SES is transforming its campus into a full-scale outdoor learning space, thanks to a schoolwide and community effort. What began with third graders learning hydroponics has expanded into seedling sales, a weekly farmers market, and a growing Garden Club. The Garden Club also grew milkweed and nectar plants to support pollinators, delivering them to River Fork Ranch’s Monarch Waystation on May 28.

This spring, 13 raised beds—one for every classroom—were built, hooked up with irrigation, and filled with soil thanks to help from:

• Carson Valley Roasting Plant – seeds, shovels, a garden bed, and brewed coffee for volunteers
• Rotary Club – funding for garden beds
• Elks Lodge – vermicomposter, worms, hand tools, and soil from Full Circle Compost, helped fill the beds with soil, and even brought in two tractors to get the job done
• Scarselli PTO – garden bed, reusable pots, and fencing for a vine arch

Staff members Sarah Ruiz, Augusta Hinton, Colin Kvasknicka, and John Tobias have dedicated time and energy to make this vision a reality. Students will return in the fall to harvest, taste, save seeds for future planting and explore what they helped grow—turning Scarselli into a living classroom.