21 January 2003

News Release

For Immediate Release

Novato Charter School Builds Greenhouse with Chez Panisse Grant

The Novato Charter School will erect a greenhouse thanks to a $7,000 grant from the Chez Panisse Foundation.

The school will hold a parent work party to erect the greenhouse on Saturday, January 25 from 9 am until 2 pm.

The new greenhouse will be a main component of the school’s gardening program, which will also include a permanent outdoor classroom and a fenced pond. It will allow students to propagate and grow a greater variety of crops on a year round basis, as well as work during the rainy season.

“We’re very happy to receive this support from the Chez Panisse Foundation, ” says Rachel Bishop, Director of Novato Charter School. “The installation of the greenhouse is a big step towards achieving our vision for our gardening program.”

A nature-based perspective is integrated in all aspects of the Novato Charter School curriculum, but it is most visible in the school’s organic gardening and recycling programs. The program is based on the belief that nature serves as the common ground for all cultures, and that respect for the earth encourages social responsibility, as well as environmentally conscious living.

The Novato Charter School gardening program has also received a $500 grant from SEED to support gardening expansion and improvements. Other objectives of the gardening program at NCS include habitat restoration, growing edible and ornamental plants, and propagating heirloom seeds for other class garden projects in Marin County.

For more information about Novato Charter School, call 883-4254 or visit their web site at www.novatocharterschool.org.

Contacts: Rachel Bishop, Director, Novato Charter School at 415.883.1719 or Jeannette Longtin, Novato Charter School Board Chair at 415.485.0835.