The trend of eating organic and healthy foods has many people watching what they eat and Riverbank High School Food/Nutrition ROP Culinary Arts teacher Emily Cowdrey understands the importance of that trend and is sharing that knowledge with her students.

Since Cowdrey began teaching at RHS last year, she has been passionate about bringing the students healthy recipes. One of the goals that she had this new school year was to plant an herb garden. The plan finally came to fruition earlier this month.

Not only will the new food creations be tasty with fresh herbs but it will also give the students a sense of accomplishment of growing the herbs themselves and then using them in their own dishes.

They planted nearly a dozen herbs that include rosemary, dill, oregano, marjoram, mint, sage, thyme, chives, lavender, tarragon, and parsley.

“We also planted Swiss chard and seeded some radishes and some other fall crops,” added Cowdrey.

She said the classes are also learning about the importance of fresh, accessible food.

All food and nutrition and culinary arts students participated in the planting of the herbs in the new herb garden, getting their hands dirty and enjoying the sun. They planted the herbs in one day and they plan to use the herbs in a variety of dishes.

“The students were proud of their work and actually interested in planting,” said Cowdrey.

This new school year is also expected to include a few field trips for the students in addition to creating healthy recipes, utilizing the fresh herbs and participating in a fundraiser.