Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2017)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JULY 5, 2017 11A Farm to School program gets kids eating (and growing) veggies USDA funding helps farmers bring students to the fields and vegetables to the table Over the last two school years zsilva@cgsentinel.com the South Lane School District has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Oregon Depart- ment of Education (ODE) for the district’s farm to school program. This program works to edu- cate students about local healthy food options and even gives them a chance to grow food in their school garden. In January of 2016 the school received $99,000 in funding from USDA for this program that last- ed until the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Shortly after they received $38,000 from the ODE. With these two grants, the district was able to focus on curriculum around farm to table, start gardens at schools throughout the district and bring in farmers throughout the year to assist in the learning process. “Farm to school is a way to engage students and encourage them to eat more fruits and veg- etables,” said Melissa Fery who has worked in agriculture for past 20 years and helped write the grants that got the schools this money. One of the highlights of the program was get- By Zach Silva ting students to be able to garden and grown their own fruits and vegetables while at school. Schools paired this with a curriculum titled ‘Eat, Think, Grow’ that was developed in Portland to help students think about what they were doing in an academic lens. “We were getting them tuned in to the seasonal rhythms of our environment and getting them to explore and think about how plants and gardens are tied into the other things that they are learning in school,” said Taylor Larson who is a farmer in Creswell that helped with the program. Another element of the program that especial- ly grabbed students attention was the tasting ta- bles. Once a month a particular fruit or vegetable would be featured and brought to each classroom and then served at lunch. Foods that were featured included watermelon, kale, kohlrabi and beets. At the conclusion of the program, teachers said on a scale of one to 10 they saw 7.8 students will- ing to try new things and six out of 10 teachers observed a difference in student preference. “I would try and make it seem like an adven- ture,” said Larson. “The kids have pretty open minds when it comes to trying new things they just don’t want anything forced on them.” SOUTH LANE COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE SAVE MONEY. SAVE LIVES. Ground Ambulance Memberships $65 per year Ground Ambulance & Air Membership $115 per year Call 541-942-4493 for info. FOR EMERGENCY DIAL 911 Serving South Lane County. Farmer Taylor Larson, from Creswell, participates in the Farm to School program in South Lane. Courtesy photo. Fire chief outlines restrictions The following restrictions ap- ply within the City of Cottage Grove, City of Creswell, and any lands within the SLCFR District boundaries, not protect- ed by the Western or Eastern Lane Districts of ODF. Smoking is prohibited while traveling, except in vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water, and other desig- nated locations. Open fi res are prohibited, in- cluding campfi res, charcoal fi res, cooking fi res and warm- ing fi res, except at locations where fi re pits are present. Portable cooking stoves us- ing liquefi ed or bottled fuels are allowed. Briquette use is allowed in barbeques, but is restricted to use on hard, non-fl ammable surfaces such as patios, driveways, gravel, or green irrigated lawns. Power saw use is permitted all day during low fi re danger (GREEN), before 1:00 p.m. and after 8 p.m. during moderate fi re danger (BLUE) and before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m. during high fi re danger (YELLOW). The use of power saws is pro- hibited during extreme fi re dan- ger (RED). Each power saw is required to have one shovel and one fi re extinguisher of at least 8 ounce capacity. A Firewatch of at least one hour is required following the use of each saw. Cutting, grinding and weld- ing of metal is permitted all day during low fi re danger (GREEN), before 1:00 p.m. and after 8 p.m. during moderate fi re danger (BLUE), before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m. during high fi re danger (YELLOW) as long as it is conducted in a cleared area and has a charged garden hose or one 2 ½ pound or larger fi re extinguisher immediately avail- able. This activity is prohibit- ed during extreme fi re danger (RED). The mowing of dried, cured grass is permitted all day during low fi re danger (GREEN), be- fore 1:00 p.m. and after 8 p.m. during moderate fi re danger (BLUE), before 10 a.m. and af- ter 8 p.m. during high fi re dan- ger (YELLOW), and is prohib- ited during extreme fi re danger (RED). The culture and harvest of agricultural crops is exempt from this requirement. Motor vehicles, including motorcycles and all-terrain ve- hicles, are only allowed on im- proved roads free of fl ammable vegetation, except for the cul- ture and harvest of agricultural crops. Illegal fi reworks is prohibited at all times, and in any location within the District. Legal fi re- work use is permitted in areas free of dried, cured grasses, brush, or trees unless prohib- ited in areas jointly protected by SLCFR and the Oregon De- partment of Forestry (ODF). Generally and where permitted fi rework use is only permitted on asphalt, concrete, or gravel and a charged garden hose or one 2 ½ pound or larger fi re ex- tinguisher is immediately avail- able. Coast Fork Continued from A1 applied to take part in the fi eld-based program. “Lincoln was the guinea pig school,” Gilbert, executive director for Coastfork, said. Students accepted into the program met at Row River National Park at 9 a.m. to complete two to three hours of stewardship; rain or shine. “It was 30 degrees some days,” Gilbert said. “And it was rain or shine. If school was open, they were out there working.” Students removed invasive species, completed trash pick-up, planted 100 trees and took part in turtle surveys as part of the program’s goal of enhancing the watershed and making restoration a priority. In total, Lincoln students completed 500 hours of stewardship at Row River Nature Park. According to Gilbert, students were asked questions concerning restoration and general watershed knowledge prior to beginning the course and again when they had completed the work. At the start, 18 percent of the students passed. That number soared to 90 per- cent at the program’s end. “We had 100 percent of the seventh-graders who were in- volved this year, apply to be in- volved again next year,” Gilbert said. Coastfork has funding sched- uled to continue the program through two more cycles. Cur- rently, funding is divided with 40 percent going to staff, 40 per- cent to the South Lane School District, 10 percent to educa- tional supplies and 10 percent to stewardship supplies. According to the council’s website, the Willamette wa- tershed, “is the southernmost, low-elevation watershed in the Willamette Valley. Mt. Pisgah and Spencer’s Butte defi ne the drainage basin in the north, the Coast Range in the west, the low-elevation Cascades to the east, and the ‘Calapooia Di- vide’ to the south separates the Willamette and Umpqua Rivers. Located in Lane and Douglas Counties, our 667 square mile “Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time” watershed is 6 percent of the entire 11,400 square mile Willa- mette River watershed.” The Coast Fork Watershed council is charged with preserv- ing and restoring wildlife while educating the community on ways to be better environmental citizens. The group monitors ac- tivity in the area and is part of a 60-council network spreading across the state of Oregon. Family & General Dentistry Find Local Businesses. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH Find Local Businesses. businesses that mean the most to you. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH businesses that mean the most to you. www.shoppelocal.biz www.shoppelocal.biz Find GREAT MONEY SAVING COUPONS from local businesses Cottage Grove Sentinel Shoppe™ is a trademark of News Media Corp. Fire Danger Adjective Class is as follows: Low= Green: Activity permit- ted all day Moderate= Blue: Activity permitted until 1:00 p.m. and after 8:00 p.m. High= Yellow: Activity per- mitted until 10:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m. Red= Extreme: Activity pro- hibited The Fire Chief or an autho- rized representative of SLCFR may, in writing, approve a mod- ifi cation or waiver of these re- quirements. These restrictions shall re- main in effect until replaced, suspended, or terminated by an additional proclamation of the SLCFR Fire Chief or an autho- rized representative. For more information or clarifi cation on any of these restrictions or to ask questions concerning fi re safety, please contact the South Lane Fire and Rescue non emergency line at (541) 942-4493. Douglas uglas G. G Maddess, M ad d d ess DMD DM 914 S. 4th Street, Cottage Grove 541-942-1559 www.douglasgmaddessdmd.com
