior, gets her own section where she grows lettuce, potatoes, flowers, onions and spinach.
“It’s a very unique opportunity to have a garden in our school,” said Mejia-Cuellar. “It’s important for students to know how to grow their own food.”
Once students have harvested their food, they cook meals using what they’ve grown in the garden.
“Whenever the food is ready, we make a healthy meal,” said Mejia-Cuellar.
The Garden Club has fixed quesadillas, spring rolls, burritos and plenty of salads so far this year.
Students are proud to grow the ingredients they use for their meals.
“Compared to fast food, garden meals are much more healthier, organic, and are made with pride,” said junior Jazmin Garcia.
Aside from learning the basics of gardening and cooking nutritious meals, students also receive a $100 stipend every semester.
“It’s nice to get extra money for doing something I like,” said Garcia.
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