Arnold Preciado, a Watsonville High senior, shows a tray of freshly picked organic chard, radishes and onions harvested at the campus garden as part of the CAFF program.

Under the baking afternoon sun Friday, a group of Watsonville High students worked a small, fertile patch of earth, taking from it the vegetables and flowers they had grown themselves.

From their plot they took bushels of chard, jalapeńo peppers, onions, tomatoes and flowers. It was the culmination of a cycle that began when the students held the soil in their hands, and ended when they hauled their goods to sell at the Watsonville Certified Farmers’ Market.

Officially, the project is called the Community Alliance with Family Farmers’ Farm to School program. Program coordinator Jenny Hansen, acknowledging that the name is a bit dry, let the students pick their own name.

They chose “True Farm Invasion,” and the name stuck.

The project began in March when a group of six Watsonville High students began an internship, farming the garden behind the school. This work led to an eight-week summer job for four of them at a Las Lomas farm.

There, they learned lessons in organic farming, and with the knowledge they had gained, returned to the WHS plot with a renewed vigor and new skills.

The project is designed to give students a better understanding of organic farming, an appreciation for the farming communities and tools to market their knowledge.

“The connections make it so much more meaningful for the students,” said Hansen.

The curriculum for the project is designed by the UC Santa Cruz Life Lab and by organizers from the Homeless Garden Project.

To prepare for their first foray at the Farmers’ Market, the students took trips there, taking notes on how vendors present and price their products.

At the end of the market, the students had made $50, which went right back into the program.

“People were really excited to see the high school students selling the produce,” said Ilbi Carlisle-Cummins, director of Farm to School.

The students donated the food they didn’t sell to the Salvation Army, Carlisle-Cummins said.

“They seem to feel committed to giving the food to people who really need it,” she said.

“It’s a really good program,” said Jorge Ponce, 16, who plans to start his own agricultural business. “It was good for my future,” he said.

In addition to participating in the True Farm Invasion project, Ismael Rosales, 16, raised three goats. He recently sold one for $900.

“I found a new way of looking at agriculture,” he said. “It’s more than just picking fruits and vegetables.”

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For information on the Community Alliance with Family Farmers’ Farm to School program, call Jenny Hansen at 761-8507, or visit www.caff.org

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*Photos by Tarmo Hannula*

(Published in 9/6/08 edition)

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