from the garden

Archive for January, 2010

Cooking Collards on Video

I am very excited to bring to you a glimpse of a day in our gardens. Thanks to our new Flip cameras, you can see Urban Sprouts in action preparing freshly harvested collards into delicious, simple, gourmet snacks! Students at both Martin Luther King middle school and International Studies Academy have gotten excited about sharing [...]

January 29, 2010   Posted in: local food, nutrition, organic, school garden, video  Comments Closed

Thank You Volunteers & Donors

To all of this fall’s volunteers and donors – you made our successful work possible this semester! Thank you! The full list of names:

January 26, 2010   Posted in: fundraising, volunteer  Comments Closed

Oxalis Challenge at Ida B. Wells

I recently learned from my students that oxalis, an invasive and aggressive weed for many San Francisco gardeners, is also called sourgrass, whose flower stalk can actually be chewed. Although oxalis has another beneficial function, that is, to prevent soil erosion on slopes, I can’t help but feel that every time I’m up at one [...]

January 20, 2010   Posted in: physical activity, school garden  One Comment

Response to Caitlin Flanagan in The Atlantic

The latest issue of The Atlantic includes a piece by Caitlin Flanagan criticizing school gardens. Kurt Michael Friese has written an excellent response. I want to address two points that relate specifically to my professional expertise, as the Director of Urban Sprouts.

January 12, 2010   Posted in: food systems, gbemodel, history, school garden  8 Comments

Study Results Published!

If you are familiar with the story of Urban Sprouts’ origin, you’ll know that Dr. Michelle Ratcliffe conducted her doctoral research project on the impacts of school gardens at three SF public schools during the 2003-04 school year. Now, the results of Michelle’s study have been published!

January 7, 2010   Posted in: evaluation, gbemodel, school garden  Comments Closed