Growing More Than Gardens: Farm to School in Action
Updates from the Community Wellness Project
2nd Annual Read & Feed at Chimacum Elementary School
In February, the garden classes at CES held the second annual Read & Feed, which piggybacks on the PTA-sponsored Read-a-Thon, a celebration of literacy and fundraiser for experiential education. Students at each grade level prepared a lunch dish from school garden grown ingredients and invited family members to a beautiful meal. 450 people ate soup, fresh and pickled crudité veggies, potato gratin, cookies, and herbal tea grown and prepared by 2-6 graders.
Sow & Grow (Annual CWP Fundraiser)
In March we hosted our “Happy Hour Fundraiser” at Finnriver. Once again, donations covered most of the food (thank you, Coop!) and students from Quilcene and Chimacum planned, created, and served delicious appetizers to a packed Hay Barn. Chimacum garden students gave out souvenir potted perennials, we heard a few short words of praise highlighting the work done by CWP, and people and sponsors opened their checkbooks (to the tune of $13K!) to support our school gardens. Each district will receive a portion of those donations for their garden programs.
Food Waste Compost Program
The CES garden team has partnered with Return to Earth Compost to coordinate a compost and cafeteria food waste diversion program. Students studied soil fertility, nutrient cycling, and composting; they then learned to separate organic waste from trash and launched a lunch-time compost program in their cafeteria.
The 20-week pilot was successful (the students are very enthusiastic about their “jobs”) and the program will roll out to the other district schools next year. The finished nutrient-rich compost will return to CES to nourish the gardens because growing food requires excellent fertilizer!
The PIZZA Tradition Continues!
Chimacum Elementary’s 6th graders carried on the tradition of learning the WHOLE process of making a pizza! This exemplifies our commitment to Farm to School programming, touching all aspects of the program (classroom, cafeteria, and community). They made sauce from tomatoes donated from OSA last fall, milled their own-grown grain using a stationary bike (and supplemented using Chimacum Grainery’s freshly milled flour) to make dough, used as many ingredients as possible from their garden, and baked their “bespoke” pizzas in the HS pizza oven.
Transitions
All our districts are grappling with changes to the garden programs due to inadequate State funding, dwindling grant opportunities, and staff changes. We are happy to report, however, that each district has penciled in programs for the 2026-27 school year!
In Quilcene, Justin Lake has taken a sought-after position in his home state, Michigan. They have hired Isaiah Treibel to teach in their elementary school garden! In Chimacum, Hailey Lampe has stepped down to pursue her successful business venture, Cruising Climate, a regenerative landscape design business. Rachael Dunn will add teaching in Chimacum school gardens to her work in the PTHS garden. And Port Townsend schools are re-designing their program with a certificated teacher sharing an assignment in the library and school garden with Salish Coast Elementary School.
Other Good News
CWP applied for a grant from the Tri-Area Garden Club to build a Rainbow Garden at Chimacum Creek Primary School. Their garden is the first thing seen by anyone who enters the school, so this is a welcome addition! We’ll show it off when it has been completed.
Our garden educator Valerie Randall was recently recognized by NOAA Ocean Guardians! For National Teacher Appreciation Day, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries honors dedicated educators who lead ocean stewardship efforts across the country
“As a garden educator, my outdoor “classroom” spans four school garden sites and the restoration of the adjacent Chimacum Creek. We aim to provide students with a sense of this particular place, as well as their own place within the cycles of nature. Through hands-on activities, students explore core curriculum concepts that bring them from their mind into their body in ways that promote self-confidence and thoughtful teamwork. These activities help students experience the untouchable peace that only nature and stewardship can provide.”
Thank you, Food Coop, for supporting our wonderful school garden programs in East Jefferson Schools!