The larger-sized chickens, Rudy, Angel and Henny Penny, were all but invisible as they scouted out food.

It was the two little Bantam chickens scouting exit routes that caused problems Friday.

Student workers and AmeriCorp VISTA members giggled as they tried to find a corner of the Phoenix Charter School's Learning Garden that would help corral the escape artists.

All five chickens were on loan to help workers deal with the garden's bug population, which the crew usually handles by hand picking.

The Learning Garden is new this year at the school and has taken over an unused volleyball pit and the area around it, growing into fruitful — and veggie-ful — project.

During the school year, the garden served as a learning laboratory for students. AmeriCorp VISTA volunteer Katheryn Cagle helped in securing funding and donations.

With the help of $4,000 in grants from Fred Meyer and Project Learning Tree, as well as donations of ZooDo from Wildlife Safari and many other items, Cagle helped the school get its garden up and running.

“I would come to work and find a giant pack of seeds in my box,” she said of the community's support for the project.

The goal is to create a year-round, sustainable garden, Cagle said.

Students during the year helped set up raised beds, build the fence and do some planting in the garden and the neighboring greenhouse.

This summer, the plot is a work space for four students who are paid through the Umpqua Training and Employment's Summer Youth Employment Program.

Three other AmeriCorp volunteers round out the rest of the crew.

Garden yields will go back into the community. Harvested produce will be donated to the United Community Action Network Food Bank.

The goal is to donate 8,000 pounds to UCAN by the end of the year.

“It's a lofty goal,” AmeriCorp VISTA Summer Associate Kayla Stratton said as she looked at the wood sign indicating yields.

So far, the garden has produced about 300 pounds, but harvesting just began revving up at the end of July, she said.

On Friday and Saturday, onions, beans and squash were harvested by the crew and three volunteers from UCAN who showed up for the Saturday Community Garden day.

Stratton said they hope to have a regular volunteer schedule organized soon, as they will need to rely on volunteer power the two weeks prior to school starting in September.

Jamie Tyler, 18, graduated from Phoenix this year, but is one of the four SYEP workers. She comes back to the school at about 4:30 most mornings to get through the tough work before the summer sun heats things up.

Tyler was in the garden class during the year, and though some of the manual labor was unexpected, she enjoyed the experience that she's watched grow from seed to table.

“It's been worth it ... you put something down and watch it grow and it gets so much bigger every time you see it,” she said.

• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.