Fall Harvest Festival

The rain broke with enough time for the sun to warm the Fall Harvest Festival at JA Wendt's school garden and grounds on Monday. Throughout the day, classes of kindergarten students through fifth graders took their turns to step outside and learn a little more about how produce from the garden turns into some of the different ingredients in the food they eat.

Volunteers from the Lower Columbia School Gardens, a program that helps oversee the Wahkiakum School garden project, walked each student through the process of making apple cider. Each student got a chance to use an apple crusher and an apple press. They also got to learn about seeds and corn, using a mortar and pestle or mill to grind them into flours.

Finally, there was a lot of laughter and smiles around the obstacle course, as students jumped over and slid under hay bales to grab an apple or pumpkin and bring it home, sending the next runner on his way.

Photos by Diana Zimmerman.