From our Coordinator, Liz Perez:
Hi families:
We are all invited to the Dept. of Agriculture's Annual May Harvest Fest this Wednesday, May 14th, from 10am to 2pm. The schedule for the day is:
10am Proclamation Signing with the Governor and Senators
Walk around tours (AmeriCorps volunteers will be stationed at the various sites of the organic farm)
12noon Lunch
Walk around tours after lunch
2pm End of event
The Guam Community College Culinary School will be preparing lunch for everyone.
At this event, we can learn more about organic farming and enjoy a FREE lunch. Everyone will have an opportunity to take some seedlings home. Please be considerate for others.
Also, at some of our field trips and past GHSA events, we have had trouble with parents not minding their children. If your child is unable to behave or if you are unable to keep after them, please DO NOT bring them. Last year, some kids were picking leaves off the plants and rightly so, some of the workers were none too happy about this. Please keep in mind that we are afforded such great opportunities by DOA and we are viewed as a group, not as individuals. Your understanding and cooperation is appreciated.
GHSA has established a very good relationship with DOA administrators and staff and I would like it to remain this way. DOA provides excellent field trips and educational opportunities. I look forward to seeing some of you on Wednesday!
Ms. Perez, thank you for that information.
*****
I attended a field trip to the organic farm at Dept. of Agriculture. I was impressed at how non-boring it was. The tour guide explained about organic farming and how involved the process is to keep chemicals out of the farm. Farm workers cannot even smoke cigarettes.
We took some lemon grass home and it grew into a nice thick clump which, besides being useful for recipes, also made tasty tea.
I remember some people were too hot, so please bring hats, sunscreen and bottles of water. Some little kids whined because it was hard for them to appreciate the importance of organic farming. This is something to keep in mind when planning your field trip.
The DOA organic farm is a good project that does not seem to get much press. Maybe because it is good; most news seems to be about bad stuff. They let Dept of Corrections prisoners work in the farm. This allows them some freedom, something to do besides sit around, and it is an opportunity to learn skills for the prisoners who participate. In addition, the DOC clients get to eat the food. This saves the government money and an additional benefit is they get to eat organic. I wish more things made as much sense as this!
I hope I can get there before it is over. I have never met our Governor.
*****
One thing I like about living on Guam is that you are close to everyone. I have met the following governors:
Governor Manuel Leon Guerrero, who helped Guam recover from Typhoon Karen in the '60's. He was not governor at the time of the typhoon, but the governor was on a world tour and Guerrero was left in charge. Manny Guerrero was appointed governor by President Kennedy in 1963 because of his competence and dedication in helping the island recover from the devastation of the typhoon. I helped him campaign against Ricardo Bordallo in 1974, and talked to him several times during the campaign.
Governor Carlos Camacho--I met him at an outdoor art show at Adelup. I was 13 at the time, and shyly shook his hand. Later, my parents told me I had met the Governor. I remember an earthquake shook some of the paintings off their easels. Otherwise I would have forgotten the whole thing. I am sure he forgot me less than one second later.
Governor Ricky Bordallo, who allowed over 100,000 Vietnamese evacuees come to the safety of Guam's shores when their country collapsed. I met him when he became Governor in 1975. I have also met his wife--who is our Congressperson--many times.
Governor Joe Ada--He was Governor after Bordallo's second term. I met him at when he brought some of his employees to the driving school where I was working. Kind of a non-famous governor, he was popular for giving everyone a $1,000 rebate. I think it worked; he got re-elected.
Governor Carl Guitierrez-- I actually had a meeting with this governor shortly before the end of his second term. Colleen and I joined with several other representatives from private schools to ask him to share the textbook money with private schools. We got our way.
So I never met Paul Calvo, who reigned from 1979-1983, or Felix Camacho, our current governor.
It's kind of cool to live in a place so small that you get to meet the Governor. That was the whole point of that.
I hope you take advantage of the Agriculture field trip. Lunch. Yum.
LES
********************
May 15 UPDATE
The Dept. of Agriculture Harvest was a HIT!
One family said their children loved the opportunity to pick the fruit and vegetables. They had seen it on TV but had never actually done it. She said they went home with a bunch of free organic food and had a delicious, nutritious meal.
The Guam Community College Culinary School provided a delicious meal. Another family said it was just like eating at a 5 Star restaurant. She also mentioned in her email that she talked to John, the man who conducted the tour, and he told her that this was the first year they allowed visitors to harvest. This is because this is the first year no storms or disasters had affected the crops. It was a good year.
The event was a great success. I wish I didn't have to work that day!
I am glad some families were able to attend and that it was such a good event. So many kids sat in hot school rooms and looked out the windows wishing they were doing something truly educational...
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