For the second year in a row, SFRR will be promoting our 3 Sisters Garden Project at the 3 Sisters Fall Harvest Celebration and Fundraiser. Some of Sonoma County’s best chefs will join students from El Molino High School, Piner High School, Santa Rosa High School, Laguna High School, and Healdsburg High School to craft original bites inspired by this year’s harvest of heirloom corn, beans and squash – foods when grown together are known as “the three sisters”. All of the dishes will showcase the season’s best from each school garden and some of our local farms, served by the students at the lovely Heron Hall in Sebastopol.
When: Sunday, September 21, 2014, 4:30-6:30 pm
Where: Heron Hall, 900 Sanford Road, Sebastopol, CA
Tickets: $25 for Adults $50+ for sponsors. Limited # of tickets!
Promoting HIGH SCHOOL GARDENS in Sonoma County
School gardens are important as “Every child deserves to grow up knowing where food comes from, how to grow it, cook it and share it, and how to be healthy.” (Slow Food USA - http://www.slowfoodusa.org/children-food)
This event provides an opportunity to experience the enthusiasm and talents of local high school student gardeners and their teachers. High school gardens are a new wave in Sonoma County. This year alone, gardens were started by Marilee Mazur at El Molino High School (1/2 acre), Riggs Lokka at Santa Rosa High School (1 acre near Hwy 101), and Simon Farmer at Laguna High School (1/2 acre). The new and existing gardens, including Robert Lopez at Piner High School and Wesley Hunt at Healdsburg High School, all grew the three crops successfully. During the event, a short presentation will feature the teachers’ and students’ stories of their garden progress from spring to fall.
Biodiversity, Culture and Traditions
The Slow Food mission includes promoting food biodiversity. Many of the seeds that were provided to the schools for planting are listed on the Slow Food “Ark of Taste”, a living catalog of delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction. This program helps keep these foods alive for future generations.
This tradition of interplanting corn, beans and squash together, widespread among Native American farming societies, is a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility and a healthy diet to generations. According to legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together. The plants exhibit a high degree of cooperation, or communality, so these qualities are also important in our project. This resilience and the economics of scale of these plants can be duplicated by anyone - a student, parent, chef or person who wants to grow good, clean, nutritious food.
Chefs as Educators : Access, taste and cooking together
According to Melissa Kogut (Executive Director, Chefs Collaborative), “The chefs are now serving as educators for both the farmers and consumers. They are having a major influence on the public.” Some well-known chefs will join the event, including Daniel Kedan from The Backyard in Forestville, and Mateo Granados from Mateo's Cucina Latina and 2 other chefs. They will work with the students in the Farm to Table classes at El Molino, and Healdsburg to create gourmet tasting bites to be served at the event.
The Location: A Beautiful Spot
The new Great Blue Heron Hall, part of the Laguna Foundation’s Environmental Center, is surrounded by rustic and historic barns, vineyards, orchards and the pastoral landscape of the Laguna and Stone Farm. To learn more about the Laguna Foundation and its mission, visit http://www.lagunafoundation.org/about_overview.htm
When: Sunday, September 21, 2014, 4:30-6:30 pm
Where: Heron Hall, 900 Sanford Road, Sebastopol, CA
Tickets: $25 for Adults $50+ for sponsors. Limited # of tickets!
For more information, contact:
Sue Deevy - selafranchi@gmail.com
Sueki Woodward - SuekiWoodward@mac.com or 707-483-4881 (text or voice mail)
