The Elkhorn school garden project began in October 2016, when Yolo Farm to Fork gave a presentation at an Elkhorn Parent Teacher Student Association meeting. Inspired by the idea of a garden at the school, third-grade Elkhorn teacher Christie Chapman volunteered to oversee a school garden project with her Leadership elective class. Initially, vegetables were grown in temporary containers, with the hope of creating a permanent space in the future.

The next phase occurred in April 2018, when Yolo Farm to Fork (YF2F) received grants from Raley’s Markets and PG&E to purchase materials for the raised garden beds at Elkhorn. YF2F then reached out to West Sac Centennial Rotary Club, who agreed to perform the installation of the raised beds. “We’ve been supporting the local [school] gardens for years,” says President Tom Engle, who attended the work day. Previously, the club has built raised beds for the Bryte CAFFE (Culinary Arts Farm to Fork Education) campus and planted fruit trees at River City Highschool.

On May 19 th , about 10 volunteers completed five raised beds at Elkhorn, with plans to add five additional raised beds as funds become available. The new school garden occupies a formerly vacant space on the northeast side of campus.

As a teacher, Chapman hopes that the garden will encourage healthy eating habits, both in the cafeteria and at home. “I think that the school garden is going to help students be more interested in and excited about eating vegetables.” Elkhorn participates in YF2F’s Growing Lunch Program, which allows students to grow and harvest vegetables to be served in the school cafeteria.

Work day volunteer and 7 th -grade student Gabriel Duran became involved with the garden through Chapman’s Leadership class. “We’ve been planning this [garden] for a while now…. so I decided to come and help out.” Gabriel is most excited about “being able to show off the garden” to the younger students. “I can’t wait to see their faces on Monday when they see this!”