The Problem
Food insecurity as well as air pollution in Los Angeles
Our Plan
Located in South Central Los Angeles, our high school is in the heart of a crucial problem plaguing Los Angeles. Serving a community of socioeconomically disadvantaged students, many of their families face difficulties in accessing fresh, affordable and nutritious food and produce. Thus, I made it a goal for my students to help tackle this issue by growing their own crops on campus, emphasizing both the mental and communal benefits of creating a large garden. Our service would not only benefit our students by giving them a place on campus to engage with nature and the collaborative aspects of gardening, but also the rest of the community around our school by providing our crops to families. My students took lead in planning the project in terms of necessary resources, what plants to grow, and how they would collaborate to create a positive environment. I also plan to involve parents and other volunteers to help maintain the garden, and we hope to incorporate additional measures to minimize the ecological resources we waste, including implementing an irrigation system to conserve water and creating a composting system to educate the entire campus about the importance of taking steps to minimize our ecological footprint. I believe gardening is the single most impactful action my students can take to support our local environment, and we have spent several months discussing the various positive impacts, and they have become extremely excited to carry out their project.
Themes Addressed
-
Air Pollution
![term icon]()
-
Community
![term icon]()
-
Food Insecurity
![term icon]()
-
Social-Emotional Learning
![term icon]()
The Benefit
-
People
![term icon]()
-
Animals
![term icon]()
-
Environment
![term icon]()