[Lapg] News Story about Joan Stevens/Arcadia teacher struggles to save school permaculture garden

Sun Jun 16 14:11:02 PDT 2013

Hi Lois and all, 
We had a meeting this week with the principal that mostly resolved the issue.  
He was no more in favor of concrete than I but also was clear that it can't look 
as unkempt as it currently does (after 2 years behind construction fencing, and 
most of last year of my maternity leave) I shared that with the reporter but it 
doesn't come across in the story. 

At this point I think we are good - potentially I might seek donations or grant 
funds to have La Loma build a new artistically designed fence that would allow 
us to save the pond because we need to get rid of the ugly chain link fence 
(reporter called it a "red picket fence" but it's really chain link with red in 
the slats) that's there now.  The rest (the next phase design of the area) will 
be decided by a team of science teachers (including me) working with admin and 
the construction liason.  I do have to "give up my garden" and I'm sure it will 
look very different than the one that's there now but I'm going to try and save 
as many of the fruit trees as possible and the natural feel of the design.  The 
giving up is really surrendering it as belonging to me so that my colleagues at 
work have some ownership of the area.  That's a good thing! 

Thanks,
Joan

 "There is one, and only one, solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We 
must turn all our resources to repairing the natural world,and train all our 
young people to help. They want to.
We need to give them this last chance to create forests, soils, clean waters, 
clean energies, secure communities,stable regions, and to know how to do it from 
hands-on experience"
"...the greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even 
if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is 
enough for everyone.
Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the 
very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and 
shelter."

- Bill Mollison

________________________________
From: Lois Arkin <crsp at igc.org>
To: lapg at arashi.com
Sent: Sun, June 16, 2013 11:10:23 AM
Subject: [Lapg] News Story about Joan Stevens/Arcadia teacher struggles to save 
school permaculture garden

Hey Joan,
Let us know if you think letters of support from the         permaculture 
networks will help.  I have been through this many         times over the past 
few decades with LAUSD, and it has worked to         save our outdoor classroom 
in the 1990s and to save the corner         for the multi-school learning garden 
which is now in development         here in L.A. Eco-Village.

Let us know who to write to.

Good luck.  Your work is wonderful!

Love,
Lois

---------------------------------------

Arcadia teacher struggles to save school permaculture garden
By James Figueroa, Staff Writer
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_23470632/arcadia-teacher-struggles-save-school-permaculture-garden

Biology       teacher Joan Stevens is trying to save the permaculture garden she       
cultivated at Arcadia High School from becoming concrete planter       boxes as 
the school modernizes, Thursday, June 13, 2013.       (SGVN/Staff Photo by Sarah 
Reingewirtz)

Biology students pull weeds Thursday, June 13, 2013 in a       permaculture 
garden at Arcadia High School that biology teacher       Joan Stevens is trying 
to save from becoming concrete planter       boxes as the school modernizes.  

Gallery: Arcadia High School's permaculture garden
ARCADIA - The permaculture garden at Arcadia High School is           hidden 
behind a tall, red picket fence. It's overgrown and           many students 
don't even realize it's there.

Its wild look and lily-padded pond also clash with the           carefully 
manicured trees, small bushes and clean concrete           benches that mark the 
landscape throughout the rest of the           campus.

However, the garden's existence is important enough to biology           teacher 
Joan Stevens that she's trying to save it from being           bulldozed as part 
of major renovation and construction at the           school.

"It's not an aesthetic that everyone likes," Stevens said. "I           
recognize that my aesthetic is different than what the school           is 
trying to create."

But perma-culture gardens have also grown in popularity, and           Stevens 
enjoys teaching her students about sustainable           practices, such as 
leaving tree cuttings on the ground to act           as mulch.

"It's amazing. It's gorgeous, why would they tear this down?"           
sophomore Josh Bay said Thursday, after helping out on some           
maintenance on the last day of school.

Sitting on a plot of land between classroom buildings, the           garden was 
also next to an old greenhouse that was damaged           during windstorms in 
2011. The greenhouse has now been torn           down as part of the renovation 
work.

Given two weeks to come up with a plan to save the garden,           Stevens - 
with the help of landscape architect Marco Barrantes           - has submitted a 
proposal to school administrators to add a           semicircular amphitheater 
and teaching platform that would be           part of an outdoor classroom.

Anyone from math to English teachers could then use that space           for 
lessons.

Stevens has already received positive feedback from the           science 
department and Principal Brent Forsee, who told her           the idea is viable 
if it's not too costly.

"He said if it's comparable, then great, let's do this,"           Stevens said.

Foresee, who participated in Arcadia's graduation ceremony           Friday, 
couldn't be reached for comment.

Arcadia Unified School District declined comment in an email           from 
Assistant Superintendent Christina Aragon, who noted the           plan is under 
review.

The district is performing construction through Measure I, a           $218 
million bond program passed by voters in 2006.

While the proposal to save the garden might work, it will           require some 
help by other teachers and possibly student clubs           to keep it 
maintained, and it will have to fit in with the           rest of the campus 
instead of being fenced off.

That means letting the garden take on a larger role as part of           
Arcadia's school culture.

"It's up to me to let go of my garden," Stevens said.

Read 
more:http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_23470632/arcadia-teacher-struggles-save-school-permaculture-garden#ixzz2WOPiK8ko
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