Originally published on 15 September 2016 in the Pasadena Independent, Arcadia Weekly, Monrovia Weekly, and Sierra Madre Weekly

In an area like the Pasadena market which is replete with outstanding schools, setting itself apart from all the rest is a remarkable feat. However, Clairbourn School, a junior pre-K to 8^th grade independent learning institution in San Gabriel, succeeds in standing out.

Headmaster, Dr. Robert Nafie, leads dedicated administrators and teachers who work tirelessly to build a strong instructional program balanced with meaningful elective courses, extra-curricular activities and after-school classes. He ensures that each student gets the best education, using all the tools available, in a caring and nurturing atmosphere.     

That children need to be children was uppermost in the mind of former head of school, Gloria Stahmer, when in 2009 she asked then 5^th grade teacher, Jonathan Barner, “Don’t you think our kids need to be out in the dirt, gardening … or something?”  

“As an avid backyard gardener, I thought it was a fabulous idea,” Barner relates. “Thus began our vegetable propagation – we bought three pre-made plant beds which our maintenance crew installed and integrated with an irrigation system in the 4^th and 5^th grade area. They also made beds along the fence in the parking lot.

“The project was a collaboration with the other 5^th grade teacher, Laurie Corwin, who taught social studies. I suggested we recreate the American Colonial period and grow corn, pumpkin and cotton – all the crops that were important to the survival of early colonists and the native Americans. Through this colonial garden students learned how early settlers struggled in the new world. 

“We planted in the spring and let it grew through the summer while the students were on their break. When they came back in the Fall, the 5^th graders were learning about the Colonial period, which was so timely as we had an abundance of harvest from our spring plantings. We did some pretty cool things – we took the corn off the husk, we dried, and then ground it. A couple of times we made corn and pumpkin bread. By eating what they might have survived on, we bridged a connection with the colonists. 

“With the cotton plants, we made students separate seeds from the bolls. When they used their fingers to pull out the seed, which were actually the size of pencil erasers, they discovered it wasn’t easy. It was a perfect teaching opportunity to discuss Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton engine (gin) in 1793, that mechanized separating the seeds from the fiber.

“While students weren’t studying the physiology of plants in science, gardening became a component of our daily class. It was simply more meaningful for kids to have the hands-on experience planting seedling, watching plants grow, learning about soil quality, and fertilizing.  A couple of times we tried composting but we realized it was just too much for us to take on, on top of the gardening, much less the actual school curriculum.

“The greenhouse, which was originally put in in November 2001 by a previous science teacher, had not been used much after he left. It was upgraded in 2013 to make it usable for a class – we put in a flat area made of decomposed granite, we brought in three round picnic tables as work areas, we installed a sink with water, and we fenced it in for security. Teachers used it as a learning center.

“In 2012, a generous lady by the name of Betty Barker heard about our gardens and offered to fund the project. We used the grant to purchase two steel benches, and a couple of round picnic benches where kids could sit and write notes while other students were planting. She also gave money for the greenhouse upgrade in 2013, and made a follow-up donation in 2015,” Barner adds.

When Barner retired in 2015, Nancy Ward, Director of Communications, took on the mantle.  An enthusiastic gardener like him, she knew that an important component for success is finding partners who share her vision and help realize it.                                                      

In the spring of 2016 Ward resurrected Clairbourn School’s gardens with assistance from Farmscape, a local company that maintains vegetable gardens and home orchards. She pronounces, “I’m a big supporter of gardens because it teaches us important lessons in growing up and having successful lives. Every planting season is an expectation of good things to come – from the seed that’s buried in the ground, vegetables emanate. Then we have to devise a way to cook them, and how to put up the surplus – from dehydrating, to canning or preserving – to feed us through the winter months. We also need to learn long-term planning because if we want pumpkins for Halloween, we need to plant seeds in the summer. 

East Hall walkway at Clairbourn School | Photo courtesy of Clairbourn School

“I want gardening to be personal for the kids. When they study American history, I want them to see the crops Native Americans grew – corn, bean, and squash – three sisters planting, they’re called. There’s a symbiotic relationship where these three crops thrive at one time; the beans are supported by corn stalks and squash grow underneath, to shade its roots and keep moisture in. When students learn about Eli Whitney and the cotton gin, they can see first-hand what that plant looks like and how difficult it is to handle it.

“There are multiple areas on campus where students can go to at designated times of the school day to enjoy the flower and vegetable gardens. There is a raised bed for vegetables and a butterfly garden near the kindergarten classrooms for small students. Behind the 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms, there are three raised vegetable beds; plantings of cotton, corn and wheat along the walkway; and a passion fruit vine snaking up the trellis at the entrance to the garden. A greenhouse is in the middle school ‘jungle,’” Ward explains.         

Farmscape’s horticulturist, Melissa Rodriguez, teaches the after-school gardening program twice a week. Tuesday’s entry level class is composed of pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade students. They learn about the life cycle of plants and insects; plant organic vegetable seeds and seedlings;           

harvest and sample fresh produce from the garden. On Wednesday, she teaches 2^nd to 5^th graders in the greenhouse. Lessons include: learning about soil health and nutrition; cultivating vegetables, herbs, tropical plants, and orchids; propagating plants from seedlings and cuttings.  Students keep a journal to record plant growth patterns.

What Rodriguez usually encounters when she teaches is that students don’t know where food comes from. She illustrates, “Many kids don’t know what cucumbers, squash and tomatoes look like before they reach the supermarket. I want to build the connection between the plant on the ground to the food they have on their dining table or are served in the restaurant.”

“I introduce them to plants and vegetables that are not what they’re used to – purple and yellow carrots, red yard-long beans. I encourage them to taste the things we’re growing. I noticed that Clairbourn kids aren’t willing to try produce as readily as the other children I teach, which is a bit of a challenge. So now I grow plants with interesting taste like basil and mint, even strawberry,” Rodriguez discloses.                        

The gardens serve as outdoor ‘classrooms’ where students spend a portion of their day. Mary-Kaye Halferty, 4^th grade teacher, declares, “The lessons are quite fascinating. In one class my students and I went to, the teacher pulled out all the insects and butterflies in the garden to discuss their role in either helping or hindering the growth of a plant.” 

Whether they’re learning al fresco, or merely enjoying the beautiful scenery, students get some relief from academic stress. Teachers, too, feel the gardens offer a welcome breather during the day. Those who originated the planting program and made horticulture an important component of education have their own personal views of its purpose.               

To Barner, it means valuing quality food over processed fare; an appreciation for farmers and their hard toil to produce vegetables; an opportunity for children to have a new learning environment; and taking on the responsibility to preserve this earth for future generations.     

For Ward, whose stewardship and constant presence in the gardens have inspired the kids to get their hands in the dirt, it denotes planting a seed to spark the inner gardener of every student and to serve as a regular enrichment activity that teaches great life lessons.

In his 2016-2017 mission statement, Nafie states, “The abundant nature with which Clairbourn is blessed is clear evidence of annual renewal. That success in academics, as in life, is not just a momentary event. When students get discouraged or stressed by new concepts, we can help them put down the kind of roots that will feed and sustain their success now and in the future. From the same sturdy plant, many flowers and crops will bloom in cycles of regeneration. So too, with our students, each year has its seeds, its watering, its below the surface, and its above the ground work to do. With teamwork and patient tending, the renewal of success will be assured.”

These gardens assume a significance as varied as the individuals whose lives they touch. But there is one constant  – all the students reap the fruit they have to offer.That is a Clairbourn promise.