On Thursday, October 9, Lynn Jax, President of the Laguna Beach Garden Club, Inc. presented each of three Laguna Beach Schools with a check for $1500.00 for their school gardens.
Thurston Middle School’s Canyon View Learning Garden is ready for fall planting. Looking ahead, Health and Home Economics classes will be planting fall crops in the five raised planters. Thurston’s Ecology Club will be creating landscape design for a butterfly garden to be proposed for the Marquis planter in front of the school. The continued financial support of the Laguna Beach Garden Club has allowed Thurston to grow and irrigate their edibles garden, provide funding for tools and seed, help maintain garden fencing, create a rock mosaic surrounding one of the native/succulent gardens, and now will contribute to the creating of the butterfly garden.
El Morro Elementary School’s Learning Garden engages students in all aspects of gardening and nutrition with hands-on activities in the garden from planting, weeding, general maintenance to harvesting and enjoying the fruits of their labor. Garden-themed lesson plans are used to enhance the students’ understanding of math, science, nutrition, reading and writing. The Learning Garden is a place to inspire a love of learning.
Top of the World Elementary School has promoted their grade level projects creating gardeners at all ages. Kindergarteners experiment with plants that get no water and reduced sunlight. First and second graders will be introduced to the concept of square foot gardening by using garden twine to divide the plants. Third graders will learn about saving seeds as they harvest tomatoes and pumpkins. Fourth graders explore California Grows!, learning about the crops of California, from desert dates and coastal grapes to the central valley almonds. Then they’ll plant artichokes! Fifth graders will start the yearlong process of growing and caring for a colonial garden, planting many varieties from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Plantation including English Peas and crookneck squash.
Laguna Beach students benefit from the opportunity to work the earth and learn conservation and healthy habits via these outstanding school programs, excellent teachers and parent volunteers. The Laguna Beach Garden Club, Inc. steadfastly supports these programs helping them to grow and thrive.