Harvest Mural Completed!

Winter features oranges, chard, beets,
cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli.

Spring features lettuce, radishes, carrots,
salad greens, peas, and colorful flowers.

North County Community Services would like to send out a huge thanks to the many volunteers who contributed time, talent, and materials to the mural at Balderrama Preschool in Oceanside. After nearly 8 months of work, we have finished the harvest mural! 

The Harvest Mural at the Balderrama Preschool was painted to improve the courtyard where preschoolers and their families enter our facility through. The addition of both the mural, as well as a succulent garden, has made the space come alive with life and art! The mural was designed to represent different cultures and genders. Each of the four mural sections represents one of the four seasons. In each season, a smiling child holds and is surrounded by fresh fruits and vegetables that are usually harvested in that season. Representing a diversity of fresh food available all year round is easy in San Diego County!

Much hard work was put in by volunteers from Oak Hills Covenant Church (two sessions!) Coca-Cola, and North Coast Church to make this mural possible. Each of these groups not only helped make the mural dream a reality with volunteers, but also with donations of paint and paint brushes! 

Summer features sunflower, watermelon,
eggplant, tomato, cucumber, squash, poppy,
and lavender flowers.

A very special thanks to volunteers Leah and Jesus for helping with many sessions of finishing touches! Without the design, artistic talent, donation, and time put in from all our volunteers, this project would not have been possible. We are very happy with the final product, and the kids at the preschool love it! Thank you also to Teen Volunteers in Action, Cal Coast Academy, and Marriott International for helping with other improvement projects in the courtyard to make the mural area look great!

The full photo album of the mural project can be found here on our Facebook page. If you think your group would be a good fit for a mural project, contact Abby at volunteer@sdnccs.org or 760-471-5483. We are currently looking for groups to help with preschool bathroom murals in Escondido and Oceanside.

Fall features pumpkins, grapes, avocados,
apples,  pears, and falling leaves.

Genentech donates a food forest!

On June 7, Genentech employees came out to the Gardens at North River Road for their yearly volunteer project. this year, they left a very long-lasting mark by donating and planting 14 fruit trees. Six volunteers worked for about three hours to dig holes, amend soil, install gopher baskets to protect the investment, and get the fruit trees in the ground.

Genentech volunteers planted 14 fruit trees on June 7.

Thanks to Genentech, we now have apples, nectarines, plums, peaches, apricots, figs, banana, pineapple guava, and nectaplums growing in our garden! They do need to establish themselves for a few years before they will be producing any fruit, but we are greatly looking forward to having fresh, natural fruits to serve our preschoolers for lunches ans snacks. We are happy to have another addition of perennials (plant's that continue to grow as long as their needs are met, as opposed to annuals that need to be replanted every year) in the garden. By planting more perennials, we are ensuring a harvest in years to come, without having to dig out old plants and replant every season.

Thank you Genetech! We can't wait to work with you again next year!