Sarah Canterberry learned about gardening, gleaning, and preserving food from her mom and grandmothers.  She holds a degree in Spanish from Portland State University, and has a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language.  In 2009 she completed the School Garden Coordinator Training offered by Growing Gardens and is a member of the Portland Farm and Garden Educators Network.  As the garden educator at Vernon Elementary since 2007, she has been able to incorporate teaching Portland area children about year-round gardening and overseeing students harvesting for their cafeteria. She has found a nice balance between managing a school garden (a labor of love and a volunteer project shared between her and her husband, Gage Reeves) and teaching science-based experiential garden curriculum.  This year she also became the garden educator at Faubion Elementary.  Working with school gardens has brought to her life a real sense of participation in her community, a community which simultaneously experiences obesity and hunger.  She loves the hard work, health, deliciousness, and joy she gets from sharing and growing food.

Sarah’s garden is a 1500 ft2 plot, fenced in with grape and kiwi vines, espaliered apple and pear trees, plums, figs,  blueberries, cane fruits, a large asparagus bed, and ample space for annual crops.   She employs chicken powered pest control, and uses their manure to speed up her compost.  She also loves worm composting and sprays worm tea on her plants.  “Currently my gardening philosophy is:  add compost and organic fertilizer when planting, build the soil, plant at the proper time of year, harvest when it’s ready and preserve the extras, plant cover crops, rotate crops, be mindful of resources used, water early in the morning, connect with the earth, breath deeply, and relish in the pleasure of growing fresh food.”