On an unseasonably sunny and hot (by Southeast Alaska standards) day, the dining hall at the Glory Hole was relatively empty, but for a woman checking on some seedlings on racks by the front windows and a few men seated around tables. More people could be seen chatting in small groups outside, a couple on the sidewalk, but mostly around the back where the once bare and littered hillside has been transformed into a terraced garden. A handful more stood on the roof, now fitted with paths of wood decking and dozens of planters filled with soil. It’s springtime for everyone.

Most memories of school lunch involve fleeting excitement on pizza day and a general sense of disgust most any other day of the week. Look out, in Sitka schools, there’s a new hot food in town. That’s right, Sitka’s own local hero — fish.

The Fish to Schools program is currently organized by Sitka Conservation Society’s Community Sustainability Organizer, Tracy Gagnon, who also runs a 4H club providing kids with opportunities to connect with the environment and local food sources.

I still maintain that my parents were far too paranoid in my youth. We left California because my parents were certain I’d be murdered or forced to join a gang if we stayed in the Bay Area. I wasn’t allowed to attend the fifth/sixth grade trip to “Outdoor School” because my parents didn’t want me away for that long, or something. I had strict curfews through high school and when my sister and I wanted to go to Portland for a concert, my parents were convinced we’d be shot. In college, my parents knew that I’d be subject to some terrorist plot if I spent a year in Berlin.

“Music can be a bridge. It’s not a bridge because it’s music, it’s a bridge because of the person who’s bringing music to the children.”

That’s Dr. Thomas Moore, a professor of early childhood education at Benedict College in North Carolina, a consultant and musician — first and foremost, he emphasizes his role in early childhood education.