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McKinley Elementary's Idea
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Bring a community garden to North Park!

McKinley Elementary is an urban San Diego public school serving an ethnically diverse community of over 420 students. With very few financial resources, volunteers have created a small garden area on the mostly-paved campus. We would use the Nature's Path grant to expand our garden to better serve students and create a community garden that would welcome the neighborhood in.

The garden was only started in 2007, but this small, paved corner of campus has become a labor of love. Over 70% of McKinley Elementary students come from low-income households, and the majority of our families are renters with little access to open space. The garden gives the kids an experience they would not get outside of school: a chance to get their hands dirty and learn about healthy, organic eating options.

Each grade has its own raised bed to plant a variety of flowers, fruits and vegetables. The students come home excited about their class's work in the garden and eager to see how it will grow. The teachers are incorporating the garden into their science curriculums, and students are also gaining a broader understanding of where food comes from and the importance of healthy eating. The tiny, basic garden is becoming an integral part of the students' education. But this is just a small start, it could be so much more.

We have strong support from our community. Over the past two school years, school families and community volunteers have created a beautiful mosaic mural, designed by second graders, to frame the garden. We were helped by in-kind donations from local businesses, and a local arts non-profit guided us through the project. We have strong ties to neighborhood and city-wide newspapers, and the Nature’s Path grant would help us get the word out to the larger community about our great school, sustainability and healthy eating.

We are very proud of our garden, but we need Nature's Path's help! Most of the families at our school have limited resources, but the volunteer turnout has been amazing. Neighbors have expressed strong interest in helping to create a food garden to serve the community. We currently use no pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers, but it would be invaluable to have the Organic Gardening Magazine expertise to let our garden flourish.

The humanpower is there, the willpower is there, but we need the helping hand from Nature's Path to fully serve our school and our community.
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Kris Hatch
 Kris Hatch 01pm June 23
Gardens are the best!

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