The Mission of Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center is to inspire youth and adults to be healthy and active citizens through organic gardening, environmental stewardship, and nutrition education. This Quarterly Newsletter spotlights how your support directly impacts our community.
Opening the Outdoors:

Summer Camp with Olivewood Gardens & Ocean Connectors
In our community, many students have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Funding from The San Diego Foundation's
Summer of Learning and Joy Grant has allowed for our very first Summer Day Camp! Olivewood Gardens and Ocean Connectors are teaming up to offer two weeks of summer camp for National School District's students entering 4th - 6th grade. Children get to spend the week outdoors exploring the garden, cooking, learning about ocean life & many more hands-on activities!

Olivewood is incredibly grateful for the support of The San Diego Foundation & our hard-working community of partners, volunteers & interns, donors, staff & community members.
We couldn't have done it without YOU!
"Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower."
-Shigenori Kameoka
2021 Day of Play
One of Olivewood's largest community events for National City families, the Day of Play, is coming back to the Gardens this year! We are so grateful to be able to share this day of outdoor fun & activity with you again.

With a bushel of hands-on gardening and cooking activities from us and our local partner organizations, the entire family will be engaged.While capacity is limited for safety precautions, join us virtually on
July 31 during the event for a special livestream featuring some of the day's activities!

Check out these activity videos from last year!
Thanks to This Year's Sponsors!
Cooking for Salud:

Generations 19 & 20
An 8-week nutrition education & behavior modification program for National City residents, Olivewood's Cooking for Salud is preparing to graduate Generations 19 and 20!

Beginning in June, we started weekly classes designed to help participants make healthy changes at home. Thanks to our skillful guest chefs & local health experts, who work hard to center instruction around food & nutrition in a culturally relevant way!

For Generations 19 & 20, participants got to learn from these local guest chefs:



Congratulations to the newly graduated Kitchenistas!
Building Sustainable Communities: A Youth Leadership Program

Now in the second semester of National City's first Resident Leadership Academy, Olivewood and A Reason to Survive have been hard at work with interns on a community-based design plan. This July, following input from residents, students completed a site assessment at a local church where the community build will take place.

Together, we are developing emerging leaders who are inspired to create community change by activating outdoor spaces through agriculture, art, and culture
Community Building Opportunities
Whole Fish Grilling Class
August 21st
430 PM - 630 PM

In partnership with Fishful Future, Olivewood is excited to offered another bilingual cooking class!

Learn to prepare and cook a whole fish, while learning about seasonal, sustainable & locally caught species. We'll talk about the best places to source fresh fish and make a few recipes inspired by garden ingredients to round out the meal. Please feel free to BYOB and join us for this fun and informative class.

Note: This class has limited space.
Join Olivewood's Book Club

Olivewood is committed to justice and equity, to listening and learning, to action and advocacy, and we know that food justice and health equity are only possible when we achieve racial equity.

For our last discussion, we read & elaborated on Beverly Daniel Tatum's, Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race.

As we prepare to choose the next book to read, we invite you to complete this quick survey to create a profitable experience for all wanting to participate!
Looking for another way to support?
Check out our Amazon wishlist HERE!
Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center
2525 N Avenue | (619)434-4281 info@olivewoodgardens.org