Palms Garden

The Palms Garden, located on the north side of the sixth grade bungalows, was planted by Palms students, Palms parents, and community volunteers from the Motor Avenue Improvement Association.

The Palms Garden is an outdoor classroom setting. Lessons range from gardening, plant science, and early human civilization to healthy eating, environmental awareness, and even poetry.

The garden lets students learn how fresh food grows, how it tastes, and how to tend a garden from seed to harvest. We also call it our Learning Garden.

Take a peek at the garden the next time you are on campus. You can also see it from the sidewalk on Glendon Avenue.

Students in Ms. March's Social Communication class, Ms. Straub's 7th grade Science class, and others have visited the garden for weekly lessons.

Garden instructor "Mr. Happy" is botanist Perry Balian, the Executive Director of Seeds to Plate. Seeds to Plate is dedicated to connecting students to nature through the garden, growing healthy food, habits, and knowledge to inspire generations of environmentally aware citizens.

Garden instructor Allison Starcher is a Master Gardener and author of the book Good Bugs for Your Garden.

Where do Kale and Romaine Lettuce Come From?

A salad made from the greens in the Palms Garden!

Composting

Students learn that composting is a simple way to add nutrients to soil. We compost our leftover pumpkins after Pumpkin Day activities!

V.I.P.

Dr. George McKenna, LAUSD District 1 Board Member, visited our garden in January 2015. See if you can spot him in the slideshow above!

Palms Garden Refurbishing Projects

In 2017-2018, the Palms Middle School administrators and Friends of Palms worked with the Motor Avenue Improvement Association to plan a renovation of the Palms Garden.

In Fall 2022 we received another grant to improve the Palms Garden.

In 2023, Palms applied for and received a $5000 grant for improvements to the Palms Garden. The grant came from a philanthropic organization that chose to remain anonymous.