Volunteers at El Rincon Elementary School used their first day of spring break to spruce up the campus and kick-start the campus’s “Growing Great Garden.”
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A believer in grassroots philosophy, Principal Tom Tracy helps build El Rincon garden from the ground up. Photo by Geoff Maleman
Principal Dr. Tom Tracy joined parents, students and teachers in sprucing up the campus at El Rincon during Campus Beautification Day.
“We place a high value on science at our school,” Mr. Tracy said.
“The Growing Great Garden is just another way we can instill in our students the importance of healthy eating habits and teach them about botany and the lifecycle of plants.”
He said the campus beautification also included a power washing of the school’s buildings.
“The campus really looks great after all this.” Mr. Tracy said. “I think the students will be amazed when they return to class.”
The school’s Growing Great Garden is one of more than 28,000 such on-campus gardens created through Growing Great – a school garden and nutrition education organization dedicated to inspiring children and adults to adopt healthy eating habits.
The Culver City Exchange Club sponsored the El Rincon garden.
You may not have known the following:
• Despite California's legendary active lifestyle, our amazing weather, and the fact that we grow more fresh produce than any state in the country, approximately 30 percent of children in California are overweight or obese. Los Angeles County has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the state.
• Parents impact their teens' eating habits. Teens whose parents drink soda daily are almost 50 percent more likely to do so themselves.
• More than two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in America are obese or at-risk for obesity.
A University of Maryland study showed that school-based nutrition education like Growing Great, which introduces students to the taste of fruits and vegetables, helps increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Mr. Tracy said he hopes that proves true at El Rincon as well.
“That is something we take seriously,” the principal said. “We go out of our way to teach our students to be healthy in many ways.
“After all, healthy students miss fewer days of school, and they do better academically.”
