Upcoming events
  • Seniors vote on faculty speaker later this week
  • Boys soccer tournament- March 29th-30th @West
  • Women of Troy relays- March 26th home@4:30
  • Chamber ensemble concert- March 28th- Band room@7:00
  • Senior poets: send poems to Mr. Robins
  • College fair Wednesday in Cafeteria
  • Girls soccer vs. North Scott- Tuesday JV@5:30 V@7:00
The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story

The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story

The student news source of Iowa City West High

West Side Story

Staff Profile
Ethan Tisdale 26
Ethan Tisdale
FOJ Intern

(He/him) Ethan is a sophomore and it's his first year on staff. He is an intern. Ethan was born on Leap Day.

Twitter Feed

Growing school gardens

Bennett+Thompson+12+%28left%29+and+Ben+West+12+%28right%29+stand+by+a+poster+advertising+West+Highs+Slow+Foods+club+at+the+Johnson+County+Food+Alliances+Growing+School+Gardens+event+Sept.+24.
Bennett Thompson ’12 (left) and Ben West ’12 (right) stand by a poster advertising West High’s Slow Foods club at the Johnson County Food Alliance’s Growing School Gardens event Sept. 24.
Bennett Thompson '12 (left) and Ben West '12 (right) stand by a poster advertising West High's Slow Foods club at the Johnson County Food Alliance's Growing School Gardens event Sept. 24.

School gardens are growing in more ways than one, emphasized Heather Widmayer, a member of the Johnson County Local Food Alliance, at the event she hosted on Sept. 24 at the Iowa City Public Library for gardeners to present about their efforts to start plots in the ICCSD. Later in the program, West High’s own Bennett Thompson ’12 and Ben West ’12 took their turn at the podium to talk about the garden they started on West High’s campus last spring.

Their goal, they said, is pretty simple: to get more students growing and eating local food. This is accomplished both through the garden they broke ground on last year and the integration of local foods in to the school cafeteria. In fact, slow foods is now certified as an official provider for the West High cafeteria, providing donations like tomatoes served at the sandwich bar.

But Thompson and West emphasized that the most rewarding part of the garden wasn’t it’s official status – but rather the learning that happened out on the plot.

“We would pull something out of the ground and kids would go, ‘What’s that?'” Thompson said. He described the fun the club had learning about new ingredients and how to use them – even if there are few mess ups and messes made along the way. “We don’t have quotas [of  produce] to reach, so it’s a wonderful experience even if people step on a few plants while weeding,” Thompson said.

Although the height of the season passed with flying colors this summer – slow foods members enjoyed kale, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce and bunches more and donated excess produce to local shelters – the garden is still going strong. Slow foods members were even out planting garlic yesterday. Slow Foods club meets on Fridays in room 122.

This green thumb has spread across the district as school gardens have sprouted up elsewhere in the community – Longfellow, Kirkwood, Coralville Central, Penn and Twain Elementaries all have student gardens taking root.

And Scott Koepke presented about his traveling garden and composting education class called Soilmates. Koepke was a speaker at West High’s Focus the Nation event last March.

The event was one of many put on by the Johnson County Local Foods Alliance – they are behind the spring greens day held last spring to serve local greens in all the cafeterias in the district and they’ve helped provide school’s with apples from Wilson’s Apple Orchard once a week. The organization is hosting a benefit dinner tomorrow, Sept. 25, at Hotel Vetro. Local chefs will use local ingredients to prepare an elaborate meal for guests. Tickets to the Harvest Dinner are $50, and are still available at jcfla.org or at the New Pioneer Coop.

 
Leave a Comment
Donate to West Side Story
$1385
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of West High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase Scholarship Yearbooks, newsroom equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

Navigate Left
Navigate Right
Donate to West Side Story
$1385
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All West Side Story Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
The student news source of Iowa City West High
Growing school gardens