Spanish Lake Elementary (SLE) and Julie Barreto-Tejero, SLE on-site teacher sponsor, are excited to be among the 51 schools in Miami-Dade County to have become a part of The Education Fund's Food Forest For Schools. SLE introduced a newly planted sustainable food growing system that is home to "gourmet crops found year-round nestled among winding paths.” Students, families and community members will now be able to work in the garden and attend gardening and healthy cooking workshops.
The goal of the garden is to produce enough harvest that students will be given bags filled with goodies to take home. Additionally, the fresh vegetables will also be used in the school cafeteria. A variety of some of the fresh organic goodies includes pale collard greens, fresh herbs, June plum, red bananas and rare treats such as cranberry hibiscus and Okinawa spinach. This sustainable learning lab will introduce students to nutritional knowledge that will last a lifetime.