GREENING IS FUNDAMENTAL West County DIGS offers kids a healthy break from the classroom Kids and vegetables just don’t mix. Or do they? Well, the times they are a changin’, and some of our lucky local students who have had a West County DIGS gardening experience may actually know their vegetables even better than we adults. “Our kids just love going out into the garden, that’s what they want to do the most!” said Graciella Rossi, By Matt Larson Project Manager and Co-Founder of West County DIGS, a grassroots nonprofit organization that’s currently serving 39 school gardens in the West County Contra Costa Unified School District. “They don’t even care what they’re doing—they’re looking for insects, they’re shoveling dirt, anything! They just love that connection to nature.” Gardening has become the highlight of the school day for many West County students. Who knew they’d enjoy working outside in a garden more than sitting in a lecture learning fractions? Okay, perhaps it’s pretty obvious. Rossi is also the garden educator at Mira Vista School in Richmond and has seen firsthand how gardening can have an enormously positive effect on our kids. Be it learning critical thinking skills or learning better eating habits, Rossi has found the results to be tremendous. “We’re building character in the gardens,” she explains. “Kids are actually working really hard, working in teams, learning leadership skills, decision making … different skills come out with the kids when you take them outdoors.”
Contra Costa Marketplace - Jan 2017
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