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Instructional School Orchard |
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Planting an orchard as part of your
Instructional School Garden in California |
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America was once a
nation of small farms, where most families grew their own food and were
particular about what they ate. They knew the best varieties of fruits
and worked the ground with their own hands to plant and harvest it. The
orchard was located out the back kitchen door and a big apple tree was
on the front lawn. Exercise and healthy eating was a way of life and
obesity was rare.
In our
increasingly urbanized society agriculture is becoming a lost art. Kids
think that vegetables come from the supermarket and have never seen an
actual apple tree. Their entertainment is to sit in front of the TV and
junk food has become a staple, while the fruits in the supermarket are
bland and tasteless and have no attraction to sweet-toothed kids. No
wonder childhood obesity and Type II Diabetes is becoming an epidemic.
Instructional School
Gardens are a way to combat these unhealthy lifestyle trends and provide
good food, exercise, instruction, and entertainment to our kids. They
are a way of introducing children to the wonders of the natural world,
the healthy eating habits of home-grown produce, and the joy of
harvesting the fruits of their own hard work. The costs are miniscule
and the benefits last for a lifetime. |
America was once a nation
of small farms |
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AB 1535
In light of this the State of California passed AB 1535 which
updates the Instructional School Gardens Program, extends its provisions
to charter schools, and provides technical assistance and funding in the
form of a three-year grant to develop and maintain an Instructional
School Garden (Ed. Code Section 51796.2). Grants are for a maximum of
$2,500 per school site or $5,000 per school site for a school with 1,000
or more students.
There is an
application to fill out for this grant which involves advance planning,
and a reporting requirement that must be submitted within six months of
funding stating how the funds were used, and how the garden was used to
compliment the academic program of the participating school. This
report can be filed by the County Office of Education to cover multiple
schools that received grants within their jurisdiction. You can find
out more on this from the California School Garden Network at
www.csgn.org |
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Why a School Orchard?
In the interest of full disclosure we should state that we
own an apple tree nursery in Southern California and are subjectively in
favor of a Fruit Orchard as part of a school’s garden program. An
orchard consisting of apples and oranges will have high yields, is low
maintenance, is relatively free of insect pests and disease, and has
durable fruits with extended harvests. And yes, many types of apples
grow just fine in a warm climate
(Click to read more on this).
Stonefruits such as peaches and plums are less suitable for a school
garden as they suffer from more disease and insect pests, have a very
narrow harvest window, and delicate fruits that attract vermin.
We
also enjoy vegetable gardening and we maintain one at our residence.
But there’s no comparison between the vegetable garden and our 150 or so
fruit trees in the time and upkeep involved verses the yields. The
fruit trees are far less work than even a small lawn is (and use much
less water). A school can and should have both types of gardens, but
they each have specific requirements.
Click to see a list of pros
and cons of each type of garden. |
Click to download our .pdf guide to Planting an
Instructional School Orchard |
Click to return to "Apples
page"
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