Muwekma Ohlone Garden Opening Celebration
Living Classroom opened the Muwekma Ohlone Garden at Monta Loma School, on May 29th.
Students, teachers, administrators, Living Classroom staff, school board members and other interested parties attended. Gloria Gomez of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe offer a land honoring and blessing for the garden and spoke about the importance of the garden in teaching children Patti Berryhill, Living Classroom Lead Gardener, shared her personal experience and gratification working on this garden for several years through many challenges and delays.
Living Classroom lessons will shed light on the ethnobotanical uses of the plants and tie in directly with students’ curriculum. The garden idea first sprouted by Monta Loma School parents to honor the ancestral heritage of the site. The Muwekma Ohlone have inhabited this area for ~12,000 years. The School is located near a major Muwekma Ohlone ancestral heritage mortuary mound.
The plant selection in the garden is based on the native plants that grow very locally and that were and are still used by the Muwekma Ohlone.
Ms. Berryhill consulted with the Muwekma Ohlone Language Committee who provided the proper Muwekma Ohlone names for the plants and information about how the plants were used in addition to research. .
Thank you to the Garden Club of Palo Alto and Valley Water for funding this special garden, to Cisco corporate volunteers a workday finishing up the garden, and to Patricia Campbell for designing the garden signs. And a huge thank you to Patti Berryhill and Michelle Bonfilio for their tireless work creating the garden to be enjoyed by hundreds of students each year.
Photo: (Left) MVWSD Superintendent Ayinde Rudolph and Muwekma Ohlone representative Gloria Gomez cut the ribbon at the garden opening. (Right) Monta Loma students walk through the garden.
Students, teachers, administrators, Living Classroom staff, school board members and other interested parties attended. Gloria Gomez of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe offer a land honoring and blessing for the garden and spoke about the importance of the garden in teaching children Patti Berryhill, Living Classroom Lead Gardener, shared her personal experience and gratification working on this garden for several years through many challenges and delays.
Living Classroom lessons will shed light on the ethnobotanical uses of the plants and tie in directly with students’ curriculum. The garden idea first sprouted by Monta Loma School parents to honor the ancestral heritage of the site. The Muwekma Ohlone have inhabited this area for ~12,000 years. The School is located near a major Muwekma Ohlone ancestral heritage mortuary mound.
The plant selection in the garden is based on the native plants that grow very locally and that were and are still used by the Muwekma Ohlone.
Ms. Berryhill consulted with the Muwekma Ohlone Language Committee who provided the proper Muwekma Ohlone names for the plants and information about how the plants were used in addition to research. .
Thank you to the Garden Club of Palo Alto and Valley Water for funding this special garden, to Cisco corporate volunteers a workday finishing up the garden, and to Patricia Campbell for designing the garden signs. And a huge thank you to Patti Berryhill and Michelle Bonfilio for their tireless work creating the garden to be enjoyed by hundreds of students each year.
Photo: (Left) MVWSD Superintendent Ayinde Rudolph and Muwekma Ohlone representative Gloria Gomez cut the ribbon at the garden opening. (Right) Monta Loma students walk through the garden.
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Living Schoolyards Act
Living Schoolyards Act in Congress supports outdoor education nationwide! Click here for more details.
Living Classroom Donates to the CommunityLiving Classroom gardens have donated over 1,000 pounds of produce to local community service agencies since the shelter in place order was issued in March 2020. West Valley Community Services greatly appreciates the donations.
One community member has already reached out to our Executive Director thanking her for the Living Classroom Donation, "It is so thoughtful of you to think of us and our community who are going hungry in this pandemic. Thank you for donating to us. That is so very much appreciated." |
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