Letter: Bijou Garden Grows Community

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Family Resource Center (FRC) has long been a stronghold for the South Lake Tahoe community, providing necessary life services to community members in need. This summer, the FRC was especially busy with the ninth year of Parabajitos, an early intervention and prevention program that aims to engage youth and strengthen their connection with their community. The FRC is also home to the Bijou Community Garden, a project started four years ago by community member Brian Hirdman.

The garden uses permaculture techniques to demonstrate how to create a sustainable vegetable garden capable of thriving in the short and harsh growing season of South Lake Tahoe. The goal is to show how it is possible for anyone to grow food here. During the regular school year this space acts as a learning garden for the children of Bijou Community School. Many hands - including parents, community members, and FRC staff - have gone into caring for the garden since its creation. Their efforts allow others, such as the children of the Parabajitos Summer Program, to benefit from this invaluable source of learning.

Many community members and organizations generously volunteered their time and resources to the Parabajitos participants in grades K-8th this summer. For eight weeks the kids studied art, literature, environmental science, and more. The University of California Cooperative Extension CalFresh nutrition education program taught regular garden-enhanced nutrition education lessons, which let the children learn about, and experience, healthy foods in a hands-on way.

Each week also included a field trip around South Lake Tahoe, allowing participants to experience new places and engage in recreational opportunities they may not have had otherwise. As summer went on, the kids also harvested and cared for the different fruits and vegetables from the Bijou Community Garden, such as bok choy, snow peas, and squash flowers. They learned about the plants’ nutritive values and gained an appreciation for the hard work that goes into growing and preparing food.

At the end of the summer the Family Resource Center hosted an intergenerational celebration for the participants’ friends and families to acknowledge their achievements. In addition, they welcomed the independent senior residents of the Tahoe Senior Plaza and Kelly Ridge, who have been concurrently involved in garden-enhanced nutrition lessons of their own. The children led a tour of the Bijou Community Garden for their guests, and in turn the guests shared the harvest from their hydroponic herb garden. Finally, all participants were able to share a meal with some of the ingredients coming straight from the gardens.

Events like these are essential for a thriving community, but take a lot of work to sustain. To get involved or learn more about community nutrition programs in South Lake Tahoe, contact the UCCE CalFresh nutrition education program at (530) 543-2319, x1112.

- UCCE CalFresh nutrition education

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