Surprises found while Summer Weeding

Today I went to weed a little in the garden, and was surprised to find that the Upland Unified groundsmen have already removed the grass in the area that we will be planting with the drought tolerant plants. Thank you to all of you guys for such quick work.

We were able to harvest lots of Mr. Ortiz's cucumbers, they are huge! We also picked a bit of zucchini, garlic, tomatoes and tomatillos.

The grapes are getting bigger and the corn is almost ready to pick!

The students of the gardening club planted some sunflowers in May and they are fun to see now, so pretty and tall! We will keep you posted on the changes going on in the new garden expansion as things advance.

We are expanding!

In May of 2009, Baldy View was approved to receive a grant from the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) to expand and improve our garden! We will be taking out a small sloping grassy area near the existing vegetable garden and converting the plot over to drought tolerant in-ground planters and a leveled seating area. The goal is for the grass to be removed before the end of summer so that the students and adult volunteers can begin planting in Fall. When the students come back to school, in late August, they will be greeted by excited teachers, upgraded technological classrooms and new landscaping. Things will be looking good soon!



Thank you to all of you who helped with the application process for this grant, and thanks to everyone in advance that will be helping to make this garden come to life.



We especially want to thank Elizabeth Hurst of IEUA and Dave Schroeder of Chino Basin Water Conservation District for their efforts in making this garden turn from a dream into a reality!

History of our Garden Beginnings

The garden at Baldy View set down roots in 2007 as a Boy Scout Eagle Project created by an Upland High Senior named Kevin Sorvetti. Kevin attended Baldy View from Kindergarten through 6th grade and wanted to give something back to the school he fondly remembered. He thought of the garden concept while visiting his sister, Laura, who lived in San Luis Obispo (SLO) and was attending college at Cal Poly. On a family visit, he happened to come across a quaint community garden at a neighborhood park in SLO, and the seeds for the idea began to take root. In November of 2006, Kevin contacted both the Old Baldy Boy Scout Council and the principal at Baldy View, Mrs. Lorrie Buehler, for their approval. They both agreed to the idea and, after working out the minor details with the Upland Unified School District, Kevin lead his scout troop through the garden building process. After the foundations for the garden were in place, an after school gardening club was formed of Baldy View's 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade students, under the supervision of Kevin and his mother Mrs. Ann Sorvetti. We were harvesting our first crop by the May 2007 school "Open House". The garden was officially dedicated at Kevin's Eagle Court of Awards ceremony on a Saturday afternoon in June of 2007.