Mount Madonna School – Watsonville, California
“We are excited to have received this grant and appreciate the opportunity to continue to work on realizing our garden’s potential in helping educate our students and community.”
— Reggie Sunga, Culinary & Garden Science Teacher and School Chef, Mount Madonna School
Nestled in the hills above California’s Central Coast, Mount Madonna School is building a fully realized upper school garden, a living laboratory for Grades 6–12 anchored by an existing greenhouse, raised beds, fruit trees, and herb garden. With their Garden Grant, students will create a secure, deer-fenced growing space with an outdoor classroom deck overlooking the campus pond, where they’ll grow food year-round and lead harvest-to-table demonstrations.
The garden sits at the heart of a K–12 continuum, with upper schoolers serving as mentors to younger students in the children’s garden. Located between two counties with significant food access challenges, where many families work in agriculture yet struggle to afford fresh produce at home, the program gives older students hands-on food literacy at the age when lifelong habits take shape. Students who grow food are more likely to eat and advocate for fresh vegetables throughout life, and Mount Madonna aims to send graduates into the world with real ecological knowledge and a lasting connection to the land they tended.
See the original article HERE.
