Support garden at 24th Street Elementary in West Adams on Sunday

Amid the usual massive expanse of concrete at an L.A. Unified school, the students of 24th Street Elementary School are the proud caretakers of a lush one-acre living classroom with an orchard, vegetable and fruit beds, and a charming garden shed. This idyllic setting for the study of gardening, harvesting and cooking transforms an urban school day into an exploration of agriculture and healthy eating.

On Sunday, the students of the 24th Street Elementary School and the Garden School Foundation will open the garden to welcome the community for their Harvest Moon event. It will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. at 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams.

This year the annual fundraiser will celebrate the fruits of the teaching staff and volunteers’ labor with the publishing of their Seed to Table curriculum sharing the expertise they have perfected over nine years of teaching kids about growing and cooking fruits and vegetables.

On a recent visit to 24th Street Elementary, the students were gathered around a picnic table with garden manager Laila Tamburini making branch decorations to welcome their guests. Their burgundy uniform shirts stand out from the lush greenery of the school garden with pops of color as bright as their smiles.

The Garden School Foundation works to make their program accessible to as many students as possible. In addition to 24th Street Elementary, the Garden School Foundation runs programs at Mar Vista Elementary, Wilshire Crest in Mid-City, Andrew Jackson in Altadena, and Rockdale School in Eagle Rock.

The celebration this year has a special significance with the unveiling of their newly published Garden School Foundation curriculum guide, providing one more tool to help them achieve their goals. The curriculum guide reflects the collaborative contributions of a few hundred instructors and volunteers.

“Our curriculum fuels our Seed to Table program. We have 120 lesson plans between garden classes and cooking classes, 10 per grade per year,” explains Garden School Foundation Executive Director Cassie Martinez. “And we have a 35-week school garden guide, which would basically walk a teacher, parent, administrator, anyone through the process to keep a school garden afloat.”

On Sunday, the Garden School Foundation will open its teaching garden with the help of some of Southern California’s most popular restaurants -- Clementine, Heirloom LA, Sqirl, Loteria Grill, Lil Doms, Press Brothers Juicery, the Standard Hollywood, Tacos Punta Cabras and G&B Coffee, which will serve small plates featuring produce from the outdoor living classroom.

Tara Maxey and Matt Poley of Heirloom LA have become passionate supporters of the Garden School Foundation’s work.

“We believe that an appreciation for real food is best propagated at an early age, and there is no better way to do that than by engaging children in cooking, or better yet, being a participant in growing food, “ explains Maxey.

“Not all families have access to open areas to grow their own gardens, so it is critical for schools to provide this exposure and implement garden-based curriculum. Public funds do not exist for programs such as [the Garden School Foundation], so it falls upon the private sector to support them.”

24th Street Elementary School, 2055 West 24^th St., Los Angeles.