Why garden with children? According to Pam Arias, second-grade teacher at South Oceanside Elementary School, “The idea of taking children outdoors to work in the garden is the most enjoyable way for them to learn about science.”
And what the children learn throughout the year is that studying science in the garden is also a way to learn about ecology, composting, plant science and, most of all, how to prepare and eat all those fruits and vegetables.
On a recent visit to the Sage Garden Project at South Oceanside, I was pleased to be part of the end-of-year Feast Lesson, which featured a wide assortment of fruit and vegetables from one of the raised beds.
While volunteer Karie Lasko washed and prepped the vegetables and fruit, she remarked: “We are so lucky to have Chef Eliza here to conduct our cooking lessons each week. She brings all of her chef’s skills, imagination and energy to 50 students each week, who create an amazing and healthy snack.”
Chef Eliza Daly began her position at the South Oceanside garden four years ago, when she moved to Vista after traveling the country as a chef and educator. She studied at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, later moving to Chicago, where she received the James Beard Women in Culinary Leadership award, and won TV’s “Chopped” championship.
She and her husband moved to San Francisco, where she worked in fine dining restaurants and began teaching adults and children. She started teaching students and adults in North County at MiraCosta College and at numerous sites for the Sage Garden Project. And she continues to wow her students and teachers at South Oceanside Elementary.
THE GARDEN CREW
Cara Paxson also received funding from the Sage Garden grant, and she oversees the garden planting, cultivation and upkeep of the raised beds and orchard on a weekly basis. She and Chef Eliza teach weekly lessons to over 50 students at each lesson, rotating the entire elementary student population throughout the year.
Paxson began her garden training while working at another Sage Garden Project in Vista, at the VAPA elementary school, and brought her skills to South Oceanside last year. She works with parent volunteers to ensure the five raised beds are cared for and supervises the large orchard as well.
“We work with the children in the beginning of each school year to choose our vegetable garden plan for the year,” she says. “The students love all sorts of beans and lettuce, but we also introduce them to a few new vegetables that they may have never tasted before such as kohlrabi, zucchini and the herbal favorite, cilantro.
“At the end of the year, such as this Feast Day, we bring all their favorite fruits and vegetables together to make individual salads with a soy dressing, topped with mint and calendula. All salads are the students’ most requested lessons, since we teach them to use ‘real knives!’ ”
THE OUTDOOR KITCHEN
The South O garden trio of Daly, Paxson and Lasko have devised an unusual and highly functional kitchen that works outdoors for the cooking lessons. Lasko has been a garden volunteer for over seven years, and she prepares the kitchen area for the young cooks.
The crew found a salad bar structure that was being discarded from the cafeteria, and it now acts as a hand-washing sink and a prep area for cleaning the fruit and vegetables that are part of the weekly recipe. Many of the utensils and food are provided by Sprouts Grocery.
The day I visited, as the 50 students prepared their fruit and vegetable salad, I was amazed to see each child handling a long plastic knife and chopping carefully on their individual cutting board. According to Chef Eliza, in a recent interview for Vista USD: “I’m not trying to make anyone a Gordon Ramsey. I just want these kids to be able to cook for themselves and their families.”
CONTINUED SUPPORT FROM SAGE AND SOUTH OCEANSIDE ELEMENTARY
The principal of South O, Casey Doose, and the PTO have dedicated their time and effort to support this garden for over 10 years by creating fundraisers and seeking donations from the Sage Garden Project, Sprouts and numerous other donors. The united efforts of the Garden Crew and all the elementary school teachers have made this garden project an educational experience to “grow on.”
For more information about the project and Chef Eliza’s garden recipes, go to www.southo.oside.us/programs/sage-garden-program or Instagram @elizathechef.
Jano Nightingale is a Master Gardener and Horticulturist who teaches garden workshops in North County. Contact her at [email protected] for upcoming classes and individual consultations.
