[Lapg] News Story about Joan Stevens/Arcadia teacher struggles to save school permaculture garden

[Lois Arkin]

Hey Joan,
Let us know if you think letters of support from the permaculture 
networks will help.  I have been through this many times over the past 
few decades with LAUSD, and it has worked to save our outdoor classroom 
in the 1990s and to save the corner for the multi-school learning garden 
which is now in development here in L.A. Eco-Village.

Let us know who to write to.

Good luck.  Your work is wonderful!

Love,
Lois

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Arcadia teacher struggles to save school permaculture garden
By James Figueroa, Staff Writer
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_23470632/arcadia-teacher-struggles-save-school-permaculture-garden

Biology teacher Joan Stevens is trying to save the permaculture garden 
she cultivated at Arcadia High School from becoming concrete planter 
boxes as the school modernizes, Thursday, June 13, 2013. (SGVN/Staff 
Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)

Biology students pull weeds Thursday, June 13, 2013 in a permaculture 
garden at Arcadia High School that biology teacher Joan Stevens is 
trying to save from becoming concrete planter boxes as the school 
modernizes.



Gallery: Arcadia High School's permaculture garden
ARCADIA - The permaculture garden at Arcadia High School is hidden 
behind a tall, red picket fence. It's overgrown and many students don't 
even realize it's there.

Its wild look and lily-padded pond also clash with the carefully 
manicured trees, small bushes and clean concrete benches that mark the 
landscape throughout the rest of the campus.

However, the garden's existence is important enough to biology teacher 
Joan Stevens that she's trying to save it from being bulldozed as part 
of major renovation and construction at the school.

"It's not an aesthetic that everyone likes," Stevens said. "I recognize 
that my aesthetic is different than what the school is trying to create."

But perma-culture gardens have also grown in popularity, and Stevens 
enjoys teaching her students about sustainable practices, such as 
leaving tree cuttings on the ground to act as mulch.

"It's amazing. It's gorgeous, why would they tear this down?" sophomore 
Josh Bay said Thursday, after helping out on some maintenance on the 
last day of school.

Sitting on a plot of land between classroom buildings, the garden was 
also next to an old greenhouse that was damaged during windstorms in 
2011. The greenhouse has now been torn down as part of the renovation work.

Given two weeks to come up with a plan to save the garden, Stevens - 
with the help of landscape architect Marco Barrantes - has submitted a 
proposal to school administrators to add a semicircular amphitheater and 
teaching platform that would be part of an outdoor classroom.

Anyone from math to English teachers could then use that space for lessons.

Stevens has already received positive feedback from the science 
department and Principal Brent Forsee, who told her the idea is viable 
if it's not too costly.

"He said if it's comparable, then great, let's do this," Stevens said.

Foresee, who participated in Arcadia's graduation ceremony Friday, 
couldn't be reached for comment.

Arcadia Unified School District declined comment in an email from 
Assistant Superintendent Christina Aragon, who noted the plan is under 
review.

The district is performing construction through Measure I, a $218 
million bond program passed by voters in 2006.

While the proposal to save the garden might work, it will require some 
help by other teachers and possibly student clubs to keep it maintained, 
and it will have to fit in with the rest of the campus instead of being 
fenced off.

That means letting the garden take on a larger role as part of Arcadia's 
school culture.

"It's up to me to let go of my garden," Stevens said.



Read 
more:http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_23470632/arcadia-teacher-struggles-save-school-permaculture-garden#ixzz2WOPiK8ko
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