About 20 years ago, multi-age teacher Glenda Berliner was touring the Edible Schoolyard in San Francisco and found inspiration.
Berliner, who has a master’s in education with a focus on food and culture, was pushing for healthy food in the district and took a cue from farm-to-table chef Alice Waters to develop a space on the grounds of Chautauqua Elementary School, along with other multi-age teachers, Gerie Wilson and Renae Taylor.
As Berliner now spends her last days teaching before retiring at the end of the school year, the Chautauqua gardens — beautifully on display for all the community to view — serve as a testament to place-based learning on Vashon and what a lot of community hands can accomplish in a short time.
“It was a labor of love from so many different people to convert that space into what it is today,” said Berliner. “So many parents, students, teachers, and community members lent a hand. Looking back, it was exciting to watch it transform.”
Throughout the years, the garden has provided an integral space for the learning experience at Chautauqua. Students learn about space-placed solar ovens in the garden. While studying simple machines, students devised systems to move bales of hay from the classrooms all the way to the garden to help keep the weeds down.
Watching those activities take place cemented the value of a garden in an educational setting for former multi-age teacher Gerie Wilson.
“When we had projects out in the garden, oftentimes the children who struggled with traditional academics or testing were leaders in their group,” recalled Wilson. “To be able to see those kids shine and take on leadership roles was such a beautiful thing to see.”
After years of management through a network of parent and teacher volunteers and a former specialist position, the garden is currently kept up by two coordinators, Gillian Simmons and Lindsay Foster, with funds generously donated by FACE and Vashon Schools Foundation. The coordinators help open the garden during recess multiple times per week, in addition to its availability for any teacher to use throughout the day.
For Berliner, her labor of love that has grown and evolved throughout the year will be one of many lasting legacies after decades of teaching at Chautauqua Elementary School. For a school that prides itself on the concept of place-based learning, the garden is the perfect representative of that method.
“We go outside, walk through the woods, stick our hands in the dirt in the garden, and the kids are learning all about their environment,” according to the teachers. “We learn to plant, we learn about our place. It doesn’t get any more place-based than that.”
