Do not let our name fool you! Yes, we are the Purple PACT, but we are also very green! Westhill High School’s greenhouse and garden epitomizes that concept. Because of the hard work from Viking student athletes, our garden was filled with various types of flowers, 14 different types of veggies, and countless herbs. It’s clear their strength is just as useful off of the field as it is on! They helped by taking on various jobs such as filling and dumping heavy wheelbarrows, shoveling, turning the ground, planting, watering, and harvesting.
Our philosophy is that health is attained through three areas: fitness, diet, and most importantly, the mind. When all three are working in unison, you are able to reach your highest potential. Because of this, we strive towards offering opportunities for our student athletes in each area. Fitness is attained during their sport, but the garden and the greenhouse allows us to go beyond. We have had guest speakers present on nutrition and on the concept of farm-to-table. During the presentation athletes observe and ask questions while a recipe is being made with the produce from the garden. At the end of the day, they are able to eat the final product. All recipes are simple with the goal of having the student athletes feel comfortable enough to recreate it at home.
Our student athletes are involved in a process bigger than themselves. All extra produce and recipes will be donated to local homeless shelters and soup kitchens. They will come to learn that life is full circle; that by nurturing and loving a seed it will then begin to provide back to them and their community. They will witness this first hand when the same plants they cared for will go towards helping to fill an empty stomach.
