CVHS On The Cutting Edge of Urban Agriculture

April 20,2016 – Chula Vista High School  and the Chula Vista High School Foundation in partnership with Common Vision come together to educate students and Go Green at Chula Vista High School. With the help of the Chula Vista High School students we were able to transform a barren dirt lot into a fruit tree orchard and vegetable garden.

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CVHS On The Cutting Edge of Urban Agriculture 

It is common to see gardens on campuses, but when was the last time you saw an organic farm run and operated by students? This is exactly what is happening Chula Vista High School. The goal is to create a farm to cafeteria program that will sustain a healthy salad bar for students to enjoy all year round.

Students learn about soil science, how to install water-saving drip irrigation systems, how to live more sustainably by composting waste and recycling, and how to improve their health by eating the food they grow. This last point is of great significance as students from the west side of Chula Vista suffer from higher rates of obesity that can negatively impact their  learning and their life expectancy.

The project was conceptualized by 1982 alum, Maria Galleher, but she realizes that it takes a group effort to make transformational changes. She is grateful to the alumni who have offered their support and who continue to donate to the CVHS Foundation.

The student farm presently has over 20 fruit trees, 2 spiral herb gardens, composting, vermicompost (worms!) and in-ground rows and above ground boxes with vegetables like kale, tomatoes, beats, carrots, chiles and onions. To top it all off they created an outdoor classroom under the big tree with straw bales for seating. All students can now enjoy nature while they learn

Local partners that make “learning by doing” possible:

This project was made possible by generous contributions and community partnerships with the Chula Vista High School Foundation (donates yearly towards the fruit trees and yearly up keep), Wild Willow Farms (organic local farm that provides year round technical support), Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP provided a $20,000 start up grant), Common Vision (arborist that provide fruit trees, irrigation and support) and the Healthy Chula Vista Initiative (City of Chula Vista providing community resources).