SIATech Treasure Island Charter School Earth Day Fun! (…due to lots of work from lots of people)
Terrarium Making Sponsored by SGA
SGA funding made it possible for over 100 terrariums to be hand crafted by our trainees, but it was such a popular event, Melissa Stewart (a visiting volunteer from The Plant People company) ran out of materials. Trainees were excited, zealous, and creative in the desire for their own little piece of the earth in a fishbowl. Melissa will be returning to advise Facility Maintenance trainees about indoor plant care, so maybe we can convince her to repeat her performance sometime in the future… Food at the Farm Chef Ron’s Food and Beverage class satisfied staff and trainees with a variety frozen smoothies, some even created with the help of our Jamba Juice blender bike. They fired up the wood oven and served delicious veggie pizzas to a ravenous crowd. There was also organic carrot cake, fruit salad, and a lemon sorbet served at the farm stand. Advanced Culinary trainee Ariel Nichols took the lead in coming up with many of the menu items, and worked closely with her fabulous crew.
Special Lunch in the Cafeteria
Lunch was served, with special praise going to Chef Barbara’s Basic Culinary class. They were the ones who worked their magic to prepare a massive amount of mouthwatering free range basil chicken for both trainees and Job Corps staff. Cafeteria staff baked fish, made wonderful soups, and prepared organic veggies. Our compliments to the chefs, as well as the many hard-working support staff and trainees!
More Fun Festivities at the Farm
A crowd of trainees—and even some staff—were each quizzed on which bins are used to dispose of a variety of many different items. Every person who played the recycling game won a steel water bottle, and stickers were available for personalizing them. The island clean-up competition was won hands down by the Carpentry class with an amazing SIX (!) bins of PRE-SORTED (!) waste, thanks to the diligence of Carlos White’s trainees. Carlos and his team will be headed to Joaquin Miller Park for the first prize field trip very soon!
Jessica Bergman was everywhere at once, sharing the secrets of seed planting with trainees and instructors. The TIJC Band did due diligence in rocking the farm out, and even gave the chance for some trainees to sing lead. Bob Christiansen’s Electrical class impressed a lucky few who ventured to the back 40 with his solar panels, small electric cars, and the brand spanking new, recently installed windmill. Kevin Jacks, Joel Blaylock, and Daniel Baltazar got trainees to work up a sweat, and helped to distribute Jamba Juice sunglasses to those who needed to be cool. Word is that the Culinary trade pulled off a win in one of the tug-of-war competitions.
A big shout-out goes to all the members of the Green Committee for planning and execution, including those behind the scenes: Tom Gonzalez, Larry Hays and his Facility Maintenance trainees, Chef Herbert Huber, Krista Vendetti, Michele Brush, Brian Stott, as well as some stellar trainees: Daquan Layne, Nickie Calvin, Jessica Lydon, and Lauren Gardner. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Based on the number of smiling faces, it seems that a good time was had by all (while supplies lasted). There were even some staff who suggested having another outdoor celebration much sooner than next year. Since Earth Day is every day, that could happen at any time… -Michael Hoey, SIATech Senior Projects Instructor and T. I. Job Corps Green Committee Chairperson
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