We use revolutionary
incrementalism: small steps, big ideas. ~ EduCulture founder and
director, Jon Garfunkel.
Tears popped into the corners of my eyes this morning as I
walked away from my experience with EduCulture on a Bainbridge
Island farm. I began dreaming of what the world would be like if
every school had a program like this.
I wish I’d had my big camera, but my phone had to suffice as I
didn’t want to seem too imposing as a visitor…
EduCulture‘s
brochure says they bridge “local farms, classrooms, lunchrooms
and the larger food community through edible education
programs.”
This week I had the privilege of seeing this bridging in action
– and tasting the results.
I joined 25 fourth graders and their teachers from Wilkes
Elementary as they literally tasted the fruits of their labor
– fresh, perfectly ripe Shuksan
Strawberries picked from plants at Morales Farm, from which
they took young plants and transplanted to Suyematsu and Bentryn Family
Farms (which is where the photos are from).
Students from Wilkes, Ordway and Blakely Elementaries and Island
Coop Preschool have also planted greens and heirloom potatoes,
pumpkin and squash, which students next fall will harvest. The
potatoes are the Makah Ozette Potato, which was cultivated by the
indigenous people of this region. They grow a few types of
strawberries, which at one time Bainbridge Island was famous for,
and they’re helping to bring the endangered Marshall Strawberry
back from it’s endangered status.
Curriculum in these schools has been tied to their farming
projects, such as math, science and social studies, and the classes
walk to the farms to learn plant, tend and harvest plants.
The Student Story
Students today didn’t get to just reach in and grab the
strawberries. There was a great deal of learning just in the eating
of the berries, which is one of the things I loved most about the
experience.
First, the EduCulture instructor, Madison Taylor (known as
Madi), had each person smell the large mound of strawberries in her
bowl.
“Mmm…I can smell these! I can’t usually smell the ones at the
store!” exclaimed one student.
Then Madison had everyone take one berry, but asked them to
resist the temptation to pop the whole thing into their mouths and
instead just bite the tip off, paying attention to all the flavors
they experienced.
There were shouts of
“Sweet! Sour! Bitter! Delicious!”
She then had everyone bite their strawberry in half and asked
them to look at the color.
“It’s bright red!” exclaimed many. One student said, “The ones I
get at the store are usually white.”
She finally let them eat the entire berry while explaining that
the reason the flavor, smell and color of these berries were so
deep and complex was because they were fresh and ripe, whereas the
ones bought in grocery stores are often not completely ripe or, if
they are, they’re often unnaturally ripened by ethanol and other
chemical processes.
One teacher’s face fell, “But not for organic ones, right?!” she
asked.
Madison assured her that no, organics are usually not ripened by
ethanol (though I’ve read that farmers who don’t use chemical
processes to ripen fruit are feeling the pressure due to other
farmers getting their products to market sooner).
As she let the students take more berries and eat them, she then
explained that when the class took strawberry runners, or “babies,”
to another bed and planted them, it allowed the “mother” plants to
grow big and strong.
She also explained, “These are Bainbridge Island strawberries,”
through and through. Their mothers came from other mothers who came
from other mothers on this same farm, and the berries they were
eating carried flavors from the land here.
“What if I took soil and plants from Bainbridge to California,
what would happen then? Would the berries taste the same?” asked
one student.
“Try it and let me know what happens, because I’m curious, too!”
she answered.
Past to Present
The Suyematsu and
Bentryn Family Farms where the students have been
planting, learning and harvesting was started in 1928 and is the
oldest working farm in the region. Many immigrant families have
worked on these farms to earn enough money to start their own farm
or restaurant, including the locally loved Sawatdy Thai
restaurant on Bainbridge Island.
In 2000 part of the 40 acre farm became publicly owned, and in
2007 the Educulture Project was founded by a handful of local
teachers and farmers. EduCulture then began using the land as “a
center of teaching and learning, and a seedbed for our local edible
education movement.”
Two other farms on Bainbridge Island are also used for
EduCulture – Morales Farm and Heyday Farm.
In 2010, EduCulture partnered with the Bainbridge school
district and now uses hundreds of pounds of corn, potatoes and
raspberries grown by students and local farmers are featured in the
school lunch program.
In 2013, the EduCulture Project partnered with food communities
in Suquamish and Seattle to launch the
Edible Democracy Project, which is an entire blog post in
itself.
Special Note: Jonathan Garfunkel, founder
and director of EduCulture Programs, wanted to give a shout out
to Brian MacWhorter and Butler Green Farms. It is on
public land he leases at Morales and Suyematsu & Bentryn Farms and
through his partnership that we have these plots. This photo is
from his farm…
Learn more and get
involved
(or get help starting your own farm
to school project!)
Recommended reading by John Garfunkel,
EduCulture Founder and Director:
Renewing America’s Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the
Continent’s Most Endangered Foods by Gary Nabhan
Renewing Salmon Nation’s Food Traditions by Gary
Paul Nabhan
Terroir-ists
Manifesto for Eating in Place by Gary Nabhan (read
this first about terroir if you don’t know what it is)
Never do unto others what they
can do for themselves ~ Ernesto Cortes
