SHES students harvest crops at school

Sierra House students show off what they are growing in the dome. Photo/Provided

By Rebecca Bryson

April 2 was a special day for some second-graders in Denise Pillsbury’s class at Sierra House Elementary School. The first to plant their arugula seeds way back in the cold month of January, they were the first class to harvest their bounty from the domes.

Arugula is not typically a kid favorite with its slightly spicy flavor, but the kids were all smiles as parent and community volunteers helped them to harvest their greens. Together the students prepared and ate a strawberry and arugula salad made from the baby arugula that they had grown from seed.

Not a single student refused to taste the meal. What a difference growing your own food can make. When asked what they grew the resounding answer was “arugula” and who grew it “me”. A powerful statement indeed.

Over the next few weeks, classes will continue with work in the domes transplanting their little seedlings. Most of the remaining veggies will be harvested in May and June.

Thursday also marked the culmination of the We Can! Program. As part of this program, Sierra House and all LTUSD elementary students had the opportunity to taste fresh sugar snap peas and dried cranberries.

As part of the We Can! Program a different health and fitness challenge is posed to students for four weeks. Last week’s challenge encouraged students to try a new food. Barton Health, UC Cooperative Extension and the Lake Tahoe Sustainability Collaborative teamed up to purchase and hand out nearly 2,000 servings of snap peas and cranberries. Thanks to Raley’s for providing the food at whole sale prices. This was the highlight of many students’ day.

There will be a community open house at the Sierra House domes on April 15 from 5-7pm. All are welcome to come see what’s growing.