Grant money seeds garden

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GREEN TEAM—Las Posas Elementary School fourth-graders Estephani Ortiz, left, and Jakhiyah Wooten, both 9, listen for instructions on planting a new garden at the Camarillo school on Jan. 16. Maximilian Carnaby happily started digging in the dirt.

The kindergartner at Las Posas Elementary School wasn't just horsing around during recess. He was helping construct the school's oncampus garden of native Californian plants last Friday morning.

"There's a lot of dirt. I've got to scrape out the dirt," Maximilian explained while tending the land with third-grader Nicholas Sloan.

"We've got to do this to let the animals come and let them sniff the flowers and plants," said Maximilian, whose 6th birthday was the next day; he sported two "Happy Birthday" stickers on his T-shirt.

Las Posas used a $2,500 state grant to jump-start the garden project. The garden will allow the school to conserve water, and it will also serve as an interactive learning center. Instead of just reading about photosynthesis in a book, students can learn about the energyconverting process by going outside and visiting the garden, Principal Julie Antilla-Garza said.

Teachers will tie in the curricula of social studies and science with life in the garden. Third-, fourth- and fifth-graders study Native Americans, California history and U.S. history, respectively.

The garden was designed by Casey Burns, a biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Somis. Burns selected about 20 species of plants appropriate for the terrain of the 40-by-40-foot plot of land that sits between the playground blacktop and a grassy lawn.

"This was an odd patch of sod. The kids couldn't play on it," Antilla-Garza said. "It wasn't accessible for student use, and it was in the way of the rest of the playground."

Burns spent Friday morning showing students how to dig and plant. He explained why certain plants live in shady or sunny areas.

The project also includes logs and piles of rocks for animals, such as lizards, to live and hide under.

"People are becoming more and more sensitive to the loss of habitat from development," said Burns, who will periodically visit the garden and offer help on plant propagation. "There will always be something going in this garden for all four seasons. This will be a microcosm of a natural habitat."

Chris Dalpozzo, a secondgrader, was the first Las Posas student to actually plant some greenery in the garden. Among the native plants are California fuschia, hummingbird sage and manzanita.

"Planting with my friends is fun," Chris said.

Isabella McClelland, a thirdgrader, said the garden is important to the state's health.

"California is running out of water, and this doesn't waste as much water as grass," said Isabella, who was planting with kindergartner Ava Dabbs.

Older students were paired with younger students as part of the school's Big and Little Buddy teamwork project.

Isabella said her class was learning about plants that live on the Arctic tundra. Ava said she enjoyed digging, and she talked about her garden at home that has tomatoes and red bell peppers.

Second-grader Erin Kistler is looking forward to seeing the garden thrive so she can "see beautiful flowers and animals."

The school received help from many local organizations. The city of Camarillo donated mulch, while Clark Realty Development and New Turf Construction ripped out and removed the old sod. B&B Do-it Center, Matilija Nursery and Prime Building Materials also contributed to the garden project.

"The kids are so excited about this garden," Antilla-Garza said.