UPDATE (4/12/2024): Due to rain on Saturday, this event has been updated to a new date and time! The original date and time was Sat. 4/13 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. It is now one day later on Sun. 4/14 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

About Open School Gardens: Rio Vista Elementary is home to a garden classroom, which hosts daytime Garden Class taught by Growing Healthy Kids Garden Educator Kristina Hindes. The site featured beautiful, purple, triangular beds, and clever irrigation that makes plants bloom for students to study! Students often call after Ms. Hindes as "Garden Teacher!" as they remember, with excitement, the lessons about seeds, plants, food sources, and natural science they learned in the garden classroom.

About the Food Forest Project: The Rio Vista Food Forest is an educational site Growing Healthy Kids is developing to create a food forager's oasis in our schools! The site plan models the best practices of permaculture and sustainable agriculture for our students, and will restore a habitat for native plants and animals on a 45,000 square foot plot at Rio Vista Elementary School. With the help of community members, our team is filling this site with plant life that will produce fruits and flowers all year round so students and community members can enjoy the garden in every season!

Help needed: Led by a Growing Healthy Kids staff, volunteers in the Food Forest will work on planting citrus, pomegranate, and fig trees. Volunteers in the garden classroom will help painting beds and with garden maintenance.

Access Notes: The Rio Vista Site is outdoors and can get hot, so bring sunscreen and a hat. There will be access to a bathroom. The tree planning area is mulch and dirt, and unfortunately within the food forest there are not yet accesible pathways. If this causes an access concern and you’re still looking for ways to participate please get in touch and we’ll communicate about other tasks on site which we’re seeking help with that day!

You should Bring: Please bring your own Garden Gloves and Shovel, and wear clothes that can get dirty. For your comfort, please bring a water bottle, hat, and/or sunscreen.

Day of: The entrance to the Food Forest is at the corner of Pacifica Avenue and Mariners Cove Drive, about a block down from the main school entrence. If you're volunteering at the Food Forest, please arrive directly there. 

Student Service Hours: Service Hours are availible for MDUSD students seeking credit. Be sure to bring any paperwork that needs signing to the event.

Questions?: For questions about the Food Forest, contact Laney Cline King at GrowingHealthyKidsBayArea@gmail.com. For questions about the garden workday, contact Kristina Hindes at TeenyJoy@gmail.com