Garden Grows at Mission District Elementary School

Submitted by MCAnderson on Wed, 11/14/2012 - 13:02

By Erica Hellerstein, Mission Local

It’s a noisy Tuesday afternoon on Mission and 16th. Music blares through the crackle of static, tires screech and vendors hawk their wares.

But just one block down from the raucous intersection, the soundtrack of Mission life melts away. At the Marshall Elementary School garden, students sift through soil and gingerly smell plants. A garden program coordinator patiently sits with them, teaching lessons about sustainability and food justice.

“This is literally an oasis. A little green spot in a concrete jungle,” said Greg Arias, a science teacher at the school.

The garden, also known as an outdoor science classroom, blossomed out of funding from the Green Schoolyard Program, a leg of the San Francisco Unified School District Proposition A Bond Program. In 2003, the proposition set aside $2.3 million dollars for greening at 26 school sites.

Today, Marshall is reaping the benefits.

Read the complete story at Mission Local.