Barona Cultural Center & Museum

In 2017, the seventh and eighth graders' Heritage Project focused on ethnobotany (the science of cultural plant use), maintaining the Founders' Garden of Native Plants, and learning about the early years of the Barona Indian Reservation. Students learned "herbarium standards" (proper care for a collection of preserved plant specimens) and techniques to preserve plant specimens while researching and writing about traditional uses of plants for dietary, medicinal, and utilitarian purposes. They spent two weeks caring for the Garden and adding new plants. They also learned about how the People came to the Barona Valley and built their own homes and Church with renowned San Diego architect Irving Gill.

As part of their lesson on Gill and his design aesthetic, Built Environment Education Program [BEEP] offered a two-hour class where the students learned how to draw in perspective (using a Gill house as their subject).

Acknowledgements:

Lucy Ferguson, 7th and 8th Grade Teacher

Principal - Austin McKeever

Barona Indian Charter School Board

IT - Erin Payne

7th Grade: Jordan Buban, Indiana Cook, Angel Gutierrez-Silva, Emiley Holsbo, Jonathan Klingman, Cooper Maio, Justin Mair, Billy Martin, Garrett Pekelder, Akaylah Ramirez, and Brissa Swearingen.

 

8th Grade: Kathleen Aguilar, Ethan Doerr, Mikayla Estrada, Eldon Holsbo, Ryan McIntosh, Domanin Montiel, Julian Panelo, Nyree Richardson, and Jada VanWanseele

Barona Museum Staff: Jennifer Stone, Assistant Curator and Therese Chung, Collections Manager