Community Garden Revitalization
Introduction
The school at which I worked in Los Angeles, Manual Arts, is located in a food desert. My students had limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and the produce that was available was out of the price range of what was economically feasible for many of my students and their families. In contrast, there were a high number of fast food restaurants surrounding my school and my students' homes. The number of unhealthy fast food chains was so high that if you looked out my classroom window, you could see three different restaurants. These restaurants offer quick and cheap meal options that many of my students rely on for the primary source of food in their diets. The issue arises because these restaurants—for the most part—do not offer healthy options. Even if you attempt to make healthy choices at many fast food chains—ordering a salad for example—the nutrition information is still shockingly bad for you. However, this is one of the only options my students had available to them to eat.
Living in a food desert is a real-world problem that my students faced, so one of my colleagues and I decided to find a way to allow our students to demonstrate their ability to use their individual and collective assets to navigate and challenge this systemic injustice by revitalizing our school's abandoned community garden.
Manual Arts High School is one of the oldest public schools in Los Angeles. Roughly a decade ago, a nonprofit came to our school and created a community garden to address the issue of hunger for our students and their community. If you do a Google search for Manual Arts, one of the top results shows Jake Gyllenhaal working in the garden with students in 2009. It was one of the first pieces of information I learned about Manual Arts after I was hired and I was excited to get into the garden with my students. However, when I arrived at Manual, I learned that the teacher who organized the building of the garden left years ago and the garden was allowed to overgrow and fall into disuse. My administration told us we were more than welcome to do whatever we wanted with the space because it had not been touched in over five years.
Below you will find evidence of a needs assessment I conducted with my students early in the process of revitalizing the abandoned garden as well as classroom lesson designed to allow students to learn, think, speak, and write about the real-world problem of food security and to navigate and challenge the systemic injustice of the food desert in which they live. You will see that I initiated these experiences, which my students engaged with and then followed through on. Students were also able to read and internalize the information in resources I presented them, and then cite this information as evidence when speaking and writing about this real-world problem.
Needs Assessment
The revitalization of Manual Arts’ community garden is a project I chose to initiate for my students because the majority of my students live in a food desert. The images shown in the document below are retrieved from the “Food Desert Locator,” on the United States Department of Agriculture website. On the first page of this document, I have circled Manual Arts High School, which is located in a large area covered in orange. This color on the food desert locator indicates areas where a significant number of residents live over a half a mile—in urban settings—or ten miles—in rural settings—from a supermarket. In other words, this area outlines a food desert. You will notice that the food desert appears to end a Manual Arts High School. This discrepancy in data is because the green area under the index in the upper right corner of the map is the campus for the University of Southern California. This university throws off the food desert locator because the university provides food and places to shop for its students. However, these campus markets are not accessible to my students and their families. Also, the vast majority of my student and their families live in the neighborhood west of our school—directly in the food desert.
One the second page of this document, I added a second set of data—the green square, where many of my student and their families live. This green area represents a low-income neighborhood where residents are over one mile from the nearest supermarket. The slightly darker orange on the second page corresponds to census data stating the majority of households there do not have access to a car. In other words, residents of these neighborhoods are far from a supermarket and do not have a form of transportation they can use to get to a supermarket. This issue is a severe real-world problem, especially with Los Angeles' famous inadequate public transportation system. The lack of access to supermarkets and inexpensive, healthy food options is a systemic injustice and real-world problem faced by my students and their families.
Data obtained from the USDA's Food Desert Locator
To initiate this community garden project with my students, I started with the needs assessment survey shown in the document on the left. This document was designed by an organization called The Intersection with the purpose of getting young people thinking about various issues they may or may not care about, and that may or may not impact them and their community. The survey asks students to rank questions on a scale of how important the topic is to them and how satisfied they are with that topic. Some of the issues covered by this needs assessment survey include the availability of grocery stores and fresh produce, cleanliness of the neighborhood, the prevalence of art, political questions, timely garbage collection, the presence of community gardens and the availability of safe places to hang out and for children to play. While I already had the idea of community garden revitalization in my mind, I gave this specific needs assessment survey to gauge student interest in regards to other social issues as well. I planned on potentially using this in other lessons and projects. After students completed this survey, they first discussed their answers with a partner to find similarities and differences in how they think and what concepts are important to them. We then conducted a full class discussion about each question. This conversation was designed to get students thinking and speaking about these real-world problems that impact them and the community in which they live.
Student samples of the needs assessment survey conducted with students to get them thinking and speaking about real-world problems
Food Desert Lesson
Through the above needs assessment, I learned that the majority of my students were unfamiliar with the concept of a food desert. The lesson plan in the document on the left was designed to allow students to learn about this real-world problem and to begin thinking, speaking and writing about the concept and how they could use their individual and collective assets to navigate and challenge this systemic injustice. Students were also introduced to resources during this lesson, which they then cited as evidence as they wrote about the real-world problem of food deserts.
Food desert lesson plan
To open the lesson, I placed four signs around my room, which said “Strongly Agree,” “Agree,” “Strongly Disagree,” and “Disagree.” I then read a series of statements—shown on slides two through four of the presentation on the left—and students moved to the corner of the room that most closely aligned with their belief about that statement. Once all students had selected an answer, they discussed with their group and then we talked as a whole class. Students were allowed to change their mind and move to a different response at any point, but they had to justify their move. This introductory activity allowed students the opportunity to think and speak about the real-world problems presented in the statements.
Following this "four corners" activity, I projected the phrase "food desert" on the SMARTboard and students engaged in a Think, Pair, Share to brainstorm a possible definition of the term. We then discussed the definition of what a food desert is, and students read through the Food Desert Statistics handout—located in the resources document below—and discussed the questions on slide seven of the presentation on the left.
PowerPoint presentation used during the food desert lesson
In pairs, students then worked through as worksheet entitled "What's in Store?" This activity—student samples of which are located in the document on the left—was designed to allow students to compare places to shop for food in their neighborhood. Students were instructed to select the grocery store, convenience store, and fast food restaurant that was closest to their home. They then looked online to research the distance the business was from their home, the availability of healthy food options at the location, the cost of shopping there, and the number of similar establishments in the area. This activity was designed to keep students thinking, writing and speaking about the real-world problem of food deserts in the community in which they lived. Students then wrote if they believed they lived in a food desert from their initial research and finally compared prices of various healthy versus unhealthy foods at one of their selected businesses. After completing this activity, students were directed to look at the USDA's Food Desert Locator—shown in the document above—and to type in their home address. Every students’ home address was located in a neighborhood classified as a food desert.
"What's in Store?" activity student samples
Students then read through the resources shown in the document on the left. The articles are as follows: "Food Desert Statistics" on page one, "Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences" on page two through 10, "The Grocery Gap: Who Has Access to Healthy Food and Why It Matters" on page 11 through 54. Students were divided into teams and completed this reading as a jigsaw—each student was assigned one section to read and become an expert on and then they were responsible for teaching it to the rest of their group.
Resources provided to students for the jigsaw reading activity
Once students finished reading and discussing the provided resources, they were asked to write a short statement replying to the prompt "do you think a community garden would be a valuable addition to our school community? Why or Why not?" Students were also required to cite evidence from at least one of the provided resources as they wrote about this real-world problem. These statements were submitted into our online portal—Schoology—and were returned with feedback.
Student writing samples with provided feedback
Impacts of Hunger Research Project
From the above needs assessment and food desert lesson, students showed they were able to think, speak, and write about the real-world problem. They were able to cite evidence about food deserts and show that Manual Arts is located within a food desert. Students also had begun to learn about how they could use their individual and collective assets to navigate and challenge this systemic injustice. However, there was still a component missing. I like to refer to the missing component as the "Why Should I Care Component." Even with all of the information provided above, many students were not invested in the community garden and did not necessarily see its value. A food desert means people do not have access to healthy food options. However, as shown by the "What's in Store?" activity, there is an absurd amount of every fast food chain you can imagine within walking distance from our school. Some of my students did not see the problem with this. They enjoyed their diet of fast food, Hot Cheetos, and Takis. The following research project on the impact of hunger and malnutrition on learning and development was designed to fill in the missing "Why Should I Care Component" for those students still not invested in the garden project.
As a launch event for the hunger research project, students viewed the documentary A Place at the Table. Students engaged in speaking about this real-world problem by discussing the questions in the "theatrical discussion guide"—on page one through six of the document on the left. Students were then given the following articles found in the document on the left as follows: "How do you measure hunger?" from Feeding America on page seven through eight, "The Crippling Effects of Hunger of Education" on page nine, and "Youth Hungry at School: What Can Be Done?" on page 10 through 21. Students were assigned sections of these articles to read using the jigsaw strategy described above.
Resources provided to students for launch event discussion and jigsaw reading activity
Based on the information in these presented resources, students, in groups, were tasked with completing a research project to continue learning about the impact hunger and improper nutrition can have on learning and development. Groups selected their topics, conducted additional research, created a PowerPoint, and then presented to the class. During these presentations—which allowed students to speak about the real-world problems of hunger and malnutrition—students cited evidence from sources I provided as well as additional sources they found themselves. The document on the left shows three student presentations—“How hunger affects students performance in school?” on page one through 15, “How Does Hunger Affect Pregnancy?” on page 16 through 22, and “Obesity vs. Underweight” on page 23 through 35.
Three student samples of the hunger research project presentation
These presentations were graded with the project-based learning presentation rubric developed for the Small Learning Community (SLC) in which I taught. Each semester, students completed a project-based learning presentation that is assessed with this rubric. It holds students to a rigorous standard by assessing their mastery of knowledge, application of knowledge, meta-cognition, presentation skills, as well as their performance in a question and answer session. Students are familiar with this rubric and its expectations because they have used it often and for many years. The rubric on the left was the grade for the presentation "How Does Hunger Affect Students Performance in School?" in the document above. This group earned an overall score of "4" for their impressive research project and presentation.
Rubric for the first presentation in the document above
Following the presentations of this research project, students completed a reflection survey. A sample of student responses is shown in the document on the left. Students were asked to reflect on both their project and their learning throughout this hunger project. Students were able to demonstrate that they could think and write about real-world problems as well as cite information as evidence from information I provided as well as their independent research to back up their claims. This research project rounded out the conversation side of this advocacy project—students were not only invested in the project, but they could articulate, in speaking and writing, researched-backed reasons why they were invested. Now it was time to move on to the action component of this advocacy project, which allowed students to use their individual and collective assets to navigate and challenge the systemic injustice of living in a food desert.
Student reflections on the hunger research project and presentation from survey
Students Working in the Garden
Below you will find pictures of my students using their individual and collective assets to navigate and challenge systemic injustice as we revitalized our school's abandoned community garden. When we first started, the garden was an absolute mess. However, while it was filled with weeds and trash, it still had a good core structure, and many plants could be saved—including both an apple and berry tree. Students began by clearing the trash and weeds. We then spread new mulch and planted various vegetables in the planter boxes and greenhouse. Within a few weeks, we had a fully functioning garden that grew way more produce then I was expecting. My colleague and I were able to frequently send students out to the garden during "Breakfast in the Classroom" in the morning and lunch in the afternoon to get fresh vegetables—including peppers, lettuce, kale, and carrots—to make salads for our classes.
Student collecting weeds and debris from around the garden
Students bringing back a bucket to gather weeds
Students and I about to have a hot pepper eating contest.. I lost.
Student digging a hole to replace an uprooted bush
Student clearing debris from under the berry tree
Students getting ready to lay new mulch
Group photo taken during one of our garden revitalization days
KTLA 5 Local News Segment
Last spring, a local news station in Los Angeles, KTLA 5, came to our school to do a piece on the work we were doing in the garden. The video on the left shows this news segment. Please watch the first half of the video to see footage of part of the garden revitalization effort and to hear my colleague, Bari Applebaum, discuss the work and learning we did with our students. The second half of the video focuses on an event planned an implemented by Bari's female student empowerment club Chicas Verdes. As a male, I was not a member of this all-female club, but I actively encouraged my female students to participate. Unfortunately, I was out of town for a family emergency the day this news clip was filmed, but many of my students were able to attend and be in the segment. This video provides excellent visuals for the work that continues to occur in the Manual Arts garden.
KTLA 5 News Segment
Teacher Reflection
This advocacy project is by far the thing I am most proud of about my time as a teacher. At the start of the project, many of my students had never heard of the concept of a food desert—much less realized that they lived in one. Even after students started engaging in the experiences described above some did not see the importance. Then through research projects, students were able to transform, and fully comprehend the magnitude of the social injustice and the impact it was having on them and the community in which they reside. Students were able to learn about and then use their individual and collective assets to navigate and challenge this systemic injustice through the revitalization effort of our abandoned school garden. I designed and initiated this experience with my colleague and students were able to engage with the experiences and follow through on them. Students were also able to demonstrate repeatedly their ability to think, speak, and write about this real-world problem and they could cite evidence from not only information I provided but also from information they researched and learned about independently.
This project also showed students that there are economically feasible ways to get fresh produce and to have a healthy lifestyle. While fruits and vegetables are not readily accessible in the neighborhood in which my students live, and they are relatively expensive food items to purchase, they are not difficult or costly to grow — the seeds I bought for the garden cost an average of $1 to $5 per pack. You can grow a significant amount of produce with little expense if you grow it yourself.
The amount of personal growth I witness in my students as a result of the garden was unparalleled by any other aspect of my instruction. While the above implementation was primarily designed for the initial revitalization of the garden, this project impacted all of my classes during my time at Manual Arts. All students gained access to free fruits and vegetables. It also provided students with a safe outdoor space to spend time in nature—which is not easy to find in South Central Los Angeles. Even other teachers and student groups were able to take advantage of the work done by my students to use the garden. After the revitalizing efforts described above, our schools' robotics teacher asked if he could design and 3D-print a hydroponics system with one of his classes. This completed system was installed late last spring, and we were able to use it to grow smaller fruits and berries.
Furthermore, the female empowerment student group Chicas Verdes used the space for their club meetings and eventually applied for and received an orchard grant to have 40 fruit trees planted around our school campus and the surrounding community. Several other teachers began to use the garden space for silent reading time, and one teacher used the garden for morning yoga and meditation with her physical education class. These are just a few of the ways the garden—and the revitalization efforts conducted by my students—had a ripple effect across our school. While I no longer work at Manual Arts, one of my old colleagues has taken up the primary responsibility for the garden to ensure this work makes a lasting impact on the school and surrounding community for years to come. My students know that the use of their collective efforts to fight this systemic injustice made a lasting impact on the future of their community and that is something they and I are incredibly proud to have accomplished.