The Pride Academy Garden Committee is on a mission to create a multi-level garden space to be used by teachers for learning opportunities, with plans to develop a student-led garden club to foster a sense of community in its students, teachers, and parents as they collaborate to create and maintain the garden at the Santee school.
The garden will be considered a living classroom where students can witness the complete cycle of plants from seeds to a bountiful harvest, promoting the importance of a locally sourced, healthy diet. This garden serves as the starting point.
Committee member Natasha Notaro said the garden is an initiative to restore a neglected space at the school and create a sustainable living classroom for the students.
“Our goal has been to create a classroom to learn about garden sustainability and establishing a connection with our food and where it comes from,” she said. “The Committee formed at the beginning of this school year, so in August we became a team of six dedicated parents that saw a need that was need for our kids and the students at the Academy.”
Notaro said the plans are to establish an edible garden section so students can grow food that will eventually be used in the school cafeteria.
“They will learn how to grow vegetables and harvest them,” she said. “We just did a planting with one of our kindergarten classes and they planted sugar snap peas and cucumbers. We are also going to create a California native selection in the garden space so students can learn about biodiversity and pollinators.”
Notaro said the program has received financial community support.
“The Santee School District Foundation awarded us a grant in December 2023, which allowed us to get materials for the program. The Berry Good Foundation also awarded us a grant as well and has been supportive sharing their resources and information with us. It is great. The grants that we have received from the district Foundation, the Berry Good Foundation, and a few local garden clubs have been super helpful. I do not think we would be where we are at today if we had not received that support from them.”
Notaro said parents and community members and partners can help with the garden by emailing prideacademygarden@gmail.com or its Instagram account.
This initiative benefits not only the students but also the broader community. The San Diego Master Gardeners Association’s involvement and industry connections enables the program to host events and educational programs involving parents, community members, and local organizations.
The Pride Garden Academy Garden Committee has started a fundraiser for the project and so far, have raised $7,660 out of its $10,000 goal. To donate to the project, visit https://bit.ly/3I5Oui1.
