Dig In

In this Dig In:

• Harvest of the Month: PEAS!
• EFG Champion Updates & Reminders
• April Garden Maintenance Notes
• OUSD Waste Prevention & Sustainability
• Highlights, Stories & Photos
  
• Apply ~ Participate ~ Read ~ Watch ~ Listen

Dig In scavenger hunt! Send Lydia.Yamaguchi@ousd.org an email with either (A) an Earth Month resource mentioned in this Dig In that you want to use or (B) an event or article you want to check in, and be entered into a raffle for a tote bag + sticker!

We hope this month brings you some peas and calm!

Find peas on cafeteria produce bars and growing in some school gardens.

• Promote the peas being served on OUSD produce bars during lunch!
• Set up a master-pease of a pea bulletin board.
• Educate with this slide deck about peas (learn about the structure of a pea plant, nutrition facts, activities, and a farmer spotlight!).
• Try out an activity sheet and newsletters, or try a pea recipe from the HOTM calendar.
• Requested a HOTM Produce Taste Test Box for April? Keep an eye for it coming to your school site later in April - details will be sent out via email! In the meantime you can check out our taste test demo video, produced here at The Center!
• Don't forget to check out the "Apply ~ Participate ~ Read ~ Watch ~ Listen" section of this Dig In to find some pod-casts and tasty reci-peas!
  

Find the hub for Harvest of the Month in OUSD on The Center Programming Website and follow along on TikTok and Instagram @OUSDHOTM. Read highlights from past months here.

Harvest of the Month encourages students and school communities to eat a variety of nutritious produce, and celebrates the bounty and diversity of fruits and vegetables grown in California.

Up next for May: JICAMA!

All due Friday, April 28:

• April EFG Champion Monthly Log
• The 2023 SLAQ Wellness Questionnaire. Instructions and details here. Coordinate to submit one per school site.
• Summer Garden Stewardship Program Application 2023

Additional key activities in April:

• If you order Seed & Start, pick up your orders ASAP, to assure the plants survive the transition to your garden, especially with rain and as temperatures warm!
  
• Start preparing your summer garden plans. All school gardens need to either be put to bed at the end of the school year so that they do not become a hazard OR actively maintained.
  Consider: When will the garden space be accessible, if at all? Will there be times when it is completely inaccessible? Who is available to care for the space in person? Can it be used for learning during the summer? How will the garden be watered?
  Come to the April 11th & 20th meetings for support planning this out.
• FYI: Applications for next year's EFG Champion Program for the 2023-2024 school year will be available and due in May.

• April 11, 2023, 4:00-5:00 pm: Remote Meet-Up, Technical Support, Feedback Session for any interested EFG Champions & Corps [on Zoom] RSVP via Google Calendar
• April 20, 2023, 4:00-5:30 pm: Workshop: Spring Re-grounding & Summer Planning [PAID PD for EFG Champions] [in person at The Center] RSVP via Google Calendar.
  Come to a PAID PD experience to reground, reflect on the year, and plan for the future of our programs and school gardens, spring, summer, and beyond.
  All EFG Champions will receive paid inservice for participation in this professional development workshop at the approved District rate of $38.50 per hour. This time is included in service hours for Corps members.
  PLEASE use this calendar event to respond YES/NO so that we can plan accordingly.
  We can't stress enough that accurate RSVP's are important.
  
• May 11, 2023, 4:00-5:30 pm: Fun & Flavor End-of-Year Celebration [in person at The Center]
• May 16, 2023, 4:00-5:30 pm: Summer Garden Steward (SGS) Orientation [details to come]
  

Summaries, slides, and other resources from past EFG trainings are available on this page of the website!

The SLAQ (School Site-Level Assessment Questionnaire) Wellness Inventory is a survey of what is happening at your school site related to school meals, food & drink at school, gardens, nutrition education, physical education, and family involvement.

This is an updated version of the annual Wellness Policy Inventory to track where schools are at and develop appropriate programming! Your site’s responses are valuable as part of the long and short term vision for this work, and help fulfill key reporting metric to sustain the work.

Champions, please coordinate to complete one online inventory per school site by Friday, April 28, 2023. Review the details in the directions before completing.

The EFG Champion website is the hub for key information from workshops, resources including the OUSD Garden Toolkit, which has links to all relevant forms embedded throughout and in the appendix, page 60, and EFG Champion Calendar 2022-2023: Workshops, Key Dates.

Garden Maintenance

It is a good time to do a soil investigation - look at texture, hardness, ability to clump, color, and odor. Amend with compost or fertilizer prior to planting warm-season starts. Get to Know Your Soil is a good educational resource from the UC Master Gardeners. Try to control weeds when they are small and before they flower. Continue to mulch around perennials and water as needed to supplement irrigation and rain. Check the compost pile to make sure it’s not too wet from recent rains- it should be moist, but not soaking. Alternate 6 inch layers of both brown and green materials to achieve a balance.

Planting Guide

IF you have a summer program at your school--or someone who can water and take care of the garden until August, plant warm season crops mid-month when the soil temperature should be above 45-50 degrees. Seeds that have been direct-sown into the garden last month can be thinned once they have formed two or more true leaves.

• Seeds: Beans, corn, cucumber, melon, and squash, can be direct-seeded in the garden late this month.
• Plants: Set out tomato, pepper, and eggplant starts in mid-April.

Note: All school gardens need to either be put to bed at the end of the school year so that they do not become a hazard OR actively maintained. Start planning now!

Pest and Disease Alert

• Continue to be vigilant for eggs, insects, and damage, especially on tender young plants. The earlier you can detect and manage, the better chances for plant survival. Eliminate mosquito breeding sites by draining any standing water in buckets, planters, pipes, or gutters that might have collected water from the rain.
• Continue to look for slugs and snails, or signs of their damage--irregular holes with smooth edges on leaves and flowers. Hand picking is your best bet, especially after a recent rain or under cloudy skies.

If you are working with a UC Master Gardener mentor, check in about spring and summer planning!

Check out the OUSD Planting Calendar for recommendations for the whole year.

EFG Champions & site Corps members can request seasonally appropriate seeds and plant starts via the OUSD Seed & Start Program. From April 6 to May 16, orders will be available weekly. If you order Seed & Start, pick up your orders ASAP, to assure the plants survive the transition to your garden!

Read more on the Master Gardeners of Alameda County website and learn about the whole year here and in the OUSD School Garden Toolkit on The Center Programming Website.

Earth Day is April 24th!

We want your help with rethinking waste in order to protect our schools, community and the environment as a whole.

Students can share how they waste less and sort waste through whatever form of art and media they prefer (drawing, painting, video, spoken word, sculpture, and more!).

Art and media projects can be submitted individually, or in a group. Individual prizes will be awarded by grade, and group prizes will be awarded by age group.

For inspiration, take a look at these tips and art pieces!

Click here for more information about the art contest!

By submitting art via both the OUSD art contest application, and the StopWaste art contest application, there is double the chance of winning prizes!

Any questions or thoughts, please reach out to paula.kaltenbrunner@ousd.org

For more ways to celebrate the Earth this month, click here!

Including great stories from across OUSD, grants, events, articles, and more. You will see our contact information at the end of this newsletter!

Direct School Support: Our District Waste Reduction Team is here to support you!

Schedule a site visit or walkthrough and we can order supplies and help you create a plan. We can also give virtual or in person assemblies and presentations to teach students and staff about why and how to sort waste! We are here to be of service, just let us know how we can support!

Check out our Waste Sorting Launch Resources that include custom videos, activities and additional support! Contact us directly at Nancy Deming (nancy.deming@ousd.org) and Paula Kaltenbrunner (paula.kaltenbrunner@ousd.org)

Last week BASE, the Trust for Public Land, and Oakland Unified School District’s The Center Kitchen, Instructional Garden, Farm and Education Center held the second in a series of planned community engagements for Phase 2 of The Center’s landscape development.

BASE facilitated the meeting with The Center Education and Community Programming Team. Invited OUSD staff gathered to provide input on the expansion of the farm, an enhanced nature play, community garden, and an interpretive trail. Participants were invited to comment on a draft concept plan, express their concerns/considerations, and vote on uses, activities and precedent imagery they would like to see reflected in the spaces. With every engagement we are teasing out the desires of all the various community members with interest in this vibrant space and building a better picture of the path forward toward developing a holistic, comprehensive and creative concept plan.

Big shout out to Bret Harte, Westlake, CCPA, UPA, Claremont and Frick for participating in our 6th Grade Field Trip Pilot. We had a great time refining our Center Scavenger Hunt, diving into empanada production, and testing out new activities aligned to 6th grade standards and curriculum. Students explored uses of native plants while enjoying sage and dandelion tea, hopped on the bike blender to make green sauces and harvested a variety of plants from the garden.

Teachers and students offered valuable feedback that helped us adjust and adapt the Field Trip to better serve students. Moving forward into next year we plan to integrate more information about The Central Kitchen, have deeper discussions about our school food system, weave in details about agricultural methods and crop adaptations, offer more Pre- and Post- trip lessons and project ideas, continue to add interpretive signage and interactive exhibits throughout The Center and more!

According to students, The Center is “beautifully blooming”, “a mini factory”, “donde cultivan plantas y preparan la comida escolar”, “inspiration for growing sustainable food”, and “the place”. Also, the Field Trip was “épico”.

On Monday April 3rd members of We Share Solar visited The Center to install a Solar Suitcase in the gardening shed. Solar Suitcases have been built by students all over OUSD this year including at Skyline, Street Academy, Oakland Tech, Madison Park Academy and McClymonds in Physics, Engineering and Sustainable Systems classes. By engaging with the Power2Share curriculum teachers and students have learned the basics of solar engineering and have had some valuable hands-on experience building, testing and energizing a stand alone solar system.

The Solar Suitcase at The Center has been set up with a student built lightswitch box which was carefully installed to provide light inside the shed and light outside to provide some illumination for the meeting circle. The lightbulbs are low power but very bright LED lights which draw energy at night from the 11 amp-hour battery inside the Solar Suitcase. During the day the 80W solar panel mounted on the south facing roof will keep the battery charged and provide power for charging phones and other devices. In coming months The Center program staff will work with We Share Solar to develop solar curriculum that can be included on school field trips.

Funding for Power2Share programs in OUSD comes from a variety of sources, including PG&E, The Philanthropic Ventures Foundation and The Clif Family Foundation supplemented with district Career Technical Education funding. Any teachers interested in using the class sets of solar suitcases now owned by the district should contact Brenda Tuohy <brenda.tuohy@ousd.org> to find out more.

• Earth Day, Week, Month Activities for the Oakland community! (week of April 17-22), OUSD Sustainability Team
• OUSD Earth Day Art & Media Contest (due April 24), OUSD Sustainability Team
• Spring into action with an Earth Month Walk and Roll at your school (learn more, week of April 17-22), OUSD Safe Routes Program
• Resources for Earth Month (April 11, 4:00 PM), Outdoor Learning Store
• Taking a Closer Look: Investigations in Nature (April 18, 4:00 PM), Outdoor Learning Store
  
• Nature Activities for Year-round Learning (April 25, 4:00 PM), Outdoor Learning Store
• Check out Kaiser Permanente's Education Theater virtual preview of some our very popular educational theater programs! (April 27, 30, and May 10), detailed description here, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theater
• 4-part virtual learning series about how culturally responsive and equitable evaluation can improve environmental education programs (March-May), eeVAL
  
• Environmental Education and Community Engagement 4-week global online course (April 3-30, $), Cornell University
• Responsive Classroom Management Workshop (April 21, in person in Santa Cruz, $$), Life Lab
• Community Leaders of Color on Supporting Environmental Justice Organizations (April 27), Green 2.0
  
• National Kids to Parks Day (May 20), National Park Trust
  
• Webinar: District-Lead School Garden Programs - Engaging with Your District School Garden Community, May 24 at 1:00 pm PT, School Garden Support Organization Network
• Action for Happiness Happier April calendar
  
• Inside Out! Conference (June 12-15, $$$) Children & Nature Conference
• Pollinator Power Party (virtual) + Pollinator Week (June 19 - June 23, 2023), Pollinator Partnership

Opportunities for Youth

• Castlemont will be hosting Merritt iGrow Summer Workshop for high school students. $500 stipend. See Flyer for more information. Questions? Contact kcasale@peralta.edu
  
• Youth ages 13-21 are invited to join the Oakland Youth Commission. A seat on Oakland's Youth Commission is a fabulous leadership & learning opportunity for youth. See Flyer for more information.
  
• There is still one open spot for a high schooler to join The Center Internship Team as an Education Intern. Learn more here and encourage students to apply here.

• OUSD Field Trips & HOTM Highlighted by the California Farm to School Network
• Impact Report from Green Schoolyards America includes highlights of work in OUSD
• Sparking Joy: Lydia Yamaguchi cultivates cultural connections in school gardens, and An Urban Oasis - Oakland Unified's "The Center", Nichi Bei Foundation News

READ

• Plant your garden for Pollinators! Planet Bee Foundation
• The great outdoors is for everyone: Perham High School special education hosts outdoor activities, Focus Perham
  
• 14 African American Women Leading Change in the U.S. Food System, Food Tank
• Women We Love: 25 Influential Women in Food and Agriculture, Food Tank
• Creating Food Sovereignty with Food Recovery, a highlight of the East Oakland Collective, Alameda County Community Food Bank
  
• Celebrating Black History Month at ACCFB, Alameda County Community Food Bank
• Schools across the North East (England) recognised for their commitment to welcoming nature into school grounds, British Ecological Society
• California Environmental Literacy Initiative: Thinking Through Environmental Justice in K-12 Education, 2020 Environmental Justice Report, California History-Social Science Project
• Farmworkers in California: A Brief Introduction, California Research Bureau
  
• How to Plan a Student-Centered Farmer Visit to Your School guide, Center for Ecoliteracy
• Disposable Foodware Policy Toolkit, Center for Ecoliteracy
  
• Say “We” to Nurture Collaboration in Students, Greater Good in Education
• Five Steps to Get Students Thinking About Ethics, Greater Good in Education
• Resolve Conflict at Work, Greater Good in Education

WATCH

• "How to do a taste test", produced by the team at The Center!
• OUSD team presents to Green Schoolyards America (Kat Romo, School Gardens and Living Schoolyards Program Manager, The Center Education and Community Programming Team; Roland Broach, Executive Director, Custodial Services and Grounds, Mark Cavalli, Coordinator, Buildings and Grounds) ~ find the video on the website and YouTube
• Seed & Start Spotlight @OUSDHOTM on TikTok!

LISTEN

• Rightnowish Podcast Series "From the Soil", including "Farmworkers Building Fire Resilience", "A Family Tree on Toxic Terrain", "Protecting Sacred Land In The South Bay", and much more, Rightnowish KQED

COOK

• Asparagus and Snow Pea Sautee, 2023 HOTM Calendar

• Apply to be recognized as one of America's Healthiest Schools in one or more topics related to whole-child health (Deadline to apply is April 18). Use the Award Guide to verify implementation of best practices and help your school team gather supporting evidence.
  
• California Climate Action Corps Summer 2023 and 2023-2024 Fellowships
• Unsolicited grant proposals are open, The Campbell Foundation

The Dig In newsletter is a monthly newsletter with resources & reminders, stories & celebrations.

Let us know if there is content you want to see in this newsletter!

You are receiving this as a valued partner of this programming. Please reach out to Lydia.Yamaguchi@ousd.org or Kat.Romo@ousd.org with any questions.

The Center Education and Community Programming Website

OUSD School Garden Toolkit

OUSD Health & Wellness YouTube Channel

Follow HOTM on Instagram & TikTok: @OUSDHOTM and #OUSDHOTM

Email: Kat.Romo@ousd.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/ousd.org/thecenteredprogramming/home
Location: 2850 West Street, Oakland, CA, USA
Phone: 510-872-2401