A Winter Mushroom Garden for Peace Valley Charter School

Earlier this fall my college Ben Brock (interim garden teacher) asked if I would help lead a garden class with him at Peace Valley Public Charter Waldorf School which I eagerly agreed to do! I was interested to see this school model and how it fits in with our public charter system and excited to share the lesson of waste reduction and rethinking the “Rs” with a different audience in the Peace Valley 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade classes!

Ben and I prepared the mushroom substrate together. We carefully pasteurized recycling from the school and wood-based products from my own collection to get a recipe we believed would succeed in the school environment while being “spawned” in outdoor COVID-safe conditions.

Does this lesson account for the three “P”s of sustainability? Balancing the cost and benefits of People,  Planet, and Profit? I think check, check and check.