Christina Korten, 55; L.A. Educator Stressed Gardens and Healthy Eating

Christina “Nonnie” Korten, a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District who founded its Nutrition Network to educate children about healthy eating, and used school gardens planted with fruits and vegetables as a primary teaching tool, died Jan. 10. She was 55.

Korten, an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles for 29 years, was diagnosed with metastasized melanoma in December and died at her home in Los Angeles, according to her husband, Noel.

“Nonnie was always looking for meaningful experiences that would engage children in the learning process,” said Beth Larsen, marketing coordinator for the Nutrition Network, on Friday. “She wanted to connect what they were learning to nature -- to make learning come alive.”

Born Christina Liebhold in Santa Monica, Korten graduated from UC Santa Barbara and earned a master’s degree in educational administration at Cal State Northridge.

She taught at Miramonte Elementary School, 61st Street School and others, emphasizing field trips to the outdoors as an essential part of a grade school education.

In 1989, she left the classroom to become a science resource teacher, helping other educators find innovative ways to enrich their science lessons. For years, she was based at the Westside Science Center, which lends out microscopes, bug specimens, fertilized chicken eggs ready to hatch and similar teaching aids.

Korten used seminars to share her enthusiasm for the mysteries of centipedes, butterflies, aphids -- and earned a reputation among colleagues as “the teacher who loves bugs.” She encouraged teachers to plant gardens with their students to show how fruits and vegetables grow.

“A lot of kids think apples come from a plastic bag in the grocery store,” Larsen said. “When they see food growing in the ground, it changes everything. One boy who hated eggplant couldn’t wait to eat it after he planted it in the school garden.”

To help L.A. Unified schools fund a gardening program, Korten became a founding member of the Partnership for Agriculture and Science in Education in the early 1990s. Through the partnership, about 50 agricultural agencies, including farm bureaus from around the state, contributed materials and offered workshops for teachers. Topics were as varied as insects and compost cultivation.

Korten saw the Nutrition Network, a national program, as an innovative way to help increase the number of school gardens in Los Angeles public schools. In 2000, she made her first application for a federal grant to fund her efforts. Offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Stamp Program, such grants support nutrition and exercise programs in kindergarten through 12th grade. A portion of the grant money can be used for school gardens.

The Nutrition Network’s key goals are to teach children the value of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and to tout the benefits of physical exercise. To tailor the program to Los Angeles schools, Korten helped teachers find ways to include nutrition education throughout the curriculum. She encouraged math teachers, for example, to divide a fresh orange into pieces and use them in a lesson about fractions.

Her first grant was for $5 million; this year’s is $7.5 million. To qualify, a campus must have 50% or more students eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school. Since the Nutrition Network was launched, about 300 Los Angeles Unified schools have become involved out of 500 that qualify, Larsen said.

“Nonnie wanted a garden in every school,” said Chris Holle, a school administrator and friend of Korten, on Friday. “She worked hard for that.”

Besides her husband, an artist and art instructor, Korten is survived by their son, Max; two brothers; and 10 nieces and nephews.

Donations may be made to the Nonnie Korten Memorial School Garden Fund, LAUSD Nutrition Network, 6155 Bellaire Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91606.

A new garden will be dedicated during a memorial service for Korten this spring. For information, e-mail nonniesgarden@lausdnutnet.org.