Traditional Foods Forest and Lake Leschi

Mr. LaPlant likes to use the Traditional Food Forest and lake Leschi to connect his classroom lectures to the real world. This interactive outdoor classroom allows Mr. LaPlant to teach his students about seasonal changes in real time; he encourages his students to listen, observe and be curious about all interactions they may see. He believes having an outdoor space to walk in allows students to connect with the land and their ancestors in a way that the classroom experience cant provide:

“Thinking about the name—Food Forest—it’s about recognizing the ways food is accessible to us in the natural world. People often think of food as something that comes from the supermarket or even a food pantry, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s also about growing your own food and building a connection with the land.When you gather berries or mushrooms and eat from the land, you’re literally participating in the carbon and nitrogen cycles. You develop –as a native, even more if you’re Puyallup– a stronger connection to a place when you nourish yourself from it. It’s not just about eating; it’s a cultural and spiritual practice of connecting with your ancestors and the land in ways that you wouldn’t experience in a typical urban environment.”

Ms. Nichols likes to incorporate elements from Lake Leschi and the Food Forest into her classroom lessons wherever she can. Sometimes she’ll take the lesson from the classroom to outside for her students to be able to relate what they just learned with the physical natural world, like bringing water and plant samples to look at under the microscopes. Ms. Nichols has found that not only do her students relate more to the course material, but to each other as well, “It’s really nice to see how the food forest brings out different personalities and strengthens their relationships with each other. I think they get to see a different side of one another out there.”

Mr. Lorton leads the Indigenous Culinary class and garden, Cultural Woodshop, and Horticulture program. Since beginning as the woodshop teacher thirteen years ago, he has steadily built and expanded these spaces to help CLS students connect with their culture while developing practical skills they can carry into the workforce through the Culinary CTE pathway.

In 2021, Mr. Lorton and the culture team established the Indigenous Culinary Garden. There, students learn about traditional foods and herbs—how to plant, care for, harvest, and ultimately bring them into the kitchen: 

“I want these kids to be able to go to a powwow and jump into a food cart and cook with their grandma—that’s the strength of this class. When Grandma says, ‘Get that knife and start cutting,’ or ‘Make me some fry bread,’ they’re ready. That’s what we needed to build.”

In 2026, he expanded this work by launching a horticulture class that uses both the Culinary Garden and the Traditional Foods Forest as living classrooms. Students learn to create herbal products such as salves and tinctures, while also developing research skills by studying the plants they grow and care for.

Across all of his classes, Mr. Lorton emphasizes hands-on learning. Students not only grow plants, but also apply woodworking skills to build planters and create a seed library. Looking ahead, he is working toward establishing a CLS Herbal Apothecary to deepen student learning and engagement with horticulture.

Ms. Mitchell started the first phase of the food forest project in 2020, when she and her Ecology Club cleared invasive Blackberry and Reed Canary Grass to install 150 fir trees.  Since then Ms. Mitchell has used the Traditional Food Forest and Lake Leschi to teach her students about ecosystem processes and ecology throughout the seasons. Her Biology students study phenology of the plants–documenting when they bloom, measuring vitality, height, and survivorship. In her Chemistry, and Fisheries Management classes they test the water for dissolved oxygen, Ammonia concentration, pH and Temperature. Her students enjoy learning about the Lake Leschi and Food Forest ecosystem, helping to remove invasive species, and laying wood chips to improve soil quality. Recently, Ms. Mitchell has started a composting program taking uneaten fruits and vegetables from the cafeteria and some weeds from the Food Forest to feed to the goats and sheep of the neighboring farmer.

Ms. Loucks’ Lushootseed classes worked on a project in collaboration with Ms. Ward's broadcasting class to create pronunciation and identification videos of the various plants in the CLS Traditional Food Forest.