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The Learning Garden

Venice Story : The Learning Garden

<h1><em>About the Garden</em></h1>
<p><em>The Learning Garden was launched in March of 2001. Since then it has quickly become one of the country’s largest and most successful school gardens.</em></p>
<p><em>The Learning Garden is a model example of how school gardens can transform the lives of students and teachers and the environment of their community. For several years, many groups worked with the high school horticulture program to transform the 60,000 square foot plot of land into a garden, but due to lack of stronger community support it remained mostly an eyesore filled with trash, overgrown with weeds, and a magnet for vandalism. </em></p>
<p><em>Today, the agricultural plots are filled with organic food grown by the high school students. Health-related classes such as tai chi, qigong, and natural food cooking are offered on its large stone patio. The garden has a large medicinal plant section for educational purposes, a pond with a water garden and waterfall, and a California native plant and cacti garden. </em></p>
<p><em>A community garden is tended by local volunteers, and numerous groups and organizations use and support the garden.</em></p>

<h1><em>The Experience </em></h1>
<h2><em>Connecting to Nature</em></h2>

<p><em>The Learning Garden is much more than a garden. For the students of the high school it is an opportunity to be closer to nature, a place to learn about respecting the environment and taking care of plants and animals. </em></p>
<p><em>For the teachers it is a place of solace. For the community it is a place of visual beauty. For those who have dedicated thousands of hours to making the inspiration of the garden a reality, it is a joyful and fulfilling accomplishment. </em></p>
<p><em>For all who come, whether to a single event or as a regular volunteer, The Learning Garden is a remarkable and unique place that touches something deep in the heart and soul.</em></p>

<p><em>Since the first groundbreaking ceremony, The Learning Garden has received ongoing support and assistance from many generous benefactors and hard-working volunteers. The garden was founded by Julie Mann and David Crow. </em></p>
<p><em>The Garden Master is David King. The Horticulture Program at Venice High School is taught by Diane Pollock. </em></p>
<p><em>Students from Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have played a major role in the development of the Chinese medicinal herb garden, and the school holds regular classes and events at the garden. </em></p>
<p><em>The Agape Spiritual Center is actively involved in regular work days and special projects at the garden. </em></p>
<p><em>The UCLA Horticulture Department teaches its extension program at The Learning Garden. </em></p>
<p><em>Students from Emperor’s College of Traditional Chinese Medicine contributed to the development of the herbal database.</em></p>

<p><em>LAUSD began constructing a new STEM building for the school, and unfortunately they required the garden space for construction vehicles and trailers. This caused the relocation of many plants and had a pretty big impact on the soil ecosystem.</em></p>
<p><em>After construction, the Venice Learning Garden and its volunteers were tasked with soil remediation. The soil was packed down and stagnant throughout the year plus of construction. It was finally time to regrow and revitalize the soil and bring back the beauty out of a barren field.</em></p>

<p><em>The progress we have made to rejuvenate the soil and bring life back to the garden has been profound and a delight to watch.</em></p>
<p><em>We let the wild￼ Alfalfa grow to bring nitrogen back into the soil along with many other variety of naturally growing plants.</em></p>
<p><em>We did not till the soil, we let the weeds and other hearty plants to naturally break up the compact soil, which allowed for aeration and microorganisms to flourish with the incoming oxygen.</em></p>

<p><em>Some of the plants we use to remediate the soil are sunflowers, red clover, fennel, alfalfa, and wild mallow.￼ </em></p>
<p><em>Fennel brings Black Swallowtail butterflies to the garden to hatch their eggs on. The caterpillar you see above is one of their offspring that love to munch on the fennel.</em></p>
<p><em>It is truly fascinating to watch this natural phenomenon and the presence of these critters really brings you into the moment and just for a moment, you're not thinking about anything, just pure presence with a sense of awe.</em></p>

<h1><em>Keep the Garden Growing</em></h1>
<p><em>The Learning Garden is a living classroom and a place of sanctuary. We invite you to get involved in the ongoing work that supports this project. There are many ways to participate, from volunteer gardening to donations. Together, we are building a healthier future for the students and the community.</em></p>
<h2><em>Volunteering </em></h2>
<p><em>If you would like to come to the garden to volunteer your time and effort in keeping us growing, we take volunteers 12pm-3pm on Saturday and Sundays. </em></p>
<p><em>We welcome all people from all walks of life, just wear some shoes and apparel you don't mind getting dirty!</em></p>
<p><em>Location: 13000 Venice Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90066</em></p>
<p><em>Venice High School Where Walgrove and Venice meet (Access from Walgrove) </em></p>

<h1><em><a href="http://www.thelearninggarden.org/donate/">Make a donation!</a> </em></h1>
<p><em>Checks should be written to The Learning Garden, and mailed to Julie Mann, 2454 Louella Ave, Venice, CA 90291. </em></p>
<p><em>To make a donation by PayPal, click the “Make a Donation” link above. The Learning Garden appreciates your support and thanks you for your generosity! </em></p>
<p><em>Financial contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.</em></p>

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The Venice Learning Garden — @undefined's mag on Magma

<br /><br />Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@exploromann?utm_source=magma&utm_medium=referral">Lukas Mann</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=magma&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a> — @undefined's mag on Magma

Wine & Beer

Blogging

Crafts

<h2>As a wine consumer, getting down and dirty, learning how to make wine from scratch was such special experience. Now my ￼appreciation for wine has grown even more…didn’t know it was possible. </h2>
<h2>My friend Emry and his family decided to make their own wine. Bought the￼￼ appropriate equipment, found a grape broker and boom, the process begins!</h2>
<h2>Since he knows my passion for wine, he told me to come help with the creation. </h2>

<h1>5 basic steps to making wine🍷</h1>
<h2>
  <ol>
    <li>Harvesting </li>
  </ol>
</h2>
<ol>
  <h2>Crushing and pressing </h2>
</ol>
<ol>
  <h2>Fermentation </h2>
</ol>
<ol>
  <h2>Clarification </h2>
</ol>
<ol>
  <h2>Aging and bottling</h2>
</ol>
<p>Maybe 6 steps…let’s not forget about cleaning your mess….</p>

<h2>That machine above is used to crush the grapes and de-stem them. Pretty incredible how quickly this machine works. Take a look at Emry’s arm on the left, like I said we got down and dirty. </h2>

<h2>And now the most fun….cleaning. 🙄</h2>

<h1>Maceration </h1>
<h2>This is the period between crushing and pressing, when the juice is still in contact with the skins, it’s called maceration. </h2>
<h2>The skin may be removed before, during, or after fermentation.</h2>
<h2>Depending on how long the maceration period is,￼ the color of the wines will change. ￼For example, Dark red wines have a longer maceration period. </h2>

<h2>￼￼After the grapes ￼were crushed and destemmed, you add Sulfur Dioxide (commonly used) for 2 reasons. It prevents the wine from reacting with oxygen that can cause browning and off odors. It also inhibits the growth of bacteria and undesirable wild yeast in the wine. ￼ </h2>
<h2>Can’t wait to try these in about 6 months!</h2>

Making wine from scratch! Slurp slurp   — @undefined's mag on Magma

Travel

Dining

Golan

<p>The Golan Heights is one of the most beautiful parts of Israel and a very important region to the country. </p>
<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_Heights">After</a> the Six-Day War broke out in June 1967, Syria's shelling greatly intensified and the IDF captured the Golan Heights on 9-10 of June. The area that came under Israeli control as a result of the war. </p>
<p>On June 19th, 1967, the Israeli cabinet voted to return the Golan to Syria in exchange for a peace agreement, although this was rejected after the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khartoum_Resolution">Khartoum Resolution</a> of September 1 1967.</p>
<p>Israel captured the Golan Heights for several reasons, but two in particular stand out: <strong>to expand its borders, and to create a buffer zone against Syria</strong>.</p>
<p>Why is the Golan also so important? The Golan is <strong>thought to provide around one-third of Israel's fresh water supply</strong>. Water from the Golan travels to the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River.</p>

<li>
  <h1>Merom Golan </h1>
</li>
<p>Merom Golan is an Israeli settlement and kibbutz in the Western Golan Heights. The kibbutz was established as a settlement after Israel occupied the area in the Six Day War in 1967.</p>
<p>Merom Golan invites anyone to come see the beautiful Golan Heights. They offer Razor/ATV tours, horseback riding, hotels and one of the best meat restaurants you will ever attend, Habokrim! </p>

<h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Razor ride through the Golan! ￼</li>
  </ul>
</h2>
<h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Yup, we took Asher along! </li>
  </ul>
</h2>
<h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Awesome experience with my family!</li>
  </ul>
</h2>

<p>The next 2 pages will show more of our ride and one of our stops. The Golan is known for its agriculture and grows some of the best crops, luckily we got to pick some right off the bush and eat them! We tried Black Berries, Asian Pears and Apples. </p>

<h1><a href="https://www.meromgolantourism.co.il/restaurants?_ga=2.114443587.558990156.1524298165-466284567.1516005125">HABOKRIM</a> </h1>
<p>All I have to say is WOW!</p>
<p>Even Iif you are staying in Tel Aviv, it’s worth driving 2 hours to the north just to eat at Habokrim! </p>
<p>✨10/10✨</p>

Exploring the Golan Heights  — @undefined's mag on Magma

Religion

Mount Meron

<h1>Benaya’s Upsherin </h1>
<h2>Mount Meron, Israel </h2>
<p>So glad we got to be apart of Benaya’s Upsherin In Mount Meron which has a special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been declared a nature reserve.</p>
<p>The village of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meron_(village)">Meron</a> and the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Rabbi_Shimon_bar_Yochai">tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai</a> are on Mount Meron. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was one of the most eminent disciples of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbi_Akiva">Rabbi Akiva</a>, and attributed by many <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Judaism">Orthodox Jews</a> with the authorship of the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zohar">Zohar</a>, the chief work of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah">Kabbalah</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsherin">Upsherin</a> , is a haircutting ceremony￼ observed by a wide cross-section of Jews and is particularly popular in Haredi Jewish<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism"> </a>communities. It is typically held when a boy turns three years old. Among those who practice the upsherin, the male infant does not have his hair cut until this ceremony.</p>
<p>In the Bible, human life is sometimes compared to the growth of trees.[10] According to <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviticus">Leviticus</a> 19:23, one is not permitted to eat the fruit that grows on a tree for the first three years. Some Jews apply this principle to cutting a child's hair. Thus little boys are not given their first haircut until the age of three. To continue the analogy, it is hoped that the child, like a tree that grows tall and eventually produces fruit, will grow in knowledge and good deeds, and someday have a family of his own. Hasidic Rabbis have made this comparison, and in some communities a boy before his first haircut is referred to as orlah, as we refer to a tree in its early years.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chabad">Chabad</a> Hasidim have another explanation.[11]</p>
<p>For the first three years of life, a child absorbs the surrounding sights and sounds and the parents' loving care. The child is a receiver, not yet ready to give. At the age of three, children’s education takes a leap—they are now ready to produce and share their unique gifts."</p>

<p>After Benaya’s Ushperin, Nati and Kim hosted everyone for an incredible lunch at Lueria Winery. Family, friends, food and wine! Great first day out in Israel 🍷🔥</p>
<p>Thank you Douieb Family! </p>

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