kids | Backyard Roots

Where does food come from? Suzanne Carter got a good laugh when she heard a first grader proudly proclaim that “honey comes from the honey bee tree.” Being able to teach kids first-hand about where food comes from is one of the reasons she volunteers at her son’s elementary school garden. Three days a week she works with 240 kids, teaching them gardening skills, botany, nutrition as well as geometry and math, all using the garden as inspiration.

The idea for a teaching garden started in 2011 with no budget but lots of community support. The school’s Go Green Committee came up with the plan to turn an unloved corner of the play field into an educational garden. In January of 2012, Alameda’s then supervisor Wilma Chan organized contractors to build a shed, and a local Boy Scout troop made raised beds. Later 175 people came out to a work party to help mulch, dig and plant.

Suzanne joined in right from the beginning working with a teacher to create the garden program. She graduated with an Anthropology degree but lately she has become more interested in plants. Besides volunteering at the schools garden program she also runs her own landscaping business, Urban Gardening. At the school’s gardening program she also helps write grants to get stipends for supplies.

When I visited last week, the winter garden was going strong with 13 raised beds of spinach, lettuces, kale, fava beans, herbs, edible flowers and more. They had a giant compost bin and a worm box, and activity area with benches and tree stump stools.

The third and fourth graders I met were observing evidence of winter in the garden, looking through magnifying glasses and taking notes on clipboards. The kids found that the fruit trees did not have fruit or leaves, but they did have buds. They were fascinated by the insects. Later they talked about their observations and then picked spinach, kale, Italian dandelion leaves, baby lettuce and edible flowers. Suzanne says the kids let her know what they are really interested in but she provides the basics first. “Sustainability, energy use and eating are the big three”, she says. At the end of class the kids helped make an organic gourmet salad that would rival one you’d find at an expensive restaurant. She says the kids have debated which of the vegetables is the best. Lately kale has been the winner.

I’ve always wondered about the goats I’ve seen grazing along the railroad tracks in San Francisco’s Bayview District. Recently I got the chance to meet manager Genevieve Church and learn about the city’s largest herd of weed eaters.

It all started six years ago when Genevieve’s boss, David Gavrich brought in goats to keep the weeds down along the railroad tracks at his company, Waste Solutions Group. Later he started renting out the herd to others and City Grazing was born. Genevieve started working for City Grazing in 2012 as a part time goat herder. Today she manages full time. She’s named all of the nearly 100 animals in the herd and she loves working with them. “They are really smart animals she says “and unlike sheep, they can be separated into smaller herds and recombined again, making a single herd leader unnecessary. Instead we have many animals with good leadership qualities.”

Goats are also very strong, independent and hardy. Pound for pound they are about 4 times as strong as dogs. They are “opportunistic browsers” and are perfect for clearing invasive weeds such as blackberries and ivy, which are high in salt and copper, two minerals that goats need. The myth of goats eating anything is partly because of their need for salt and minerals.

I was surprised to see all the goats with their horns still attached since some cities require them to be disbudded. Genevieve says she feels there’s no reason to remove them. The horns are part of the goats and they use them. She’s also noticed the animals are better behaved with the horns attached. “The ones that came to us without horns act like they have something to prove” she says. The horns are also natural handles and are useful when trying to guide them.

City Grazing rents out the goats to clear public and private land and there are lots of advantages for using them for weed control: they work in rough terrain, there’s no hauling of debris, or need for herbacides and they fertilize as they go. The cost for renting the goats ranges from $300 in San Francisco and there are four factors Genevieve uses to estimate a job: location, fencing needs, size and type of vegetation. The goats also are rented out for events like birthday parties, weddings and photo shoots. Since Genevieve knows them all she’s able to help pick the right goat for the job.

This year has brought many new kids to the herd. 29 does gave birth to over 50 kids. City Grazing is in the process of switching to smaller sized animals that are easier to transport and control. Visit citygrazing.com for more info.