Green Ribbon Schools

Rio enters into the Farm to Home program, providing locally sourced fruit and vegetables for lunchtime salad bars at all nine schools

Our 1st Elementary School Garden opens.

Our 1st Middle School Garden opens.

Rio partners with FoodCorps, a nationally recognized program providing hands-on gardening and food education programs.

Rio Del Sol STEAM Academy, the newest school in the district, opened its doors in 2018. The school was built in close collaboration with all stakeholders including the local Chumash community. This collaboration represents the sort of land acknowledgement rarely seen in contemporary development. The school’s design, echoing a river’s meander, is both a symbolic and literal embodiment of the district’s vision of a respectful and sustainable relationship with place.

Rio partners with the and other community organizations such as the Ventura Land Trust, The Friends of the Santa Clara River, Once Upon a Watershed, and more to host the first Annual Compost Tea Party.

Rio Real Dual Immersion Academy 4th grade students have participated in the Ocean Plastics Pollution Solution Summit in Monterey, California. As part of this program, students gathered data regarding our use of single use plastics and production of food waste. This data was presented to the governing school board and board members committed to supporting sustainability efforts in school kitchens. Over the years, students participating in this program have been responsible for influencing the elimination of spork packets and styrofoam trays from the cafeteria, so that students are no longer provided styrofoam or straws with plastic wrapping encasing the packets. The students also coordinated with the food service department to purchase spork and napkin dispensers which are only used on days when food is served that requires a spork or spoon. This has greatly reduced plastic trash in all schools.

Family Cook Nights that feature recipes centered on whole foods. The cook nights and ingredients are made available to all district families and the district distributes, on average, between 100-150 kits each month.

Rio has formed a partnership with the City of Oxnard and the Ojai Raptor Center to pilot a program with owls and raptors as a potential solution for gopher infestations in the city’s parks.

Environmental education field trips resume.

Rio School District has four FoodCorps members servicing eight schools (the ninth school is serviced by the Garden Educator). One highlight of the FoodCorps program is Family Cook Nights that feature recipes centered on whole foods. The cooknights and ingredients are made available to all district families and the district distributes, on average, between 100-150 kits each month.

Rio has invested a significant amount of resources and funding towards outdoor and agricultural education through the development of the new full-time Garden and Nutrition Educator position as well as the new purchase of a 10-acre parcel of land adjacent to Rio del Valle for The Regenerative Organic Agricultural Education Center. The Ag Center will not only serve as a venue to cultivate diverse skills and knowledge within the context of sustainable food production but will also provide organic produce to Rio students and families.

Rio Outdoor Lab Experiences expand to all students, providing two field experiences per year for every student.

All sites are in the process of garden revitalization post-COVID and are expanding to create outdoor classrooms.