Photograph by George Sakkestad
Senior Vince Davis participates in an agri-ecology project at Los Gatos High School. The reward is getting to eat the vegetables.
Organic gardening produces a field of greens
By Jason Baker
If you build it, they will come. If you grow it, somebody's bound to eat it.
Nestled in the shadows of the Los Gatos High School tennis courts stands not a field of dreams but a field of greens.
Tended by the hands of LGHS students, the agri-ecology gardens stand not only as the product of well-instructed science students, but also as a reminder of centuries-old methods of horticulture and agriculture that seem to be experiencing a regrowth. The courses teaches students the science of ecology through the practices of organic gardening, or gardening without the use of pesticides or chemicals.
Under the guidance of science teacher Les Kischler, 30 LGHS students who have chosen agri-ecology for their second year of sciences courses maintain the gardens, located in a fenced area near the southeast corner of the tennis courts. Each student tends a 5-foot-by-10 foot raised bed. Each bed contains both ornamentals and vegetables, half required by Kischler with the remainder chosen by each student.
"Biodiversity is the main theme," Kischler said. "There are up to 30 types of plants in each bed. Each one is unique."
According to Kischler, organic gardening became popular in the 1960s. During that time, Saratoga High School developed a program teaching scientific principles and maintenance for successful management of the gardens. The program was so successful, in fact, that the University of California adopted it, renaming it agri-ecology, or the scientific explanation of organic gardening, he said.
The gardens of LGHS now serve as a prototype for other state schools. The state Department of Education recently conducted a workshop at LGHS for Bay Area teachers to show them first-hand how successful on-campus gardens could be. The garden stands as an example of the state's "A Garden in Every School" program, implemented by Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin.
"These centuries-old methods have become popular again," Kischler said. "These techniques are just as scientific as chemical or mechanized gardening. Maybe more so."
And as with all gardens, it is the end result that's most important, according to LGHS senior Vince Davis. "I like to eat the vegetables I grow in my garden," he said.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
