By Traci Newell

Joe Hu/Town Crier Children enjoy a train ride at the Grant Road farm Pumpkin Patch. Concerned fifth-grade students at Oak Elementary School wrote persuasive essays in defensive of this local landmark.

Concerned fifth-graders in Lenore Lovoi’s fifth-grade class at Oak Avenue School have joined the effort to save a portion of the Grant Road farm, well known by local families for its annual pumpkin patch and Christmas tree farm.

Earlier this year, the property owners sold the 15-acre farm to Summerhill Homes of Palo Alto, which intends to develop the property into single-family homes. At the end of September, residents formed Mountain View Farmlands Group and proposed saving 5 acres for a local farmland.

When Lovoi received a notice of the issue in her school mailbox, she presented it to her students and they agreed to integrate the issue into their persuasive writing assignments.

“I found out how important this is to the children,” Lovoi said. “They really have some strong feelings about this local farmland.”

Lovoi said that all of her students have been to the farm, and some said the going to the farm every year is a family tradition.

The students addressed their letters to Mountain View Mayor Nick Galiotto. The Mountain View City Council will be a deciding factor on how the land is used.

“Although there are many farms in California, there is only one farm in the whole of Mountain View and it’s about to be taken away forever,” said Tara Chari, a student in Lovoi’s class.

Student Annie Winkelman pointed out that the Grant Road farm is the only farm she has ever been to. Students expressed their concern for future generations of local students.

“Younger kids and the next generation need to experience the magic this farm puts into you,” said Corrina Yanagawa, fifth-grader from Oak.

Lovoi’s students listed the attributes of the farm: picking out pumpkins at Halloween time, riding the train, seeing the animals, getting fresh fruits and vegetables, dancing Halloween dolls, mazes, field trips for preschool students, cookies and picking out a Christmas tree during the holiday season.

“The farm is a place for our cities to meet and have fun,” said Kiley Rucker. “With all the pressures on families today, it helps to have a place that brings families together on such fun and relaxing occasions.”

Lovoi said that this has been an impressive bunch of persuasive essays.

“This was really a topic all the students were passionate about,” Lovoi said. “It really bothers them that this might be the end of an era for them.”

The students, once they edit their essays, will chose an essay to send to Galiotto to represent the opinion of the entire class.

“If the pumpkin patch goes, my family and I would never be able to get another pumpkin as lovely as the ones at the farm,” said Seraphine Goh. “Other pumpkin patches would never match the one in Mountain View.”