• Welcome To Our Garden

    Madera Elementary’s School Garden began in 2007 with a lot of backbreaking labor and a shared vision of how a garden could impact student understanding of natural cycles, agriculture, and nutrition.  Since then it has grown thanks to the support of the students, staff, and families.  Over the past couple of years, we have planted fruit trees, berry vines, herbs, flowering plants, and all manner of vegetables.

    Gardeners: Students, Teachers, Parents & More

    Lots of people use our garden in many different ways. Kindergartners come out and plant peas. First graders measure the weather. The second graders study the different types of insects and birds that visit the garden and at lunchtime third, fourth and fifth graders take care of all the lovely plants we grow. Parents, guardians, grandparents, and siblings help our garden grow by pulling weeds and adding compost. Teachers come out to the garden to enjoy the space and to help their students learn about plants. The office staff enjoys the strawberries and artichokes that the garden yields in the summer months.

     

    Garden

    Learning and Growing in the Madera Elementary School Garden 

    The Madera Elementary Foundation (MEF) would like to introduce Ms. Kaitlyn as our new garden teacher for this year.

    Kaitlyn Kuehn has dual bachelor’s degrees in English and Environmental Science from Santa Clara University. Previously, Kaitlyn taught garden and environmental classes at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose and as an AmeriCorps teacher in Oakland Unified. She also writes and blogs about gardening and cooking. She is passionate about bringing a love for the environment and the outdoors to kids (and parents!) of all ages. In her free time she enjoys creative writing, running, and playing with her pets: Benji the border collie and Zoey the conure (a type of small parrot).

    The MEF has partnered with to provide garden education at Madera this year. West County Digs has been active in promoting and coordinating garden education throughout WCCUSD for many years, and they were instrumental in helping us find Miss Kaitlyn.

    Classes begin in mid-September and run through the year, with alternating blocks of six-week classes for grades K-2 and 3-6. Keep an eye out in the Monday Message for our periodic garden work parties and for the return of our farmer’s markets in the spring!

    Please join us in welcoming Miss Kaitlyn to Madera!