Submitted by Vanneza Rivera With Michael Gass
February 26, 2015 2:27 p.m.
What is Project Pirate CAFÉ?
Cleverly named, Project Pirate CAFÉ is a community garden at Fernandina Beach High School by Chef and Culinary Arts teacher, Michael Gass. CAFÉ stands for Culinary Arts, Farming, and Education. The garden located right outside of the classroom will produce fruits, vegetables, and herbs to be used in classroom and lab exercises. In addition to using the harvest in recipes, gardening will be incorporated into his class room curriculum so students can learn to grow their own food once they graduate.
Construction on the garden beds have begun in earnest thanks to funds raised by the FBHS Foundation and a Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Grant.
Chef Gass has spent several hours kick starting the project with the invaluable help of family (most especially his father, Bill), friends, and the community. Most recently they constructed a rain water catchment system with plastic drums donated by friends on Facebook and funds from the FBHS Foundation. The catchment system will hold over 1300 gallons of water and be used to help irrigate the beds.
Support has come from many places. Notably Meyers Tractor and Tree Service has agreed to deliver topsoil, woodchips, and used railroad ties. The Jacksonville Zoo has donated two truckloads of compost from their grain and plant fed animals to fill the raised beds. Chic-fil-a has donated pickle buckets used to start some of the crops for the garden. Janice Carnley of Bob’s Irrigation offered the landscape plan used by Gillette & Associates who submitted the formal plans for review.
The garden will contain 12 raised beds, two for each class. Students will be
responsible for weeding, watering, and harvesting the produce. Special thanks to Jesse Stubbs of the Island Gardening Project who has started heirloom seeds from his personal seed bank, including 2nd and 3rd
generation seeds.
Seedlings will be planted in the raised beds by March when the threat of a late freeze is minimal.
Project Pirate CAFÉ is well underway. Check them out on Facebook. If you would like to donate, the
FBHS Foundation will be holding its annual Foundation Feast at Walker’s Landing on February 28th.
For more information regarding the Foundation Feast please contact Hamp Tanner at [email protected]
What a wonderful project. Thanks Michael for the inspiration and thanks to all the contributors who are making the gardens possible. I am sure the students will receive great levels of knowledge from this effort.
As a past Master Gardener, I applaud all the people involved in this project. Vegetable gardening is a wonderful and rewarding experience. Good luck with this.