Sisters schools' Seed-To-Table alive and well

The Sisters schools' Seed-To-Table program, begun by Audrey Tehan, Sisters Science Club, and Sisters School District is - in spite of the demise of the middle school greenhouse - alive and well.

The plan got underway last January when SSD Operations Director Leland Bliss, Assistant Nutrition Services Director Terri Rood, volunteer Amber Dean and Seed-To-Table Director Audrey Tehan put a menu together to integrate more local, nutritious foods into school lunch menus, including local apples and pears for lunch.

When the big snow of 2014 hit in February and flattened greenhouses all over Sisters Country - including the one at Sisters Middle School - most people thought that would be the end of Tehan's great dream; but they didn't know Audrey.

Or, as Bob Collins, co-founder of the Sisters Science Club put it:

"What's new? Well, building of an entirely new greenhouse structure we'd call the Phoenix. That's what was new, (but) we called the whole thing off. Too expensive. Bad timing. Where to we go now? What do we do?

"Enter Audrey Tehan with her can-do leadership who said: 'No, we won't abandon plans to teach middle and high school students farm-to-home nutrition. We will move ahead. We will link the high school IEE classes (Samra Spear, Rand Runco and Glen Herron) with the middle school entry-level classes (Carol Packard) and move the whole operation to the Tehan property they've devoted to Mahonia Gardens. With the help of (Carys Wilkins and Benji Nagel), my two pals from SOU, we'll fold school curriculum into organic produce-farming. We'll give kids hands-on experience in composting, farming and nutrition.'"

In March, Tehan started the Seed-To-Table program breathing again, with elementary and middle school students planting their very own vegetable plant seeds, labeled with the owner's name on a popsicle stick: Spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, peas and cabbage seeds that began sprouting over spring break.

Last week, these same students were bussed to the privately owned Mahonia Gardens, where they planted their very own seedlings in organically-prepared sites they created.

As a unique educational project, Seed-To-Table doesn't stop there; there are also high school seniors taking agricultural courses with Glenn Herron who are working on planting and soil projects at Mahonia Garden

Within the hour-and-a-half the students could spend, they were cycled through four stations:

• Gardening: Planting their seedlings.

• Science/Ecology in the Garden: Bees, worm composting and soil science.

• Nutrition: Why eat food from the garden, and taste-testing different vegetables and foods and using their senses to compare and contrast - with the expert help of Tehan, who taught them the finer process of organic composting.

• Nature & Writing.