A Garden For Generations To Come
February 24, 2021 2021-08-05 21:33A Garden For Generations To Come
First Culinary Garden at DBHS
Vanessa Camargo, a Chef and Culinary Arts teacher at Deerfield Beach High found inspiration during the pandemic to create a vegetable and herb garden for her students. Her ideas were turned into a reality when she, along with her students, planted the first seeds of the Culinary Garden that is in the front of the school, near the 900 building.
When classes began in August, most students were doing online-learning, so to involve them in something fun and interactive, the garden project began. This way, her students could learn how food grows and how farmers and the culinary industry work together. She hopes her students can learn from the garden and that it will continue to blossom.
“I have so many ideas for the garden, and I think it will be something much bigger than I can imagine. Hopefully, with the involvement of my students and the school, this will be a beautiful project,” Camargo said.
Planted in the garden is a plethora of different herbs and vegetables, from basil, parsley, and cilantro, to bell peppers, lettuce, spinach, tomato, carrots, zucchini, and other legumes. The project has flourished so much since the original garden idea.
Students could have a hands-on experience as they learned how to care for the garden and can now use everything in their cooking. All culinary classes were a part of the planting process; students even planted their first lemon tree.
“I love the fact that we could build our garden because it shows that we are passionate about our work and at the same time, it gives us the hands-on experience of working with fresh vegetables,” Culinary Arts student Sandrene Johnson said.
They are creating and using their compost to help the vegetables grow faster and healthier. The compost is a decomposing organic material made from shredded twigs and kitchen scraps from veggies. It is beneficial for both the garden soil and the environment, so it was a perfect fit for the garden.
The Culinary Arts program took a step in the right direction by creating the first herb and vegetable garden the school has ever had. With the support from students and staff, the Culinary Garden will flourish into something great for generations to come.
