Generosity grows hillside orchard at Alta Vista School

Alta Vista Community Charter School has transformed a blank hillside into an orchard thanks to the generosity of local businesses and the Auburn community. The school district recently removed many of the hillside trees for safety reasons. This provided an opportunity for the school to rethink the space and how it can contribute to educating and feeding students. Thanks to a Raley's Extra Credit Grant, donations from Green Acres Nursery and the hard work of a team of volunteers, an on-campus orchard was planted and school garden improvements are underway. The goal of these efforts is to support the health and wellness of students. "At Auburn Union School District, we love to provide homegrown and fresh produce for our students," said Superintendent Amber Lee-Alva. "We have many other school sites within AUSD that also grow fresh fruits and vegetables for our students. I am excited about our new orchard and deeply thankful for the businesses and community of Auburn for making this possible." A primary goal of the on-campus orchard is to increase access to healthy foods, such as fresh and locally grown produce. The orchard includes 20 table grapes and 16 fruit trees (varieties include mandarins, apples, pears, figs and stone fruit). Over time, as the trees mature, the orchard will directly support the school nutrition program by growing healthy, seasonal produce on site. Given the number of vines and trees planted, there is potential to grow thousands of pounds of produce per year on campus. Studies suggest children are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables if they are home (or school), grown and this project aims to increase access and exposure to a variety of healthy foods. An additional goal of the project is to educate students in an outdoor setting. Students will experience first-hand where their food comes from and learn about agriculture, math and science through a project-based learning approach. Project Based Learning is an instructional model through which students explore real-world experiences and challenges, discovering and applying integrated concepts in core subjects. This approach to learning through real-world experiences is best accomplished in a setting such as an outdoor garden classroom. The orchard is reality thanks to Raley's grant funding, and the school community also wished to thank Green Acres Nursery for their donations. The project came together thanks to volunteers from the school and the neighborhood including Rick Muir, Ben and Sarah Brichler, Jennifer Gilstrap, Curt Juran, Jon Easterbrook, Justin Carrion and the AUSD maintenance and operations team, Alta Vista Principal Diana Wilson and the Bucks Booster Club.