Hi! My name is Alani and I'm five years old. My big sister Sarai told me about something really cool happening at schools in Sacramento — kids are growing vegetables right on the playground! They call it a school garden, and I think it's the most amazing thing I ever heard of. You can eat the food you grow yourself!

Some schools in the Pocket are using something called vertical farming, which means the plants grow up on walls instead of just in the ground. This is really smart because playgrounds don't have a lot of space. My sister said the kids water the plants every day and watch them grow taller and taller. It's like having a science experiment you can eat!

“When you grow your own food, you learn where it comes from and why it matters to take care of the earth.”
— Alani Moten, age 5

The kids who work in the gardens are learning about soil, sunlight, and water just like Sarai does in her 4-H YES program. But this time the garden is right at school, so everyone gets to be part of it. One school grew tomatoes, lettuce, and even strawberries! I really want strawberries in my school garden when I start school.

I think every school in the Pocket should have a garden. Not just because the food is yummy, but because kids learn so much about nature and science. When you grow your own food, you learn where it comes from and why it matters to take care of the earth. When I'm old enough, I want to be the one who waters the plants every morning.

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Alani Moten is a junior reporter at The Kid Reporter based in Sacramento, CA. To read more stories, visit the newsroom →