EduCulture

Education in the Field

Fall Review 2014

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www.EduCultureProject.org

Above Photo: Wilkes students from Tamra Hauge's 3rd grade class get ready to taste freshly-cooked potatoes just harvested at Morales Farm and prepared in the greenhouse there.

In this Fall Review, we feature news and programs from this past season at EduCulture. We hope you enjoy this update!

Year-End Reflections

Hello Friends of EduCulture,

As 2014 comes to a close, we at EduCulture are taking stock of this year's accomplishments, and laying out our goals for the coming year. There are many things for which to be grateful, and ways in which we actively carried out our mission: "Creating locally grown edible education and heritage education programs that bridge classroom and community in ways which foster scholarship, stewardship, citizenship and sustainability amongst this and future generations."

Over 1500 students and educators visited Suyematsu & Bentryn Family Farms, Morales Farm and Heyday Farm for edible and heritage education classes and farm tours
Farm tour visits included high school students from around the Puget Sound region and from as far away as Bosnia
Working with Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council to design an educational component for the Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival program related to films about Japanese Exclusion during WWII
Collaborating with the City of Bainbridge Island and Friends of the Farms to help preserve historic farms on Bainbridge Island
Bringing community together for Farm to Table dinners that celebrate local farmers and producers
Providing local, organic produce to the Bainbridge Island School District for their lunch program, Bite of Bainbridge
Consulting with all three BISD grade schools as they plan and expand their School Gardens
Assisting Bainbridge High School with their Composting System
Helping coordinate a community component for a major Spring 2015 Bainbridge Performing Arts program
Providing ongoing classes for educators in edible and heritage education
Helping to keep Bainbridge Island farming heritage alive through programs such as the repatriation of the historic Marshall Strawberry
Planning delegations to Manzanar as part of our Only What We Can Carry heritage education program
Providing summer work parties and opportunities for students and teachers to stay involved on the farms during school break

Most of all, we are grateful to you for your support, which makes our programs possible. Wishing everyone all the best in the coming New Year!

With deep appreciation and gratitude,

The EduCulture Staff

Student Centered Programs

Fall 2014

Pumpkin Patch Visits

Instructors Spring Courtright and Leslee Pate talk with students about the life cycle of a pumpkin while visiting the pumpkin patch at Historic Suyematsu Farm. Hundreds of preschoolers and Kindergartners from around Kitsap County come to the farm to learn about the many varieties of pumpkins and squash, with a scavenger hunt and pumpkin "anatomy lesson."

Island Coop Preschool

ICP students at Morales Farm look for their own special pumpkin to take home. The "Orcas" make several visits per season; this fall, they learned about pumpkins and squash, beans and dried flowers, seeds, farm tools, and potatoes.

Wilkes Elementary

Kay Sakai Nakao talks with Bill Covert's 4th grade Wilkes class about growing up on her family's strawberry farm on Bainbridge Island. Wilkes students take a short walk from school to Suyematsu & Bentryn Family Farm and Morales Farm. Curricular pathways include strawberries, potatoes, and greens.

Ordway Elementary

Dede Redfield's 1st graders at Morales Farm. EduCulture partners with all three Ordway 1st grade teachers, who choose a plant pathway to follow throughout the year on both Suyematsu & Bentryn Family Farms and Morales Farm. Pathways include strawberries, potatoes, and kale, as well as working in the school garden.

Blakely Elementary

Blakely Kindergartners explore Heyday Farm. Grades K-4 are following a Pasture Dance curriculum which educates students about the principle of eating well grown food from healthy soil. The learning experiences of the pasture dance focus on the anatomy of a working farm; the animal life cycle; soil composition; farm and community life; food chain, and food system.

Professional Education

What Does Edible Education Mean to Educators?

We recently asked some of our local educators why edible education is important to them, and what they feel their students are learning from their experiences on the farm. Here is what they had to say.

Ellen Carleson, Island Coop Preschool

"A large part of my teaching philosophy is founded on the idea of creating positive change in the world. I try to do this by touching the hearts, minds, and lives of young children, introducing them to the wonders and magic of the world around us, and hopefully inspiring them to care for and see they can help be responsible for taking care of the world. We also look inward to ourselves and each other and begin to learn how to take care of and be responsible for ourselves and each other. Learning about food is a perfect part of doing this. And, because I work with families and also teach the parents, I hope that what the children learn in Farm School and the preschool classroom, what they learn with their parent by their side, will change the family, a first step to making change in the world."

Some of what my students are learning from their experiences on the farm:

to listen, remember, and follow the farm rules
to be respectful of the plants and the hard work that goes into growing them
the seasons, and the life cycle of the plants
the importance of hard, physical work, and that they, as young as they are, can do big things
the satisfaction of sharing with others the food they have helped to grow
to care for the land, the plants, and their bodies
the joy of being in the open space at the farm; working, laughing, and playing

- Ellen Carleson

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Richard Pearsall, 3rd Grade, Wilkes Elementary

Students from Richard Pearsall's class harvesting potatoes at Morales Farm.

"I believe the farm trips help ground our 3rd graders in learning something that is real and essential to their survival. It helps us think about and talk about healthy eating, the science of plants, solar energy, chemical energy, soil, insects, tractors, working horses, jobs, transportation, and cooking. Jon also gave a great orienteering class with a map and a local history lesson, too. We are witness to changes in our weather patterns, so farming on Bainbridge Island is an important experience in a child's 21st Century education."

- Richard Pearsall

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Susan Morris, Kindergarten, Blakely Elementary

Sue Morris' class at Heyday Farm with a parent volunteer.

"My students get the opportunity to see working farms in action. They have a better understanding of where their food comes from and how it is produced. Some of my students raise chickens at home so they can see how what they are doing at home relates to the farming community. Students learn the cycle of food production which may help them appreciate, at a different level, the food they eat. They learn the importance of farms and food when they see it firsthand, not in a book or a video. It is helpful to get out of the school environment and see what is happening in real life situations. We also use what we learn as writing topics in the classroom. Students are more eager to write about field trips than other topics."

- Susan Morris

EduCulture & Community

Fall Farm to Table Dinner Hosted at Mossback in Kingston

Pam Buitenveld of The Food Shed gets ready to present the main course at the November 9 Farm to Table Dinner.

A cozy setting and the best of local food and drink were featured at our November 9 Farm to Table dinner, held at Mossback restaurant in Kingston. The four-course dinner was sourced and prepared by The Food Shed, with ingredients from the wild and cultivated landscapes of the Puget Sound.

Guests enjoy the slow food and drinks and comfortable setting at Mossback.

The evening began with a mingling course that featured homemade breads and crackers, local cheeses and spreads, and other locally sourced appetizers, accompanied by botanical soft gin and pear cocktails. It was followed by a salad course, soup, and entree, with a dessert of house-made cardamom ice cream with ginger pumpkin cakes, topped with cranberry sauce and roasted pepitas. Courses also featured local brews and wine.

Leslee Pate of Food Shed and Jon Garfunkel of EduCulture thank guests and supporters, who each took home a bag of Makah Ozette potatoes grown by local students.

Donations from this "farm-raiser" will benefit our 2015 Edible Education programs. This was the third in a series of community foodshed dinners hosted by EduCulture. Please keep an eye on our online calendar for future events!

Read more about the dinner and see the complete menu here.

EduCulture Helps Coordinate Educational Component at Celluloid Bainbridge

An image of the guard tower from Brenda Berry's documentary; Only What They Could Carry - Return to Manzanar.

EduCulture was honored to be present at the Historic Lynwood Theatre on November 16 for the Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival, sponsored by Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council. A portion of the festival featured a series of documentaries about Japanese-American Exclusion, Bainbridge Island, and Manzanar, the first confinement site where those of Japanese descent were incarcerated during WWII. EduCulture Board Member Brenda Berry's film portraying an OWWCC delegation to Manzanar was one of those featured. EduCulture's Jon Garfunkel led a discussion and Q&A session about the films.

"It was great to have EduCulture participate in the film festival," says Kathy Haskin, BIAHC Education and Communications Manager. "We were so grateful to have their educational perspective and understanding of our community's cultural heritage throughout the afternoon's screenings and discussion."

Thank you to Bainbridge Island Historical Museum and Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community (BIJAC) for their participation.

Lillian Sakuma Aoyama points to a photo of her family leaving Bainbridge Island, in an image from Brenda Berry's film.

View Brenda Berry's documentary here.

End of Year Giving;
Please Consider Supporting the Work of EduCulture

Make a Gift Directly to EduCulture
We are deeply grateful for the generous donations our supporters make directly to EduCulture. Donate directly by check or Paypal through our website. Checks can be made payable to Global Source Education, and mailed to EduCulture at Global Source, PO Box 11316, Bainbridge Island, WA, 98110.
C ontribute through our Website Here

Bainbridge One Call for All - An Island Tradition

One Call for All is a vital source of underwriting for our edible and heritage education programs and a great way to seed our 2015 programs! We are honored to be part of this important Island institution of giving and encourage you to support it. You will find EduCulture on the list of deserving agencies, #230.

To contribute to OCFA online, please follow this link; EduCulture is listed under Youth Services and Organizations.

Docent Program
Do you have an enthusiasm for teaching and sharing through edible education and heritage education? EduCulture is building a parent docent program to support our farm-school partnership programs. Contact us for more information.

Be a Volunteer
Volunteer opportunities are ongoing. We have several exciting projects in the works for next season that we need assistance in establishing and building. Contact us for more information.

Thank You!
At EduCulture, our programs thrive on strong relationships between many individuals and groups within our community. We are grateful to so many people who help to make our work at EduCulture possible. Thank you!

Island Coop Preschool students at Morales Farm.

This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy."
- Joel Salatin, farmer and author

To Learn More, Please Visit our Website: EduCultureProject.org

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EduCulture Project at Global Source Education is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving elementary and secondary education in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.