“Can you see peace and quiet?”
This is the question that was posed by a visiting clubhouse member upon entering the Willie Mays Edible Schoolyard Garden for the first time this July. When new members are welcomed into the garden we try to introduce it to them as a place of safety, a place of peace. This summer, opening the garden gates, we discovered that while we as individuals can do well to talk about the garden as a place of peace and almost sanctity, but that the garden is capable of doing this all on its own. In the ESY garden, there is a tone that encourages wonder and exploration, a tone that helps youth to be present there with all of the curiosity that youth allows, but that also helps them to understand that in this space, we protect and respect all living things with the utmost responsibility – a concept that we at the Edible Schoolyard hope is learned and extends into all other areas of our youth members lives. In this space, like the plants and insects – we, as keepers of and visitors of the garden can be transformed. 
During the month of July with presiding teachers stationed throughout, we allowed free roaming of youth members within the garden; a way for them to navigate the maze of our garden space for a few minutes independently to harvest fruit, vegetables and herbs, as well as to “collect questions” to bring back for our cooking class for the day.
This July all of our cooking classes have started out in the garden and ended in the kitchen, with the hopes of bridging the mental gap between where our food comes from and the effects it has on our bodies. For the duration of the summer and into the new school year, we will continue to find ways of using this format of “seed to mouth” or “garden to table” in our cooking program.
So this summer, as we come to a close, we at the Edible Schoolyard wish you all the calm of being able to see peace and quiet, as you cap another season of teaching and learning, to prepare for a new one.
Hummus & Veggie Pinwheels
Ingredients:
1 cup hummus, any flavor
2 large soft tortillas (whole wheat, or spinach)
½ cup thinly sliced red pepper
⅓ cup of sun-dried tomatoes
½ cup thinly sliced cucumber
½ cup of shredded carrots, radishes, or jicama
1 thinly sliced avocado
4 leaves lettuce or 2 cups of spinach, divided
Directions:
● Spread a thin layer of hummus on each tortilla.
● Divide the remaining ingredients between tortillas, on one side of each tortilla.
● Starting with the veggie side, roll the tortillas tightly and secure with toothpicks.
● Slice into pinwheels.
*Veggie Pinwheels are a great way to get your balanced spread of daily recommended vitamins & nutrients. Let’s identify the vitamins in your wrap. How could you change this recipe? What would you put in YOUR healthy wrap?
*From the Seed to Mouth Cooking Class*
A program of CommunityGrows