Friday 24 February 2012

The Edible Schoolyard







The other day we went to The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley. I had learned about it when we last lived in the area, after reading Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. Then the other day at the park I overheard a mother talking to her daughter about chickens.
Chickens? Are there chickens nearby? Yes, at the edible schoolyard, she casually replied. The Edible Schoolyard! It's a self-sustaining teaching garden--with adjacent kitchen--at a middle school in Berkeley, and has served as a model for other like-minded programs around the country. It had fallen off my radar for a couple years there, but my love for community gardens (any loved garden, actually) has never wavered. We visited out of curiosity, we left inspired. I love the idea of children knowing where our food comes from, and taking pride in growing something from their persistent effort. We hope to recreate something in the spirit of The Edible Schoolyard on a smaller scale with our own children. Worm bin, chicken coop, meyer lemon and persimmon trees (and an outdoor pizza oven!) are just a few things I would love to be able to see from my kitchen window.

*Those last two pictures are Mila acting out her response to the question, "How do the chickens eat?" That's her, pecking the ground.

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