Learners Blossom

world-renowned and locally beloved chefs into the Echo Canyon gardens to help students harvest the crops and create tasty dishes, all the while weaving in meaningful math, science, writing, geography and social studies lessons.

“For example, when we grow and harvest amaranth, which is a gorgeous, hot weather plant, a good social studies lesson is taught as students learn about the Aztec culture in Mexico and how it was a staple of their diet,” said Ann.

The Echo Canyon gardens are a special place for learners to grow and thrive. Just ask Ann and Lou Rodarte.

“Beyond your regular vegetables found in a garden, we’ve added fruit trees, like peaches and pomegranates, figs, grapes berries, and citrus,” said Ann. “The students get to see and grow a variety of plants that they may otherwise never experience, such as wheat, cotton, sugar cane, banana trees, bay leaf, passion plants, basil, oregano and corn. We also grow many flowers, and a lot of them are edible. They learn to compost, worm farm, observe and appreciate pollinators, such as butterflies, and take a dive into sustainability.”

Ann has been volunteering in the garden for nearly 20 years, while husband Lou volunteered in the classrooms, reading stories, in character. He also ran a program called “Exploration Friday,” prior to becoming a Master Gardener.

Their four children have long since grown and graduated from SUSD schools, but the couple’s commitment to Echo Canyon, formerly Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center (ANLC), remains firmly rooted in the garden.

In 2012, Ann co-created the Chef in the Garden program, moving from parent-volunteer to parent-partner, bringing

“The story of amaranth may bind the students to a plant they would probably have no interest in tasting, prior to the lesson. We have made amaranth polenta, amaranth pasta, amaranth pancakes, as well as popped amaranth with students in the past.”

Chef Charleen Badman, chef-owner of FnB restaurant in Scottsdale and a James Beard Award winner, was Echo Canyon's first Chef in the Garden.

“I wanted to see more chefs have the opportunity I had to be in schools, teaching students about food education,” said Badman. “We have the chance for students to try so many foods that they may never have had a chance to.”

Badman participated in the James Beard Foundation Chef's Boot Camp to encourage chefs to become bigger parts of their local community.

“This is where the Blue Watermelon Project (BWP) began,” said founder and executive director Badman. “As of October 2022, we are now our own nonprofit group of chefs, farmers, educators and activists working with 25 schools (two are in Tucson) to support good food in schools.”

Chef Charleen Badman

SUSD’s Cochise Elementary School, Mohave Middle School and Echo Canyon School are among the 25 schools that are part of BWP, which operates with the generous help of the Steele Foundation AZ and the Sprouts Foundation.

On this particular warm winter day, Chef Tuan “Butch” Raphael, Chef-owner of AZ Pops, is at Echo Canyon with fruits, vegetables and liquid nitrogen, showing students just how much science is involved in picking and preserving the right produce.

“I’m a food nerd. I like the science of the food because as a chef, if you understand why something is happening, then you can apply it to anything else you create,” said Raphael. “You have to use all your senses when you are cooking. You can tell if something is too wet, too dry, too tender, too tough, by seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting, and that’s what the students did here.”

“My favorite part today was learning about how the liquid nitrogen easily and quickly freezes fruit and vegetables and changes the way it is,” said 6th grader Aubree Murabito.

“Their excitement and awareness of what’s there in front of them and making it relatable is what keeps them from forgetting what they learn,” said Raphael. “They won’t ever forget cell structure because of the way we discussed freezing things fast or slow and the way it changes the consistency. It’d be cool if one of the kids got into thermodynamics because he’s like, “Oh, heat exchange.”

They also discussed enzymes and proteins as they relate to taste. One minute, students’ faces are cringing as they taste a sour lemon and the next, they can’t get enough of the lemons, eating them as if they are oranges.

“I never heard of a miracle berry, and it surprised me how it altered my taste,” said 6th grader Chantze Robinson. “It was like supernatural. I just don’t always think about science or reading and writing when I think about food, but ice expanding and the way cell structures in food can be changed is just really magical.” The experience is magical for the visiting chefs, too. “If that was the student’s reaction, then I did my job. I did my job,” Raphael concluded.

The Echo Canyon program not only feeds the stomach and the soul, but it also supplies worms for science programs around the district.

“One of the most exciting new things we’re now doing is working with the 5th graders to farm worms for the “Critter Farm” for SUSD,” said Lou. “They are learning the care and science of growing red wiggler worms that are then supplied to the schools in SUSD for the various science programs.”

And these now former Echo Canyon parents continue to plant and nourish new partnerships for the betterment of students and staff.

“We’ve stepped into propagation with 3rd graders and are now learning how to propagate and care for houseplants,” said Lou. “We were fortunate to have Arizona State University conduct a study on garden journaling on our campus; thus, our students take their journals out to the vast gardens to journal and we see through their prose their curiosity is sparked.”

“The gardens at Echo Canyon provide our students with opportunities to connect their learning inside the classroom to real-world learning opportunities in our gardens,” affirmed Principal Kathleen Hughes. “We have a wide range of integrated learning experiences for all grade levels, thanks to the support of the Rodartes, Chef Charleen and the Blue Watermelon Project. Our students are fortunate to benefit from amazing community partnerships that create a rich learning environment for everyone."