I highly recommend Cornucopia to be the operator of the Farmer’s Market in Malibu. Their continued management of the Farmer’s Market will help support the Environmental Learning Center above the Malibu High School. I am the lead teacher at Juan Cabrillo Before and After School Program here in Malibu and have been for many years. We find the Environmental Learning Center to be a great hands-on resource for our students. We have enjoyed this wonderful outside classroom for over a year now using it to provide ongoing weekly environmental lessons to teach children the importance of understanding fundamental environmental issues and the value of treating the earth respectfully. Subjects such as blue line streams, the significance of healthy worm populations in gardening and farming environments, the proper use of worm castings to raise soil pH and fertility, mulching and other slow farming methods, have all helped the students in our program to begin to learn about the interrelatedness of proper land management to our culture and to the world in which we live.
Some of the projects we have completed this past year are what we call “seed to table.” For example, we have sown sunflower and pumpkin seeds and strawberries, which we harvested and then made into pies and jams with the assistance of a particularly enthusiastic parent. At present, we have 10 trays of vegetable seeds growing in the new greenhouse, waiting to be planted.
We recently performed our adapted version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for parents, family and friends of Malibu at the Learning Center, and this was followed by a traditional Maypole celebration and Celtic dancing.
For this and better things to come, please allow Cornucopia to continue with their great work. Children and parents alike will benefit from their continued management of the Farmer’s Market and from the support they give to worthy educational projects that serve the best interests of the Malibu community.
Zoe Langley