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2525 N Avenue
National City, CA
619-434-4281 |
 Contact Us
Executive Director
Healy Vigderson
Program Director
Diana Bergman
Gardens and Facilities Manager
Leonard Vargas
Nutrition Program Coordinator
Cherianne Barry
Coordinator of Volunteers and Outreach
Cristina Juarez
Development Assistant
Claire Groebner
Garden Educator
Ananda Gunasekara
Garden Support Staff
Michael Ramirez
Adan Teposte
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Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center was created by the
International Community Foundation
to further its mission of ensuring healthy communities and healthy economies in the cross-border region.
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Follow the Seasons with Fresh Veggies!
Olivewood Gardens offers
Farmer's Market Boxes from Specialty Produce! The box ($20) includes a weekly selection of California-grown fruits and vegetables. Specialty Produce donates $2 for every purchase to the Olivewood Gardens program fund. To learn more or enroll, contact
Cherianne Barry.
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Board of Directors
Chair:
Sam Dycther, M.D.
Vice
Chair:Trish Watlington
Treasurer:
Jacqueline Reynoso
Secretary: Cathe Burnham
James Clark
Dennis Doyle, Ph.D.
Anne McEnany
Susana Villegas
Trish Watlington
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Thank you Sponsors
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Our garden, cooking, and nutrition programs for children, adults, and families would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors and donors. We'd like to thank these sponsors for their recent donations to support our Children's Field Trip Program!
The County of San Diego
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Upcoming Events and Programs
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August 10th, 9:30AM - 1:30PM
Looking for Summer Break activities for your children?
Your child can spend the day at Olive
wood Gardens!
We've planned great activities to get
your kids'
minds and hands
active and engaged in nature and health!
$25 per child
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Open House
Visit our beautiful gardens, historic Victorian home, and learn about our programs! Open House is on Saturday, August 27th from 10AM - 1PM. Tours start at 10:15AM and 12PM.
Click here for details |
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Educator Happy Hour
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Interested in Garden-Based Nutrition Education?
Join us for a fun and informative mixer to troubleshoot, plan, and share
about your school garden program.
September 16, 3PM - 5:30PM
Contact us for details:
619-434-4281
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Healthy Tapas Cooking Class
Join us for a fun night learning to make healthy tapas. Harvest produce from the Gardens and enjoy your creations under the stars.
September 10th, 5PM - 7:30PM
Register here
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Cultivating Conversation: A Dine and Learn Series
Visit Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center for an intimate outdoor
dinner, guided tour, and thought-provoking discussion in our beautiful
garden setting.
*Featured Restaurant:
Cowboy Star Restaurant
*Featured Speaker:
Bastyr University
October 1st
Register here |
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Volunteer
Looking for a fun way to help our community become healthier? Why not volunteer with Olivewood Gardens? We have a role for you!
Find Out More Here
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SDG&E Summer Tips
During these dog days of summer, learn about SDGE's
My Account & unleash the energy savings
Earn bill credits by saving energy on
Reduce Your Use Days! Enroll in alerts.
Save on cooling w/
these 1-minute videos.
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Fall Internships
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We're now accepting applications for the fall internships!
Become an Olivewood Gardens Intern and learn the ins-and-outs of the organization's programs! Experience first hand an a
lternative system that
incorporates healthy eating, gardening and environmental stewardship.
Positions available
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What We're Up To...July and August
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- Summer has been a very productive time here at the Gardens. We have hosted a number of programs and events and are in the middle of intensive planning and preparation for the upcoming school year.
- Chef Ryan Johnston from WhisknLadle joined us in the kitchen to do a private cooking class and dinner in support of our Cooking for Salud and Kitchenistas Engagement Program. What a feast!
- School may be out on summer vacation, but we still had a number of classes and groups join us for field trips, including a Mommy and Me group, Summercrest Apartments, and Health Sciences High and Middle College.
- The Kitchenistas have been busy meeting and engaging in the community. Some of the projects they have been involved with include: monthly Kitchenistas meetings, a series of workshops called Comida, Yoga y Salud, which tie food and fitness, a Butterfly Park clean-up, and a School Health Leader Training to be held in August.
- We hosted an Open House and Gardening workshop about pest management and identification on July 23rd and will host another Open House and Gardening workshop on garden planning and scheduling on August 27th.
- "The Kitchenistas of National City" was screened publicly for the first time in National City at the Public Library as part of the first The Face Behind the Art festival. The Kitchenistas made a delicious snack to share, Patty and Daisy - two of the stars of the film shared about their experiences, and Film Director and Producer Mary Ann Beyster and Director of Photography and Editor David Romero spoke about the creation of the film and its importance for the community.
- Olivewood held the pilot class of our new adult cooking class series and guests joined us for Taco Tuesday to learn how to make healthy tacos, salsas, and tortillas from scratch. They harvested produce to make their meal and took home fresh goodies from the garden.
- We celebrated Program Director Diana's soon-to-be addition to the family at a Baby "Sprinkle."
- Olivewood participated in the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior's Annual National Conference as both a site for participants to visit to learn about our programs, and as a presentor on the findings related to our Children's Field Trip Program.
- Our eight-month long training on program evaluation will come to a close at the Project Impact Showcase where we will share our findings from the evaluation of our Cooking for Salud program. Stay tuned for more!
- A new session of Cooking for Salud will begin in August and we will welcome another group of future Kitchenistas to the Olivewood family!
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Featured Recipe
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Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salad
An Olivewood Gardens Recipe
Ingredients
1 ear corn (husk and silk removed; tip cut off)
2 pints cherry, grape, or pear tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
coarse salt and ground pepper
Directions
Stand ear in a large wide bowl; with a sharp knife, carefully slice downward to release the kernels. Discard cob. Add tomatoes, avocado, scallions, lime juice, and oil to bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and toss gently to combine.
For more recipes, go
HERE
Fun Facts About Tomatoes
Here at Olivewood, we have been eating a LOT of tomatoes this summer...salsas, tomato sauces, fresh tomatoes, you name it. This wonderful fruit is highly suited for the San Diego climate, fairly easy to grow, and delicious. Homegrown tomatoes are especially tasty because they can be harvested at peak ripeness, allowing all the sugars to develop while the tomato is on the plant.
Nutritionally, tomatoes are special for the phytochemical lycopene that plays a role in preventing disease, supporting eye health, and numerous other health benefits. Tomatoes are also high in vitamin C which plays a role in cancer prevention, heart health, and skin health. With additional antioxidants, beta-carotene, and folic acid among other nutrients, tomatoes provide important health benefits to those that consume them (Medical News Today).
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