Oceana High School

Laura Burr, Oceana’s Special Day Class teacher, came with her eleven students for a day at the ranch. Among the group was Kevin, a student who had participated previously in the intersession at Pie Ranch. Kevin was clearly excited to show his fellow students around the farm, introducing them to the crops & animals he had worked with before. The students harvested strawberries & rhubarb for pie baking with UCSC intern, Bella Freed, and also weeded with our apprentices. Chef Educator, Grace Voorheis, led students in preparing a delicious & colorful meal–they made tortillas with beans from Pie Ranch and ground beef from the neighbor’s elderly cow.

Before lunch, Grace led the students in an activity about “food miles” to track the distance it would take to bring all the ingredients of our burrito lunch to us. With a world map and sticky flags, we marked where the ingredients – rice, tomatoes, beans, beef, and cheese – would usually come from, and came up with a whopping 13,000 miles for all our ingredients to travel! We then compared that to the ingredients in their lunch, most of which came from Pie Ranch or local farms — and instead of miles, we added up the feet! It was a great demonstration of the ecological benefits in eating locally…not to mention the satisfying taste & pride that come with a more intimate connection to the source of one’s food.

John O’Connell High School

Two groups of John O’Connell students came down from San Francisco to the ranch last month for field trips, including a group of 21 O’Connell students from Ms. Nelson’s health class. This was the largest group field trip we’ve had since beginning our partnership last spring. One of the best highlights of this trip was seeing one student pick strawberries fresh from the field for the very first time!

Mr. McCue’s Special Day Class also had a great visit in spite of the blustery winds…He shared with us soon after their visit, “I want to give a big THANKS for last Wednesday’s trip to Pie Ranch.  The students had a great time, ate some really great food, and are now acting as Pie Ranch proselytizers and making all their classmates envious.”

Mission High School

Our beloved Mission High Piesters came for their end-of-the-year overnight field trip. The students tended our beneficial hedgerow, observing the various pollinators as we cleared the ground around them and cultivated the soil. In the afternoon, they headed to Ano Nuevo State Reserve and pretended to be elephant seals, basking in the warm sun. It was a cold night in their tents but they arose with smiles and breakfasted on Pie Ranch Sonora wheat pancakes with strawberry sauce. This power breakfast provided them the energy plant 600 row feet of six varieties of potatoes, which they’ll be hilling on their final return for the year at the end of May.

Prospect Sierra School

Eight sixth-grade boys from Prospect Sierra School in El Cerrito toured the ranch, harvested some delicious strawberries and conducted interviews with farm staff for their “Farm Folks” oral history publication. The boys were incredibly attentive, especially with the goats, chickens, and strawberries (of course)! Their insightful questions and enthusiastic spirits were a welcomed presence on the ranch. Before departing the ranch, Kathryn Lee, Director of Service Learning, presented us with beautiful pie plates that were hand-painted by last year’s class. We hope to display them soon in the Roadside Barn!