The Kennedy Sustainable Gardens, founded in 2007, focuses on changing the way students and families eat, learn, and create community. Our goal is to improve the long-term well being of our students, families, and school community. By integrating organic farming and seasonal cooking into the school curriculum and culture, we further our goal of becoming a truly sustainable school. The Kennedy gardens program involves students (k-12) in all aspects of growing, harvesting, preparing and enjoying food together. To date we have grown more than 3.5 tons of food in our gardens
The Kennedy Sustainable Gardens embody the Core Beliefs of Kennedy:
Learning should be a fascinating adventure, a rigorous but joyful pursuit.
Each individual has natural talents and intellectual aptitudes
Cooperation and teamwork are essential to a sustainable society.
Learning is an energetic pursuit.
True learning calls on every facet of the human mind, heart and body.
Learning is the doorway to the wonders of culture, the natural world and the community.
You are invited to come visit and be part of our community!
Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race. ~ H.G. Wells
Rod Bautista, master frame-builder and owner of Perennial Bikes in Eugene, Oregon is working with Kennedy High School to establish a bicycle frame-building program that will help students learn the art and science of design and fabrication…and the zen practice of patience!
Rod Bautista teaching by example
Principal Tom Horn practicing and preparing for a future class
Students and staff at Kennedy find inspiration in people like Rod Bautista of Perennial Bikes and Sean Walling of soulcraft Bikes (video below). They are part of growing movement, a renaissance of sorts, that values true crafstmanship over mass production.
“Filmmaker Michael John Evans sets out to visually portray “the zone” which one enters when their craft is honed.
Sean Walling, owner of Soulcraft, builds top notch custom steel bicycle frames. This short film documents Sean’s fabrication methods: a well choreographed dance of experience and muscle memory producing a seemingly effortless ode to process. From Steel: invites the viewer into Sean’s machine shop for an up close and personal look at the work that results in yet another awesome Soulcraft.”
The Healing Harvest / Kennedy School of Sustainability plant sale will be held on May 5th from 10am – 4pm. The public is invited to come down to see our garden and greenhouse facilities and buy plants and organic veggie starts grown and tended by our students as part of their therapeutic horticulture program. All proceeds will go directly to benefit the horticultural programs of Healing Harvest at Kennedy, and other agencies served by our program. Thanks and see you there!
Kennedy Conservation Corps (KCC) students, under the guidance of Director Matt Hall, volunteered to undertake a large scale restoration project in the upper Brice Creek Wilderness area. In partnership with the Forest Service, the KCC cleared stream banks of flood debris to encourage fish passage, built bridges for hikers, and strove to improve overall aquatic habitat and water quality conditions.
One of the unique characteristics of Kennedy is the way students learn through real-world experiences. These experiences empower students to make a positive impact within their respective communities. The award-winning Kennedy Conservation Corps engages students in the workings of regional and national conservation organizations. With the help of teachers Matt Hall and Don Kaiser, Kennedy students are initiating, planning, and participating in real-life tasks of interest. Kennedy is currently engaging in a number of fee-for-service projects with the U.S. Forest Service, Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, and private landowners. Not only are students acquiring a diverse set of values and skills, they are also working on projects that benefit the surrounding community. The cooperation and teamwork gained from these experiences are essential for the students to foster positive problem-solving and creativity.
