BEANS Countywide Meeting

Our county covers a lot of square miles and often there’s a divide between what is happening in Fort Bragg, Willits, and Ukiah. The divide is especially wide for young people because they don’t interact much with other students in other towns other than in sports rivalries. However, it is always heartwarming when groups from various parts of the county get together in one room… we realize that we are a community committed to making this a healthy, vibrant county.

This is especially true for the BEANS teen peer educators because when they get together, they have a lot in common... they are all out in their local schools teaching kids about nutrition, tasty foods, and fun physical activities. So, last week when the BEANS team gathered for a training day at the Willits Kids Club, the sense of community was a given.

The day began with high energy dancing to “Cotton-eyed Joe” and a raucous card game (played with a deck of fruit and vegetable picture cards of course!). The teens then got their hands into some great garden soil from the Noyo Food Forest’s learning garden. Seeds were planted and gardens were planned. Next, the teens learned some chef’s secrets for tasty food shared by Patrona’s Bridget Harrington. The teens then put their effective teamwork and chef’s skills into practice by working together to create a lunch taste test for our midday break. The recipes included vegetable soup, carrot and cilantro salad, and tropical banana treats. The BEANS training day ended with an hour-long fun and games session with physical fitness specialist Laurel Chambers from the Northcoast Nutrition Collaborative in Santa Rosa.

One of the teens’ favorite activities was playing the “Life Cycle Game.” It’s a physically active game that gets people up and moving, learning about the cycle of life from seed to sprout to plant to seed again! People of all ages can enjoy active games like these. The BEANS teens especially enjoy getting up, moving around, and being a little silly as well as a little competitive.

At the end of the day, we all walked away with a sense of connection and common purpose. We all learned something new for ourselves and for our nutrition education work. We will continue to connect on our Facebook group page to share funny stories, helpful teaching strategies, and tasty recipes. Until next time, here’s hoping that all of our seeds sprout and make it into the garden to give us flowers and fruits!