Native edible plants — wild grapes and chia (above), elderberry, amaranth, miner’s lettuce (below), nettles, watercress, currants, and prickly pears and paddles — are grown on the site. Conventional raised-bed vegetable gardens include lettuce, rainbow chard, kale, strawberries, peppers, and tomatoes.

The use of pesticides and fossil fuels that are required to produce and distribute food on a massive scale represent a fundamental threat to our natural ecology and the environment on which we depend.

One of the principal tenets of ELSEE is to foster the implementation of small-scale urban food production as a part of the educational process.

With an emphasis on native edibles, classes at ELSEE teach the care and propagation of food-producing plants, as well as the preparation of seldom used but ecologically responsible alternatives to mainstream ingredients.

From the top: Wild California grape, Chia, and Miner’s lettuce (Montia perfoliata)

ELSEE is sponsored by the California Native Garden Foundation (CNGF).