Las Milpitas:

Community Garden and Outdoor Classroom

Established interactive school garden and outdoor learning-space used by 250 public school students. Taught low-water urban farming practices and contemporary food issues. Created regular after school gardening program and student vegetable CSA.

Partnered with Las Milpitas and The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona as well as with City High

Las Milpitas de Cotonwood Farm

The land had been left fallow in the desert for over 10 years before our group started working the soil.

Harvest

Desert Irrigation

We employed low-water use irrigation techniques. The students were all trained in installation.

Sophomore Harvest Day

The entire sophomore class came out to help harvest for the school's CSA.

Keyhole Plot Design

We began farming with a modified permaculture design-- the keyhole. The design is meant to use the most space while keeping all crops accessible. There's no need to compress the soft soil to reach for veggies!

Garden Fridays

Maria helps to dig new beds and fertilize the soil.

After School Harvest

The garden crew spent every Friday after school tending the plots.

Planting Day

A student displays how small radish seeds are.

Student CSA

Students received shares of the bounty weekly during harvest season (March-June).

As an Urban Farming instructor I worked over the course of three years to develop a consistent partnership between the students of City High and the growing community farm of Las Milpitas. Our goal was to start a small group of young farmers and build a small CSA for the students and teachers of City High School.

Our students were asked to be consultants for the Joel Valdez Main Library's new Seed Library. This is a student's promotion for the new community resource.