Full Circle Farm Groundbreaking

Sunnyvale city officials joined board members from the Santa Clara Unified School District and the Sunnyvale Sustainable Gardens non-profit in planting the first fruit tree, a plum, at the ground-breaking ceremony for Full Circle Farm. The farm returns 11 acres of unused land at the Peterson School to agricultural use as a not-for-profit farm and education center that will supply produce to the school district and local charities, as well as sell directly to the public.


Shovels stand ready for the true 'ground-breaking', digging a hole and planting the first of a small orchard of fruit trees that will echo Santa Clara's agricultural heritage and provide fruit for the Farm's school lunch and market garden programs.




A sizeable crowd turned out for the afternoon's festivities, which included informative displays about Santa Clara farming history, conservation strategies related to agriculture, the concept of 'peak oil', efforts to reclaim the former UC/USDA farm station in San Jose before it is developed and lost, and face-painting and rock-painting for children.



All of the tables were decorated with winter vegetable seedlings, planted in colorful pots that had been painted by children at last weekend's Santa Clara Art and Wine Festival. Visitors were encouraged to take a seedling or two home with them. I chose Italian parsley, as my pot of it was accidentally left unwatered sometime this summer.



The collection of local dignitaries paused for a photo op with the commemorative plaque that will mark the tree. I hope to edit this shortly to include names and affiliations-- please leave a comment if you can help identify people!




For even more pictures, see my
Full Circle Farm Groundbreaking set on FlickR.