Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) has unveiled the newest addition to its farm — one that aims to increase hands-on learning for students across the district.
During its Earth Day celebration April 26, the district held a ribbon-cutting celebration for its new greenhouse. As part of that event at the district’s farm, 1055 Dunford Way in Sunnyvale, attendees also enjoyed tours of the farm and the Bryan Osborn Nature Center as well as nature-themed activities.
Natacha Costa, site supervisor farm-to-table camp, said the district doesn’t often open the farm and nature center to the public. Doing so was an opportunity to share the importance of these district resources.
“With its turtles, the kids love checking it out and seeing all the different stuff,” she said. “It is not stuff that you would normally see, that you would think is in your community.”
This year, the district added another hour of tours. In addition to the tours, the Earth Day activities included a “mud kitchen” — a mud pit with toy trucks and figurines — for kids and s’mores cooked in a solar-powered oven.
More than 600 people attended the event, according to the district.
The event also featured booths for the district’s farm-to-table camp and the Santa Clara Schools Foundation — which, along with Mission City Federal Credit Union, Stanford University and Ardmore Institute of Health — donated the money to construct the greenhouse.
The greenhouse is the latest feather in the district’s cap, one that will bolster its farm-to-table and post-secondary education programs.
“It offers an extension of growing, of learning how different plants grow in different climates,” Costa said. “This will just add to the amount of stuff we can grow.”
Construction of the greenhouse represents a major investment in the future of student learning, sustainability and community wellness, according to a district press release. It will serve as a living classroom, giving students hands-on experiences in science, agriculture, nutrition and environmental stewardship.
This Earth Day celebration highlights SCUSD’s ongoing commitment to innovative education and caring for the planet — empowering students to become the next generation of environmental leaders, according to the release.
Additionally, Costa said, the greenhouse will act as a nursery for the SCUSD extension program, providing other schools with starter plants that they would otherwise be unable to grow.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
