Specializing in edible, organic produce and soil regeneration, a French Canadian from Montreal is teaching children in Malibu and Topanga how to grow their own vegetables.
Carolyn Day, who now lives in Topanga, took an unusual route to gardening. She ran away with a circus in 1999 and toured the U.S. riding horses standing up.
“I was the only woman in the world who could do a back spring on a galloping horse and land on it,” she said.
Next came stunt work and two children.
“The whole entertainment industry felt less satisfying,” she said. A keen gardener, Day wanted to learn more and became a certified master gardener. Day’s two sons, Tristan, 7, and Simon, 4, attend Malibu’s Sycamore School where she teaches a “Seed to Table” program for students ages four to 10.
“It is such a joy to watch the students learn about the living classroom that is the garden. I find the students easily engaged, curious and positive while learning and working in the garden,” Day said. “I believe that the more senses are involved in a learning moment, the deeper the anchor of understanding. Many students have shared how powerful they feel, knowing they can make something grow.”
The students and teachers’ leftover fruits and vegetable scraps, following snacks and lunches, are composted, and the compost in turn feeds the garden. Contrary to what may be expected, Day’s compost doesn’t smell.
“When compost stinks, it’s because an aerobic process has begun. It lacks oxygen or the balance is wrong between the browns and the greens. To bring the balance back you can add leaves to it which will add oxygen,” Day shared.
Most of the herbs, fruits and vegetables are started from seeds that are donated by the Master Gardener Program at USC. The students harvest and learn to prepare dishes with the garden produce.
“This year, the students are weighing all of their daily vegetable food waste materials, as well as their harvests. By year’s end, they will know how much food waste they were able to divert from landfills and how many pounds of food they were able to grow,” Day said. “Sustainability, environmental stewardship, scientific approach, healthy soils and an appreciation for our planet are some of the many concepts we explore in the garden.”
Day also runs the weekly Children’s Organic Garden at Topanga’s community center where children as young as two plant seeds, water them, watch them grow and eat the produce.
She runs both programs as a volunteer.
“I don’t make a living as a master gardener,” she explained. “I think the Earth is in trouble and this is my way of affecting change by helping little ones create sensory experiences in the garden and develop their stewardship for planet Earth.”
Day said she believes strongly that gardening is vitally important. She thinks the model of agriculture we have now on a large scale is not sustainable for the earth or humans and we’re going to have to decentralize our food sources.
Bethany McCarty’s daughter Opal, 2, attends the Children’s Organic Garden in Topanga.
“I think the garden is a beautiful resource because the kids can work with the soil, understand where food comes from and learn how to take care of plants and respect them,” McCarty said.
Day isn’t worried about using water when we live in such an arid area.
“We’re not so concerned with that in edible gardening. If you’re going to eat a salad bought from the store, the same amount of water will have been spent to grow it,” Day said. “Why not have it grown in your yard where you know that fossil fuels aren’t being used to package and transport it? We affect great change when we grow our own food.”
For more information about the two programs Carolyn Day runs in our community, email her at childrensorganicgarden@gmail.com.
