It’s a beautiful fall afternoon, and 21 third graders are learning about nutrition and environmental science as part of their daily school curriculum. But they are not sitting in the classroom. They roam in trenches of rich, dark soil, surrounded by rows of lettuce, onions, carrots and other produce on the coast of sun-drenched San Mateo County.
“This is an organic farm,” said Sara Neale, their guide. “Do you know what organic means?”
“The first one?” said the other boy, shrugging his shoulders.
“It means we don’t use any chemicals,” he says, smiling.
For the next hour, the kids picked cilantro, tomatoes and other produce, learned about microbes, nutrition and environmental science, and finally cut what they harvested and ate it into tacos. what they did. It’s all part of a lesson that continued for weeks after they returned to their classroom at El Granada Elementary School.
“Remember this saying: Don’t yuk my yum,” Neale told them. If someone tries something for the first time, don’t say it’s wrong.
For more than 20 years, the HEAL Project, a nonprofit education group in Half Moon Bay, has brought classrooms full of students to a two-acre farm along Highway 1 across from the Half Moon Bay airport. and is surrounded by hills. of Golden National Recreation Area. The organization runs programs to help children learn about science – such as the parts of a plant – as well as practical advice about where their food comes from and how well they can eat it.
Brett Schilke, the organization’s executive director says: “It’s a real work experience. “Children touch and feel and try all kinds of food that they would never see. They harvest it themselves, and make it into something they eat. Often it is their first time on a farm, it is the first time they cut vegetables, it is the first time they eat some of these foods. It’s a way for children to know the natural things and the food they put in their bodies.”
Last year, the program served 4,100 students, most of them 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders from San Mateo County. Among them, 3,600 children participated in field trips, and another 500 were in summer day camps or garden programs at their schools.
Overall, 36% of the children were from low-income schools in areas such as Redwood City, East Palo Alto and Daly City.
Farm trips may seem like a simple field trip, but they contain valuable information that can help children learn about everything from childhood obesity to climate change. of heaven, supporters say.
“This is a long-term study,” Schilke said. “We are looking to create a foundation for these children that will last for years to come. We hear an endless stream of stories from parents and the public who say “my child won’t try vegetables, and now they’re asking me to go to the store to buy chard.” I was just talking to a parent a few days ago who said her kids are in their 20’s and they remember being here as kids and what they ate .”
The group, whose acronym stands for “Health, Environment and Agricultural Education,” began in 2001 with a group of Half Moon Bay parents who established a school garden on the San Mateo Coast. It grew, became an independent nonprofit a few years later, and now has a staff of 15, a board of 12, and about 90 volunteers, along with an annual budget of $768,000 .
Schools pay to visit the farm. But schools from areas with the lowest family income or the highest percentage of English-speaking students are allowed in at a reduced rate, or for free. The organization is asking Wish Book donors for $25,000 to help cover the cost of school trips in needy communities.
During a recent visit, Stacey Walsh, a 3rd grade teacher at El Granada, said visiting the farm helps her teach the environment and science.
He said: “Children often learn more by doing things like being in nature, seeing things, smelling things and tasting things instead of looking at a screen or a book.” “You can’t pick vegetables from a book.”
On a recent trip, after the kids learned the parts of a plant, what an aphid is, and the difference between a tomato and a tomatillo, they picked produce and headed to the kitchen’s outdoor dining area. .
Neale handed out small knives, went over the knife safety tips, and told them they were making tacos.
“You are the cook,” he said. “You decide what to cut and dress your taco. I encourage you to try everything. ”
They dutifully cut everything, rolled it into flour tubes, and eagerly entered.
“I like green peas,” said Ashley Murray, a third grader. “They make everything taste better. It’s so beautiful out here. I love how you can try new things. I learn more on the farm than in the classroom.”
Nearby, his classmate, John Lacerda, had just finished picking onions, and he wasn’t sure if he should eat.
He said: “It’s fun. “You learn about plants. I’ve never had a tomatillo before. I never went to the farm before this.”
Would he eat onions and cilantro?
“I’ll try the egg,” he said with a smile.
Across the table, his friend, Wolf Guel, was eating his taco.
“I like to grow all different kinds of vegetables,” he said. “They take good care of the plants here. I learned that plants need water, sun, soil and air, and we need to take care of them.”
DESIRE A DIFFICULT BOOK
Wish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has featured a series of holiday stories highlighting the wishes of those in need and inviting readers to help make them come true.
EXPLANATION
Donations will help fund The Heal Project’s field trip program, including staff, garden supplies, equipment, kitchen supplies and transportation costs. Goal: $25,000
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Make a gift at wishbook.mercurynews.com/donate or send an email using this form.
ADDITIONAL ONLINE
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