Alexis Bissell, a student at Borton Primary Magnet School, holds one of the residents of the chicken coop in the school's community garden. Rachel Ray visited the garden recently.

It was a cold, dark, winter morning when the TV cameras came to the Borton Community Garden. I was the first kid there. If you woke up early, you might have seen me getting interviewed by Lauren Burgoyne, a reporter with KOLD News 13, as I planted an artichoke.

B.C.G. is a community garden created by teachers, parents and students from Borton Primary Magnet School with the purpose of celebrating everything food related, according to Molly Reed, who wrote the grant that started the garden.

Later in the day, Fox News 11, TUSD Focus and a film crew contracted by Rachael Ray of the Food Network visited the garden.

Ray has invited Reed to go to New York to make an appearance on her cooking show.

“The B.C.G. is another tool for Borton students, their families and our community to experience and make a connection to learning,” Reed says. “I was inspired by the students.”

Last year when I was in her classroom, Reed had a little garden inside the school’s courtyard. “I wanted kids to know where their food came from. I was sick of seeing them bring hot Cheetos for breakfast,” she says.

The garden has moved from the courtyard to a fenced area in the northeast corner of the playground. It includes a trellis, chicken coop, farmer’s stand, compost and several garden areas.

When he saw how the garden, coop and compost were connected, Joaquin Herrera, a kindergartner at Borton, said, “That’s cool!”

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