Photo by Sophie

Utilizing the Midnight Sun:
Community-Building Elementary School Farm in Fairbanks, Alaska

Pearl Creek Elementary School, Alaska

By Lindsey Middendorf
Dandelions Unlimited Intern
Western Washington University

Are there farm-to-school programs in the Last Frontier? Yep, but Pearl Creek Elementary School in Fairbanks, Alaska takes this one step further. You could call it a Farm-to-School-to-Community program, as on-site gardens provide produce for the school and serve as educational tools for teachers, while the program gives back to the community by donating produce to families in need and selling produce through a neighborhood CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Pearl Creek Elementary has become involved in this unique program through Calypso Farm and Ecology Center’s Schoolyard Garden Initiative, which was created to implement “hands-on educational opportunities in the schools, a garden connection for kids, and locally grown food for the community. (1)” Educational lessons in math and language arts are integrated in the garden programs, making this program a standout model of incorporating sustainable agriculture, education, nutrition, and community!

In 2006, Calypso Farms helped facilitate the building of on-site school gardens, but students were involved in the building process, adding their own creative touches like spiral-shaped beds. Students are involved in planting, cultivating, harvesting, preparing, and enjoying the produce, and throughout the school year students are taught garden-based academic lessons. In addition to the academic lessons, students take part in school-wide projects like composting and spring garden preparation that connects them with other students in the school, developing a sense of community that is working towards a common goal. The parents and staff at the school have become more involved in their community as the project requires a Garden Committee that guides the development and use of the garden.

The produce that is not donated or sold through the CSA is enjoyed by students, staff, and family. Some produce is prepared and eaten by individual classrooms, and some is cooked for school-wide events. This program not only teaches students valuable lessons on nutrition, agriculture, math, language arts, teamwork, and community, but the tasty results of this project are enjoyed by people throughout Fairbanks, creating connected community through one elementary school farm.

1- http://www.calypsofarm.org/schoolyard_garden_initiative.htm