|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Education Fund joined with Life Time Foundation this Earth Day to champion environmental stewardship in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) through the Food Forests for Schools program. Life Time Foundation volunteers planted native fruit trees along with students at Charles D. Wyche Elementary School in Miami Gardens on April 22.
A $75,000 grant from Life Time Foundation supports the initiative serving more than 27,000 students across Miami-Dade County Public Schools, transforming schoolyards into eco-labs with plants that thrive in South Florida. This first-in-the-nation, large-scale initiative transforms schoolyards into eco-labs for student learning, with 70 native trees and plants and trees that thrive in South Florida, including banana, Okinawan spinach, lemon balm, papaya, plantain, starfruit.
“As The Education Fund celebrates 40 years of innovating for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, our Food Forests are thriving outdoor classrooms where students engage in weekly math, science, and nutrition lessons through hands-on learning,” said Linda Lecht, President of The Education Fund. “From measuring the growth of banana and papaya trees to calculating harvest yields from Barbados cherry and moringa plants, children are developing academic skills while cultivating fresh, nutritious food for their families. The Life Time Foundation’s generous grant allows us to expand these outdoor classrooms.”
Sarah Emola, Director of ESG and Life Time Foundation, said: “The Education Fund’s Food Forests perfectly align with our commitment to whole-person wellness. These outdoor classrooms show students that environmental stewardship and personal health are interconnected. We’re nurturing the next generation of health-conscious, environmentally aware citizens.”
This hands-on approach has yielded impressive results in students’ nutrition and eating behaviors: 48% of participating students have enhanced their nutrition knowledge, and 47% have shifted their behavior towards consuming more nutritious foods. M-DCPS Food and Nutrition Officer Angie Kasselakis remarked, “The Education Fund Food Forests program empowers students to make lifelong healthy food choices by transforming the fundamentals of nutrition through hands-on experience of growing their own food.”
Eddie Recinos, program director at The Education Fund, adds, “Students who’ve never touched soil or seen vegetables grow are now collecting harvests. More than 278,000 Food Forest harvest bags have found their way into students’ homes since 2015, turning lessons into dinners and changing how families think about food.”
ABOUT US:
For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area.
This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.
Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami’s culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami’s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: https://communitynewspapers.com.
If you have any questions, feel free to email Michael@communitynewspapers.com or Grant@communitynewspapers.com
#thatscommunitynews #communitynewspapers #miamidade #miamidadecounty #thatscommunity #miamicommunitynews #coralgables #palmettobay #southmiami #doral #aventura #pinecrest #kendall #broward #biscaynebay
