A gaggle of sixth-grade students grab overripe eggplants from a compost pile in the green edible garden, a focal point of Thomas Starr King Middle School. They make their way up a hill, passing more classrooms to a tree at the edge of campus, surrounded by what looks like a mound of hay.
It’s 101 degrees outside the Los Feliz school, and the hay is dry to the touch. Teacher David Egeler tells the kids to poke a finger into a small opening in the mound, and tell him what they feel.
There’s soil inside, and it’s wet.