Launched by Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) in 2007, LiveWell Kids is a comprehensive school well-being program developed specifically for elementary school students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The program was originally created in response to a high rate of obesity – 20 percent in 2007 among Redondo Beach elementary school students. Since the program’s inception, there has been a 60.5% decline in RBUSD student obesity.
After a brief pause in data collection due to COVID-19, BCHD resumed its annual Body Mass Index (BMI) assessments throughout Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD) elementary schools. The 2021-22 childhood obesity rate for participating RBUSD elementary students was 7.9%. While this is a slight increase from 2019 (6.4%), obesity rates among RBUSD Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd and 5th grade students have been declining since 2007, and are far below the county, state and national obesity rates.
The LiveWell Kids program includes both garden and nutrition education. It is comprised of six interactive lessons focused on educating students about the process and benefits of growing their own food, improving nutritional knowledge and making healthy eating choices. All lessons are delivered in the fresh air of the school gardens by trained volunteers. Funded by BCHD, the gardens are maintained by a dedicated group of Garden Angel volunteers.
2022-2023 Lessons
Lesson 1: The Importance of Water for People and Plants
- Benefits of Drinking Water
- Recipes to Make Water More Fun
- Eat Your Water
- Water Tracker
- Nutrition Facts: Sugar (Sports Drink & Cola)
- Benefits of Eating from the Rainbow
Lesson 2: Planting Cool-Season Crops – From Garden to Pizza
- Nutrition Facts: Ingredients (Fresh Corn & Creamy Corn)
- Irrigation Instructions
- Seed Packet Kale
- Seed Packet Peas
- Seed Packet Carrots
- Seed Packet Beets
Lesson 3: Soil, Sodium and Minerals All Living Things Need Nutrients
- Nutrition Laminates
- Garden Laminates
Lesson 4: Pollination and Seeds
- The Life Cycle of a Plant
- Anatomy of a Flower
- Flower to Fruit Process
- How Seeds Travel
- Diagram of a Seed
- Nutrition Facts: Carbohydrates (Whole Wheat Pasta and Fruity Cereal)
- Nutrition Facts: Protein (Black Beans and Hot Dog)
- Nutrition Facts: Fats (Walnuts and Pecan Pie)
Lesson 5: Harvesting Cool-Season Crops and Enjoying Fresh Garden Foods
Lesson 6: Planting Warm-Season Crops & Creating Balanced Meals
Try some of these healthy and delicious LiveWell Kids Recipes!
Volunteer Supplements:
Garden Resources:
- Composting tips and resources
- Learn how to create a sustainable yard at Be Water Wise
- The American Horticultural Society
- Find answers to gardening questions from a reputable educational source
- South Coast Botanical Garden
- The Story of Stuff
Nutrition Resources:
- Information about healthy eating from MyPlate
- MyPlate Kitchen Recipes
- CDC child nutrition facts and resources
- CDC water intake facts
- CDC physical activity facts
- How to enjoy more fruits and vegetables from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- TedX video: Marketing food to children
- Ted Talk video: Teach every child about food by Jamie Oliver
Childhood Obesity Decline in Redondo Beach
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in partnership with Beach Cities Health District. Recent Trends in Childhood Obesity Prevalence in the Redondo Beach Unified School District: A Case Study; June 2020.
LiveWell Kids Program Reports
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research 2015
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research 2014
- 2021-2022 School District Health Report
Education Standards
LiveWell Kids aligns with the [1] National Health Education Standards (NHES), [2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curricula using the 2021 Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT), [3] California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and [4] Common Core State Standards (CCSS). For more information, please view our Nutrition and Garden Standards.
For more information, please contact:
Mishell Balzer
School Health Programs Coordinator, Garden
Mishell.Balzer@bchd.org
310-374-3426 ext. 8264
Tami Kachel, MPH
School Health Programs Coordinator, Nutrition
Tami.Kachel@bchd.org
310-374-3426 ext. 8354
Garden Angel volunteers maintain the school gardens. Interested in becoming a Garden Angel volunteer for the LiveWell Kids Program? Apply today!