Photos by Angel Chung Cutno.
When the caretaker of the community garden at Burnett Elementary School fell ill, the plants withered and died, but not the students’ will to see it thrive.
The students’ desperation in wanting to bring the garden back to life provided Rotaract of Long Beach a chance to deepen two connections they already have: their outreach to children and their involvement in fostering urban agriculture.
“A counselor from the school actually reached out to us,” said Angel Chung Cutno, Director of Services for Rotaract LB. “And it showed a true coming together of the community.”
After several donations from Armstrong Garden Center—and the support of the Rotaract of CSULB, the Business Club of CSULB, and Foodscape—Cutno and partners arrived to the elementary campus with soil and greenery.
“We planted several new plants at the school—including a lot of edible plants,” Cutno said. “There’s a double-plus to having edible food growing at schools: we can teach children not just how to garden and tend to plants, but how to grow and cook their own food.”
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A lone, surviving collard plant—described by Cutno as “massive”—was able to be harvested for the school. Parts of the plant were then dispersed to children with instructions to take home to their parents on how to prepare it. As a result of the success of this small experiment in sustainable food has led Cutno and company to return to the school next week to work side-by-side with the students. The main goal will be to foster knowledge about edible food growth and culinary arts in order to encourage urban farming and cooking beyond school boundaries.
“The small gathering ended up becoming hugely successful,” Cutno said. “And we only hope to continue doing this. It’s actually all we want: to keep reaching out to children and their families to help better their lives.”
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