SANTA PAULA, CALIF.--Limoneira Company and Agromin have teamed up with the Ventura County Resource Conservation District (VCRCD) to donate 183 "Carrots for Kids" seed growing kits to third and fourth graders in the Santa Paula Elementary School District. The carrot kit distribution is part of the VCRCD's efforts to educate local schoolchildren about the value of agriculture and growing their own food.

"All the kids have been highly involved and enthusiastic about the topic," says Mary Maranville, environmental education outreach coordinator for VCRCD. "Kids love learning about agriculture, gardening and details about fruits and vegetables. Handing out the carrot kits is a lovely way to end the presentation."

"Even in a community such as Santa Paula with its rich agricultural history, many young students don't make the connection between the acres of farmland around them and the food on their table," says Harold Edwards, president and CEO of Santa Paula-headquartered Limoneira Company and one of the country's largest citrus and avocado producers. "The VCRCD is helping make that connection. Having kids care for their own carrots as they grow from seeds to eatable vegetables brings it home even further."

The kits contain a green recycling component. Agromin, one of California's largest green materials recycling companies with a 10-acre facility on Limoneira property, includes potting soil made from locally collected green materials (i.e., grass clippings, leaves, wood) in the kits. "The soil teaches students that the green waste we generate at home can be collected, composted and turned into eco-friendly soil products that can then be returned to the earth," says Bill Camarillo, Agromin CEO. "By being conscious of recycling their green material, the students can create a more sustainable community and help close the recycling loop."

Maranville is scheduled to speak at other schools in Ventura County to spread the agriculture and conservation message. For more information, contact her at 805-386-4489, e-mail: mary.maranville@vcrcd.org.