In a world where classroom walls often confine learning, High Tech High is breaking the mold by taking education outdoors and into the garden. The innovative charter school is partnering with the Barrio Botany Initiative to build garden boxes for elementary schools around San Diego, instilling valuable skills while nurturing a deeper understanding of how food and nutrition impact the health and wellness of our community.
The “On Our Tables” project, under the guidance of teachers John Santos and Pat Holder, offers students at The Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High the opportunity to build a deeper understanding of the foods they eat–exploring how it is produced, prepared, and consumed. The project is organized in three cycles and includes the construction of garden boxes for placement in local schools and neighborhoods suffering from food insecurity.
The students are tasked with an essential question: How does feeding our community impact our health, values, and environment?
“The planters are our first build and will go out to elementary schools to help develop garden education programs, followed by keepsake boxes to help our students learn detailed woodworking,” said Mr. Holder, a humanities teacher. “Our final project will draw on the skills we learn during the first cycles and include students designing and creating products centered around gardening and food preparation, which will be sold at a Farmers’ Fair exhibition.”
High Tech High firmly believes real-world challenges and experiences are the best teachers. Through this project, Mr. Holder and Mr. Santos are creating an environment where students can embrace imperfection, learn through experimentation, and appreciate the inherent beauty of nature. The project incorporates several subjects to teach students how food goes from “farm to table.”
The mission of Barrio Botany is to provide urban San Diego school students with garden-based experiential learning opportunities that improve academic achievement, promote environmental literacy, and inspire lifelong health and wellness. The vision is of empowered, capable students taking the lead in transforming polluted, economically marginalized neighborhoods into vibrant communities that nurture thriving families. Several community partners are part of this initiative, including the County of San Diego, HHSA Office of Equitable Communities, Leah’s
Pantry, a nutrition education nonprofit, San Diego Co-Harvest Foundation (founded by an HTH alum), San Diego Unified Food Services Farm to School Program and San Diego Master Gardeners.
HTH’s collaboration with Barrio Botany embodies the spirit of education beyond textbooks, allowing students to learn by doing and serving their community while they do it.
In a world where screens often dominate our lives and traditional classroom learning can feel detached from reality, High Tech High’s commitment to experiential education is unique. By embracing the wisdom of nature and the value of practical skills, HTH is nurturing well-rounded individuals who are not just academically proficient but also equipped to face the challenges of the real world.
High Tech High continues to sow the seeds of knowledge through its gardening project, reminding us of nature’s profound lessons. In the spirit of Michelle Obama, Dana Cowin, and Hippocrates, HTH is helping students understand that applying what they’ve learned through their own hands is a path to a deeper, more meaningful education. In doing so, they are cultivating not only gardens but a generation of lifelong learners who understand that the best classroom is often found under the open sky.
“I love gardening and it’s exciting and rewarding that we are helping younger students to form connections between food, nutrition and wellness,” noted Autumn Aabram, an HTH 12th-grade student.
Be sure to follow the students’ progress on this project on their Instagram page!
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