SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An educator who teaches gardening and cooking to students from transitional kindergarten through sixth grade has been honored with the “Outstanding Educator Award.” It was presented by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom at the 106th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Monterey.
Jessica Eves, a teacher at Darnall Charter School in the Redwood Village neighborhood of San Diego, enhances her lessons on food education, agriculture and horticulture by pairing them with literature that focuses on the same themes as corresponding lessons.
In her classes, students go through the entire process of planting seeds, nurturing the growing plants so they are productive and then bringing the crops into the cooking classroom to prepare simple recipes.
Eves also runs a Junior Master Gardener program that teaches students about agricultural concepts, including fertilizing, irrigation and propagation, and provides students with the opportunity to sell their seedlings at a local farmers market.
“When students understand agriculture, it influences how they eat. It helps them understand how much goes into making their food, and this inspires them to want to make good food choices,” Eves said.
“As students have watched food grow in our school garden, they are amazed at how one little seed can produce so much food and also how long it takes for it to happen. This creates an appreciation for their food that cannot be replicated,” she added.
“Jessica Eves’ hands-on approach to bringing agriculture into the classroom is inspiring,” said Becca Whitman, executive director of the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. “Teaching students where their food comes from is one thing. Helping them grow that food is another. Teachers like Jessica encourage a lifelong appreciation for agriculture.”
The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 26,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.8 million Farm Bureau members. The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, a California Farm Bureau affiliate, is a nonprofit reaching more than 30,000 educators each year while increasing awareness and understanding of agriculture among California students.
— California Farm Bureau
