Fresno gardening conference coming up

An organizer for The Giving Garden at Fresno’s Rata High School will be one of the guest speakers at the upcoming Community Garden Conference. The event on Sept. 10 will be held at Sunnyside High School in Fresno, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunnyside High is at 1019 S. Peach, south of Kings Canyon Road. Best of all, admission is free! How many educational opportunities are free anymore?

Hope to see you there Sept. 10!

I checked out some youtube video from the first garden conference, hosted by the Fresno Community Garden Coalition, a project of Fresno Metro Ministry. Looked like a promising beginning. Attendance appeared to be a little light in the video. Maybe this year it will catch on. I hope to be there and hook up with some inspired school gardening connections for my future job (thinking positive!).

As I cruise the web looking at school gardens elsewhere, we here in Fresno have some catching up to do! Rata High’s garden shows just how beautiful a school garden can be — beyond rows of raised beds. I’m looking forward to learning more new about other community gardening efforts in Fresno at this community gardening conference.

Like starting a schoolyear garden in summer

Three key benefits to this garden in Evansville, Indiana:

• Bringing in the outside community
• Adding to lessons learned by putting them into practice
• Giving students a gardening experience

Here’s the shorter video version on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlQu5x6TNQ&feature=player_embedded#at=32

Here’s the NEA print version:

http://neapriorityschools.org/2011/07/02/garden-helps-to-engage-students-get-involved-in-community/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nea_today_express&utm_campaign=20110720FreeBacktoSchool&utm_content=PSCEvansville

Catch ’em early with the minimal pesticide speech!

Bet I could tie in a few standards with a lesson focused on resources, what makes fertilizer work (chemically), etc. Here’s food for thought.  http://www.kidsgardening.com/healthy-garden-healthy-kids.asp  Of course, I could only do that if I get rehired! I can’t stand this, thinking about possible lessons, and realizing I have no job yet. Arghh!!!