Summertime In a School Garden
We’d like to introduce you to our Guest Blogger, Ian Docktor. Ian is a Garden Educator with Explore Ecology and when he’s not teaching, he likes to be outside learning more about native plants, vegetable gardening, natural history, birds, and bioacoustics.
Recipes From The Franklin Elementary School Garden
Summer has arrived, and with it comes fragrant blooms, new produce, and the dedicated work of student gardeners! As the garden teacher for Franklin Elementary School I am overjoyed seeing my student’s enthusiasm for growing food flourish. Cooking with the fruits of our labor is a great way of sharing the excitement of the garden with others. In this blog post, we’ll explore two easy recipes enjoyed this summer by students at Franklin Elementary.
Apple Hand Pies: A Slice of Nature’s Sweetness
Let’s start by embracing the bounty of the season with a simple yet delicious recipe for individual apple hand pies.
Together, you and your children can harvest ripe apples from the garden (or the grocery store). Once you have your apples, follow this easy recipe:
Ingredients:
- Pie crust dough (store-bought or homemade)
- Apples (peeled, cored, and diced),
- Sugar
- Cinnamon,
- Nutmeg,
- A pinch of salt
- One egg for egg wash.
Instructions: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Roll out the pie crust and cut circles for each hand pie. In a bowl, mix the diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Place the apple mixture on half of each pie circle, then fold the other half over and crimp the edges with a fork. Brush with egg wash and bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool before enjoying your garden-fresh hand pies!
Echinacea Tea: A Healing Garden Brew
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) is a strikingly beautiful flower and powerful plant medicine that is native to North America and can easily be grown in your garden. 
Here’s how to make a simple echinacea tea with honey:
- Harvest a few echinacea flowers, ensuring you leave enough for the plant to stay healthy.
- Carefully remove the petals and leaves from the flower and rinse.
- Let dry until leaves and petals are nice and crunchy.
- Pour boiling water over leaves and petals, let tea steep for about 10 minutes then strain.
- Finally, sweeten to taste with honey and serve chilled over ice on a hot day.
Let’s cherish the garden’s bounty and embrace the magic of growing and cooking together. I hope these recipes help bring joy and nourishment to you and whoever you share them with.
Happy gardening!
Ian Docktor
Garden Educator For Explore Ecology
Josh was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where his passion and curiosity for the environment began and has continued to grow. During his undergraduate studies, Josh pursued this interest at the University of California at Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies.
Melissa Dodos developed her passion for creative reuse as a mother of four and elementary educator over the past 25 years. She loves to inspire creativity by connecting people with resources and ideas.
Veronica grew up in San Diego and spent four years in San Luis Obispo studying Animal Science at Cal Poly. As an undergrad she learned lots about livestock, agriculture, and wildlife.
Stephanie began her journey as an educator over twenty years ago working as a preschool teacher in Washington state for a cooperative preschool program affiliated with Whatcom Community College. She loved observing the wonder and curiosity of the children and bringing them out into nature to explore the natural world. She continued her love for learning and got her teaching license and then her Montessori certification and worked as an elementary teacher in Tribal, Public, and Montessori schools. She collaborated to create a school garden and her students loved it so much that it became a special place where they could garden, read, explore, play, and it provided a safe sanctuary for students to calm down and reset when they were having difficult moments.
Morgan’s mermaid soul is always seeking adventure—swimming a relay across the Santa Barbara Channel and taking the first photo of a newborn orca off Anacapa Island being standout experiences close to home.
Lindsay Johnson
