Beloved school garden in Elk Grove on brink of being uprooted for portable
ELK GROVE - A beloved school garden in Elk Grove is on the brink of being uprooted for a portable.
Students at Roy Herburger Elementary have been getting a green thumb for the past 15 years in the school garden.
"I am kind of thrilled because he's learning more than bookwork, math and stuff like that," said Roman Afuola, parent of a first grader at Roy Herburger. "They get to go outside and they learn other things."
Dana May told CBS13 that her grandkids, Xavier and Yvette, have a passion for planting.
"It gives them a chance to be independent," said May. "It shows them how things can grow. It shows them what they can eat. It brings the health into it."
In a letter to the district obtained by CBS13, Esther Castillo, a former teacher and creator of the garden, lays out the impact the garden has had on social-emotional learning and how it has become a safe place for students to alleviate stress, anxiety and celebrate diversity while working alongside their classmates.
"We are losing so much of the wilderness and the grounds here and to replace it with another building they are losing out on the environment," May said.
Elk Grove Unified told us it needs the new portable for its expanding TK and afterschool programs.
In the letter to the district, Castillo said she understands the need for additional classroom space but believes there are better solutions than eliminating the school's established garden.
In a statement, Elk Grove Unified said:
The Herburger Elementary School Garden was located on a site that was planned from the inception of the school to be reserved for portable buildings should the need arise. Accordingly, all required underground utilities were routed and stubbed to that area to facilitate "landing" portables in the future.
The good news is that Facilities & Planning recognized the hard work that has gone into the Herberger garden, and a landscape architect has been retained to relocate it to the north of its current location; the intent is that it will be replicated as close as possible to the existing layout.
"If it gets relocated, that will be cool," Afuola said. "I know my son wouldn't be too sad but if he hears it's gone for good, he will probably be very depressed or sad about it."
There is no timeline for when the portable will replace the garden or how long it will take to relocate the garden.