Garden of Eatin': Transition Laguna Beach Will Help Replant El Morro Elementary's Devoured Garden

Those wascally wabbits. They played havoc with with 's "outdoor classroom," the school's revamped garden. But next time, they won't be so lucky. 

Back in October, several members of the local environmental organization Transition Laguna Beach teamed up with the school to overhaul the garden.

"Not only are we teaching the students how to grow their own food," said volunteer and El Morro parent Sharael Kolberg,  "but we're also reinforcing state standards, including math, science, reading, writing and creative arts while doing it."

Transition Laguna Beach helped make the soil in the existing six garden beds viable for growing edible plants by digging out the garden boxes and putting gopher wire and weed barriers on the bottom. The soil was sifted to remove rocks and roots, and two truckloads of compost and nutrients were added.

The soil was ready. The only problem was ... the wildlife. Rabbits and deer ate the newly planted lettuce all the way down to the dirt in less than two days. This devastated the students and parent volunteers.

That could easily have been the end of the garden project, but TLB is stepping up again. On Dec. 18, the group will join El Morro parents to install rabbit-proof fencing. In addition, the Laguna Beach Garden Club has offered to donate funding to upgrade the irrigation system from overhead sprinklers to drip. Volunteers will also be laying cardboard and weed barrier in the areas between the garden boxes, to keep the crab grass down, and covering it with mulch. Then three of the beds will be planted with winter crops, such as broccoli, romaine and bok choy.

Currently, with the help of four volunteer parents, the El Morro garden is used for an after-school program on Mondays. There are three eight-week sessions of these per year (the next one starts Jan. 10). Due to a lack of funding, though, there have been challenges. Kolberg is trying to generate funds to buy the supplies needed to implement the garden-based curriculum. She also hopes to expand the usage of the garden to lunchtime and class time.

In just a few weeks after the install, students will be able to eat the fresh organic produce straight from the garden. They'll also be able to get a sense of where food comes from, as well as learn about the life cycle of the plants. "None of this would be possible without assistance from Transition Laguna Beach," says Kolberg.

Transition Laguna Beach is the 10th official Transition Town Community in the United States, and the 129th in the world.  It seeks to bring a sense of community to cities through its mantra of healthy eating. Once kids get excited about healthful food, the theory goes, they will then take their newfound love for gardening back home to their parents.