Gardens 4 A Healthy Tahoe Awarded Champions For Healthy Kids Grant

Fresh produce is making its way to South Lake Tahoe thanks to the collaboration and volunteerism of community members working together as part of the group Gardens 4 A Healthy Tahoe. This group was recently founded by the Human Health and Social Wellbeing working group of the Lake Tahoe Sustainability Collaborative. In partnership, these two groups applied for the Champions for Healthy Kids Grant through the General Mills Foundation. This year, the General Mills Foundation gave $1 million, distributed to 50 projects nationwide, dedicated to helping children gain nutrition education and developing healthy lifestyle habits.

Gardens 4 A Healthy Tahoe will be using the awarded $20,000 to assist in funding two gardening projects: the community garden being constructed at the South Tahoe Family Resource Center next to Bijou School, as well as, the Sierra House Growing Dome Project. Hannah Greenstreet, Co-Chair of Gardens 4 A Healthy Tahoe and the Human Health and Social Wellbeing working group, is thrilled to be able to move these two innovative projects forward. “This grant provides significant contributions to making our long-time plans a reality.” The Family Resource Center (FRC) community garden will showcase a variety of permaculture techniques that help increase productivity and extend our short growing season. The grant will fund a permanent fence to protect the FRC garden as well as garden-related materials, seeds and soil. A Growing Dome is a 4-season geodesic greenhouse structure that uses a fish pond and passive solar design to heat itself. The structure enables students to engage in year round growing opportunities – not otherwise possible here in Tahoe.

The ground breaking date for the FRC garden is scheduled for next Monday, June 2 from 4-5pm at the Family Resource Center. All community members are welcome to join this event to celebrate South Lake Tahoe’s first community vegetable garden. The garden will be focused primarily on teaching students and families about nutrition and how to grow fresh food in a high Alpine climate. The gardens will help reinforce concepts imparted through the work team’s on-going initiative to provide nutrition classes to all four elementary schools in the district.

For more information about the garden and Gardens 4 A Healthy Tahoe, feel free to contact Hannah Greenstreet at greenstreethannah@gmail.com or the Family Resource Center at 530-542-0740.