We’re considering adding three or four related field trips to the Dirt to Dinner program. Here are some of the ideas so far:
Rice Soil Farm in Half Moon Bay
UC Berkeley Urban Bee Gardens
Ceres Project – Consider contacting our Food Precurement Coordinator, Chris Sitting, chris@ceresproject.org to volunteer to harvest produce at several local farms.
Blue House Farm
Sunnyvale Demonstration Garden
Gamble Garden
Tag Archives: homeschool
Project Specifics
Leave a commentThe garden is a natural lab that can bring together a wide variety of skills and interests from architecture to poetry with lots of learning in between. This Spring Davis and I will be using the garden as the base for most of our homeschooling activities and testing out many of the projects propsed for Dirt to Dinner classes.
Here are some further details about projects kids may be invited to try during the Dirt to Dinner class sessions.
Botany will be explored in many different practical, hands-on ways, with additional ideas from Botany on Your Plate. We will examine parts of different kinds of plants, the wide variety of seeds, test different sprouting methods, try growing similar plants under different conditions and other related experiments.
Butterfly or Hummingbird Garden to test which plants and growing patterns attrack which kinds of birds or butterflies.
Compost Science (Chemistry, Physics, Biology) using, among other things, a Scientific Inquiry for High School students program developed at Cornell University.
Ecology with examples from California Academy of Sciences Sustainability Made Simple. We’ll also be looking at food in terms of globalization, fair trade, wise use of available resources, and culture with the support of many additional resources. Kids will also be introduced to Bee Gardening based on the work being done on urban bee gardens at UC Berkeley or the Great Sunflower Project.
Math concepts including number operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis and probablity will all be part of our garden explorations with further inspiration from Math in the Garden.
Nutrition and Cooking will be covered with careful additions from resources such as the Simply in Season cookbook and What the World Eats. We will also plan service projects around feeding ourselves and others with the help of the staff of the Ceres Project.
New project ideas and individual projects that need a garden home are also welcome. Join us!
Making Hay
Leave a commentObviously the Rainy Season is back. But man we got a lot of good gardening in while the weather held. The peas have started off strong. Now I just have to hope that nobody eats the plants before they can grow any peas. That’s what happened to the Fall crop I tried in back. I really should find some way to cover them or at least mess with any birds or squirrels who might try. We’ve been letting the dog into the front yard at odd intervals to try to keep things unpredictable.
The grow lights in the garage are up and in use. The grow light on top of the refrigerator is still our best bet for germination, but once things sprout they should be cosy enough under the big light in the garage. It gives off a little bit of heat and it’s not drafty there.
Cabbages, califlower, and broccoli are all in and doing fine so far. Not a lot of growth but you can tell that they are establishing themselves slowly. We have two different stages of spinach going right now, both the plants that over-wintered, which are starting to bush out and are about ready for us to start picking, and the seedlings that I just set out last week, which are doing OK in spite of the now-foul weather.
Class Concept Final Draft
Leave a commentFrom Dirt to Dinner:
An Exploration of Food, Science and the Natural Rhythms of the Kitchen Garden
Join us for a garden-centered hands-on program learning about food, seasons, life cycles, cooking and nutrition.
Dirt to Dinner will encourage participants to explore full food systems (“seed-to-table”) through both individual and group learning such as compost chemistry and physics, bee gardening, nature journaling, botany trails, cooking service projects, entomology research, food preservation or projects of the participant’s own design.
The goals of the program are to allow participants to:
- Increase understanding of ecological principles
- Integrate math, science, language arts and cultural studies through hands-on experiences of their choice
- Develop an appreciation for where food comes from and how it is grown
- Experience growing, preparing, eating and sharing healthy, sustainably-raised food
- Learn about people and communities through the lens of food, its history and world-wide distribution
- Promote healthy, sustainable living
Learn to make smart choices about food and resources
Group Size ~8 to 15 kids. Parent participation is welcome. Registration is due on or before February 14th.
Meeting in Santa Clara near 280 and Lawrence Expressway.
10 meetings, February thru July, to allow us to participate in the Spring growing season. (A Fall session is also being considered to follow.)
Tuition is $150 per child. Sibling discount and work exchanges are also offered.
Tentative Schedule
Meetings on Saturday’s 10:00 to 1:00, including lunch
February 28th March 14th March 28th April 11th April 25th
May 9th May 23rd June 13th June 20th July 11th
Instructor Bio
Mackenzie Price was born and raised in Southern California. She always sought out the wild places in her suburban home: building forts in the canyon, playing in the waves or feeding the chickens in her backyard. In high school the weekends would find her rock
Mackenzie Price
climbing or catching some waves. With a creative approach to education Mackenzie has been a student of the classics at St. Johns College, a student of nature with Sierra Institute (a 2 month long backpacking trip), an intern on an organic farm, a co-creator of a four month backpacking trip and a graduate of RDNA (studying nature awareness and permaculture). Mackenzie is a part of the Riekes Nature Awareness staff where she works with preteens, teens and expeditions. She has also worked as a garden instructor for Life Lab at the UCSC farm and garden. In her free time she loves to cook, play music and get her hands dirty in the garden. Mackenzie is first aid/CPR and Wilderness First Responder certified.
Questions? Email Juli idleman@gmail.com.
Class Concept Draft #1
Leave a commentFrom Dirt to Dinner:
An Exploration of Food, Science and the Natural Rhythms of the Kitchen Garden
Join us for a garden-centered, hands-on program learning about food, seasons, life cycles, cooking and nutrition.
Dirt to Dinner will encourage participants to explore full food systems (“seed-to-table”) through both individual and group projects such as compost chemistry and physics, bee gardening, botany trails, preparing healthy meals for families affected by illness, nature journaling, heirloom seed saving, food preservation and creative projects of the participant’s own design.
The goals of the program include allowing participants to:
· Increase understanding of ecological principles
· Develop an appreciation for where food comes from and how it is grown
· Experience growing, preparing, eating and sharing healthy, sustainably-raised food
· Integrate ways to enjoy healthy, sustainable living
· Make smart choices about food and resources
Group Size ~6-10 kids with 2-4 adult volunteers
Meeting in Santa Clara near 280 and Lawrence Expressway
10 weekly garden meetings, February thru April, along with three or four related field trips (Soil Farm, UC Berkeley Urban Bee Gardens, Ceres Project, Blue House Farm.)
Input and suggestions are welcome!
From Dirt to Dinner 