Edible Schoolyard | New Orleans
Welcome to the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans
A Foodways Curriculum for Kids at Samuel. J. Green Charter School
& New Orleans Charter Middle School
The mission of Edible Schoolyard New Orleans (ESY NOLA) is to create and sustain an expansive organic garden on the public school campus of Samuel J. Green Charter School in New Orleans. The Edible Schoolyard is integrating organic gardening and fresh seasonal cooking into the school’s curriculum, culture and food programs. It involves students in all aspects of farming the garden—along with preparing, serving and eating the food—as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.
Description: Started in the Fall of 2006, ESY NOLA is working to revive and promote the rich gardening and culinary heritages of New Orleans while providing hands-on growing and cooking experiences for public school students at Green Charter and New Orleans Charter Middle Schools. Students in grades K-8 participate in gardening and cooking lessons that reinforce classroom coursework in core subjects (science, social studies, language and math). Through the Edible Schoolyard experience, students learn responsibility and respect for the natural world, and that hard work and collective efforts through teamwork yield real benefits in the garden, kitchen, school and in life.
Background: ESY NOLA is based on the original Edible Schoolyard located in Berkeley, CA and is the first sanctioned replication of the successful program founded by Alice Waters and the Chez Panisse Foundation. Founded 11 years ago, the Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, CA has been cited as a national model for educators and hosts thousands of visitors each year. According to a study by Harvard Medical School cited in The New York Times Magazine “After one year, students at King, compared with a control group at a similar middle school, showed improvement in behavior and fewer emotional problems. They were savvier about ecology, and their overall grade point averages improved.”
History: ESY NOLA is the culmination of a significant amount of planning, partnering, and sharing of ideas and dreams. The inception of the Edible Schoolyard in New Orleans was made possible by the leadership and commitment of Alice Waters, Randy Fertel, Tony Recasner, Cathy Pierson and Nancy Rutter-Clark. Committed to making a difference in the lives of public school children in post-Katrina New Orleans, these key individuals rallied widespread support for and recruited a cadre of talented and committed individuals to form an ESY NOLA Task Force, and Advisory and Culinary Boards.
ESY NOLA has several strategic partnerships, including the Ruth U. Fertel Foundation, Octavia Foundation, The Chez Panisse Foundation, marketumbrella.org, Slow Food New Orleans, and the New Orleans Town Gardeners.
The New Orleans Town Gardeners cultivated the fertile ground for the first seeds of the Edible Schoolyard in New Orleans to be planted today. Through their PropaGators program, they introduced Dr. Recasner (head of Green Charter and New Orleans Charter Middle) to the educational, social and community building benefits of schoolyard gardening. The PropaGators started and led schoolyard gardening efforts at New Orleans Charter Middle School for nearly eight years prior to Katrina.
The combined efforts and support of individuals, partners, foundations and corporations from New Orleans and around the country are bringing the Edible Schoolyard at Green Charter School to fruition.
The Schools: Samuel J. Green Charter
and New Orleans Charter Middle
“No Work, No Benefits”
The mission of Green Charter and New Orleans Charter Middle is to provide a learning environment that promotes the healthy academic, social and emotional growth of young children and adolescents in grades kindergarten through eight, to involve parents and community volunteers in the life of the school and to develop effective educational practices. The schools provide students with rich, engaging hands-on learning experiences including weekly classes and special seasonal events that promote our local foods and food traditions through the Edible Schoolyard.
ESY NOLA serves a combined student body of 320 students from Green Charter in grades K-8th, and 46 students from New Orleans Charter Middle in grades 4-6th. The student population for the 2007-2008 school year is 98% African-American, 75% from single family homes and the vast majority (95%) qualify for federal free or reduced lunch/breakfast programs. Green Charter and New Orleans Charter Middles Schools are open access (no testing requirements), public charter schools that serve children and families from neighborhoods throughout the City of New Orleans.
School Leadership: The school leader is Dr. Tony Recasner, a psychologist who has earned accolades for his innovative and effective approach to educating young children and adolescents. The schools are governed by the non-profit board of Middle School Advocates, Inc. This leadership opened the first charter school in New Orleans, and was the highest performing non-magnet public middle school in the city since its opening in 1999 until 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed the school building. New Orleans Charter Middle School has since reopened as of September 2007 in a new location, just a short distance from Green Charter School.