UCCE gathered parents from Earlimart Elementary School to participate in the school's memorial garden. Parents were given a designated garden bed and there they planted  cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and yellow squash. Parents worked together to clean out the weeds, fill fresh soil, plant vegetables, and water the plants. Parents were beginning to take ownership of the garden and showed interest in maintaining the plants. The parents will meet every Wednesday in the month of May at 8:30 AM. and will have the responsibility of maintaining their vegetables. We look forward to working with parents to engage them in their children's school garden!

Students from Frank Kohn Elementary School had the opportunity to watch their garden grow and now it's time to harvest their radishes! Students learned about the importance of photosynthesis and its role in producing delicious vegetables and plants.  Students jumped with joy as they learned that their radishes were ready to be picked! The children were amazed to learn that radishes come in different shapes and sizes. After harvesting their radishes, the students had the opportunity to enjoy a taste test! Nutrition Educator, Marina Aguilera washed and chopped all the radishes and paired them with a dip. Students learned the process of planting vegetables, caring for them, watching them grow, and best of all enjoying them!

UCCE joined Woodlake's 3^rd MyPlate 3K Color Run to promote healthy eating and physical activity! This event had over 200 participants including parents! UCCE CalFresh educated the participants to rethink their drink and consume more water. Participants were provided with infused water samples containing orange lime and cucumber mint. Students learned the importance of consuming water and how infused water provides them with additional vitamins and minerals. Many of the students expressed how they loved the orange infused water and continued to come back for more! The event provided participants with an opportunity to learn from each MyPlate food group as well as enjoy tasty food samples. As participants ran to their food group stations they were splashed with a color representing each food group. Students learned the importance of implementing the 5 MyPlate food groups into their meals as well as engaging in physical activity!