Growing Resilience in a School Garden in Alaska
Children proud of their planting achievements hold up their certificates at Mountain View Elementary School in Anchorage, United States on 26 April 2017. Photo Credit: Katherine Kemp
This story originally appeared on Zilient.org and was written by Su Chon, Cities of Service Resilience AmeriCorps VISTA Member serving in Anchorage, Alaska’s city hall.
W
ith 95 percent of Alaska’s resources arriving through the aging Port of Anchorage, Alaskans face the constant threat of food shortages if the port infrastructure fails in a natural disaster. Residents in Anchorage’s Mountain View neighborhood — where geographical isolation and high unemployment contribute to a lack of access to fresh produce — are especially vulnerable.
Anchorage’s Mayor Ethan Berkowitz recognizes the importance of addressing this issue, and the city has been finding new and creative ways to increase resilience and preparedness among Mountain View residents through the Resilience Training Ground initiative. AmeriCorps VISTA members in the Cities of Service Resilience AmeriCorps Program have joined the Mayor’s Office to spearhead this effort. The Resilience Training Ground increases awareness of food security challenges and disaster preparedness through educational activities in schools and summer programs. Over the past few months, they have focused their energy on the next generation of Alaskans — second graders at Mountain View Elementary School.
The VISTAs mobilized volunteers to construct a greenhouse at Mountain View Elementary that serves as a teaching tool for the “Kids for Resiliency” curriculum that they have developed. The curriculum ties Alaska’s unique food security challenges to local resilience efforts through field trips, guest lectures by local residents, and practical gardening activities.
The precarious nature of Anchorage’s food system became real to the second graders during their field trip to the Port of Anchorage in March with Jim Jager, Port Manager of External Affairs. Students were able to watch port operations and witnessed a crane pick up a giant shipping container filled with essential supplies.
Seeing the port first-hand, the students came to understand the difference between imported and local goods. A week later, when guest speaker Jesse Richardville of Refugee Assistance and Immigration Services, who manages Fresh International Gardens nearby, asked kids where their food comes from, hands shot up and a voice yelled out “The port!”
The curriculum teaches students that there are small things they can do to be more prepared for a port failure. Patrick Ryan, Education Specialist at the Alaska Botanical Garden, taught the Mountain View students about gardening and Don Bladow of the Master Gardeners came to help students and their families build take-home container gardens to grow their own vegetables indoors.
Container gardens are a practical solution for the many homes in the neighborhood that do not have space for garden plots. Half of the families went home with container gardens and the invitation to reach out to the Master Gardeners with any questions or concerns.
Children show off their plants with Mayor Ethan Berkowitz at Mountain View Elementary School in Anchorage, United States on 26 April 2017. Photo Credit: Katherine Kemp
During the program’s closing celebration at the end of April, Mayor Berkowitz joined the Mountain View students and their parents to congratulate them on completing the course. As part of the final celebration, they moved their plants into the greenhouse where they will be tended to by volunteers from the Fresh International Gardens over the summer. When they return to school in the fall they will be able to see the fruits of their labor and realize the impact of putting seeds into soil.
The first cycle of the Resilience Training Ground was so successful, that a second grade teacher at Fairview elementary requested to bring the program to their school. This summer, the VISTAs will organize volunteers to construct a greenhouse at Fairview Elementary School. The greenhouse will be a teaching site in the fall when 21st Century Afterschool Program delivers the ‘Kids for Resiliency’ curriculum to Fairview students.
In addition to resilience education for the city’s youngest citizens, the Mayor’s Office is partnering with the Department of Parks and Recreation and Fairview residents to turn a local park into a resilience learning lab for the whole community.
Last month, neighborhood volunteers created edible landscaping, such as rhubarb, apple trees, and blueberry bushes and installed interpretive signage to teach all park visitors about the importance and ease of growing food locally. A series of container garden workshops in the park will follow throughout this summer.
This is a vital first step towards sharing knowledge on the issue of food security in Alaska, which we hope will create a sense of preparedness and a more resilient Anchorage as a whole.
For more information on making Anchorage more resilient, check out the Mayor’s Corner.
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This story originally appeared on Zilient.org and was written by Su Chon, Cities of Service Resilience AmeriCorps VISTA Member serving in Anchorage, Alaska’s city hall.