New City School Farm, work day.

It was work day to break ground on the teaching farm for New City School in Long Beach.

After I read (and wrote) about them a few weeks ago, I kept them on my radar.  They needed volunteers for their work day today and I jumped!

We Love Long Beach provided breakfast and discussed the importance of community building with hungry volunteers.

Council member darling Robert Garcia and mayor Bob Foster helped welcome the farm to the school and community.

Best quote ever from Bob Foster regarding growing up in Brooklyn, unaware of where his food came from:

"The only thing I knew how to grow was my beard."

Awesome.

A local Long Beach architecture firm helped design the layout.  It will include a chicken coop, raised beds, classroom and a booth where the kids can sell the produce they grew.

Shovels and gear, courtesy of The Home Depot.  A manager from Home Depot was there with his crew, helping build and paint.  He made a little speech with the mayor and said something that was very nice.  He said that he believes it's not hard to do the right thing. It's sometimes hard to know what's right, but when you do, it's easy to do it.  Lovely.

 

This kid was so cute.  He helped paint the storage containers.

 

Solar panels installed by a Long Beach company.  The farm will be 100% off the grid.