The Learning Gardens Institute

Michelle Calsci­betta of Cul­ti­vat­ing Cas­ca­dia is offer­ing a series of week-long sum­mer day camps for K-5 stu­dents inter­ested in learn­ing about how to grow and pre­pare their own food while explor­ing the for­est that sur­rounds them.

The cob oven cooks tasty treats at JEAN’s Farm.

The camps will be held at the JEAN’s Urban For­est Farm on John­son Creek in south­east Port­land. Reg­is­tra­tion is still open for the week of June 25. A cou­ple of August spots remain open as well.

For more infor­ma­tion, con­tact Michelle at cultivatingcascadia@gmail.com or 503–830-2168.

Sun­ny­side Envi­ron­men­tal School (SES) has con­tracted with the Learn­ing Gar­dens Insti­tute to pro­vide ser­vices for its ongo­ing school gar­den pro­gram. The same con­tract will put LGI in charge of the sus­tain­abil­ity pro­gram and farm-to-school pro­gram oper­at­ing at this K-8 pub­lic school site in south­east Portland.

The three edu­ca­tors LGI has under con­tract to run these pro­grams, Steph Rooney, Vin­nie Miller and Michelle Calas­ci­betta, have worked pre­vi­ously at the school in those capac­i­ties and bring a wealth of expe­ri­ence and enthu­si­asm to share with Sun­ny­side students.

Read more about Sun­ny­side Envi­ron­men­tal School and its pro­grams in this month’s features.

The Learn­ing Gar­dens Insti­tute is leas­ing a small his­toric fam­ily farm on John­son Creek in south­east Port­land. Mem­bers of the John­son fam­ily have owned this prop­erty for over 100 years. Nes­tled among trees between slope and stream, it’s an inspi­ra­tional site — per­fect for LGI’s out­reach work in the community.

JEAN’s For­est Farm offers an ideal set­ting for eco­log­i­cal and place-based learn­ing, where stu­dents and teach­ers can learn how nature and agri­cul­ture can work together to sup­port life-sustaining sys­tems that ben­e­fit both the land and its inhabitants.

This farm site has pro­vided a vital con­nec­tion for Sun­ny­side Envi­ron­men­tal School’s farm-to-school pro­gram over the past six years, with middle-school-age stu­dents mak­ing sea­sonal trips to learn from the land and grow pro­duce they will  har­vest for school events. The site also includes an out­door kitchen with a cob oven, as well as a chicken coop and bee hives.

Within the next few months, the farm will add another key fea­ture, a yurt pro­vided by Mother Earth School, which plans to offer a small, nature-focused school pro­gram for grades one and two dur­ing the 2012–13 school year at the farm, along with a series of sum­mer camps.

The Learn­ing Gar­dens Insti­tute will uti­lize the site for teacher work­shops and classes, sea­sonal cel­e­bra­tions and other events. If you are inter­ested in rent­ing the site on an hourly basis for an class, event or cel­e­bra­tion, con­tact Michelle at jeansurbanforestfarm@gmail.com.