Students come to Student Choice High School for a high school diploma, but end up learning way more. Two of the sites are currencycultivating gardens as part of their community and feeding programs: The Maryvale Learning Center at the Boys and Girls Club is cultivating a thriving community garden, thoughtfully designed with our local environment in mind. The garden currently features a vibrant array of plants, including cherry tomatoes, sweet basil and thyme, jalapeños, cilantro, chamomile, yellow squash, and a dedicated planter of sunflowers and monarch butterfly wildflowers. Notably, while our tomatoes, jalapeños, squash, and basil were started from potted plants, our chamomile, thyme, cilantro, and sunflowers are local heirloom varieties obtained through the Glendale Public Library’s conservation program. The towering sunflower acts as a natural beacon, attracting essential pollinators for our fruiting plants, while our special wildflower mix, rich in milkweed, aims to create a vital sanctuary for migrating monarch butterflies, whose population is facing challenges due to habitat loss in Arizona. They are excited to nurture this little “Zen Zone” and contribute to both our community and the local ecosystem.
The Yuma Campus is cultivating something special! Their community garden, started entirely from seeds planted and nurtured by their dedicated students, is beginning to yield its first harvest. While they already celebrated some impressive giant squashes, Yuma’s focus is now turning towards a zesty spring harvest, with students diligently tending to peppers, tomatoes, and onions destined for delicious salsa. This student-led initiative is a true labor of love and a work in progress, and while they admire the established success of Maryvale’s garden, we’re excited to watch the Yuma Campus garden continue to grow and flourish.
