Sustainable Food Garden

Our sustainable food garden will provide an oasis of shade, diversity, and ‘planting to harvesting’ discovery in a well-drained and accessible area of our school’s current grass monoculture. Twelve raised garden beds will support perennial food sources for pickling and processing preserves in Culinary Arts (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, asparagus and blueberries); native dye plants for a Native art unit in Cycle 2 Year 1 (St. John’s Wort, Yarrow); letter writing and seed exchange between our Cycle 1 Year 2 students and peers from a gardening school in Montreal; native and perennial medicinal herbs for discovery of natural remedies during Science Club (Mullein, Catnip, Calendula) ; perennial butterfly habitat (Bee Balm, Cone flower); and three vegetable beds to be planted and tended by Cycle 1 Year 1 students and harvested next year when they are Cycle 1 Year 2 students (squash, peas, corn, beets, carrots). This delicious fall food will be enjoyed during an evening family harvest celebration in autumn. In addition, we will have five fruit trees at the northern border of our garden (apple, plum, apricot, pear, and cherry) and a staggered row of nine elder trees to serve as a wind break and nesting habitat for birds at the south west of the garden.

Update (May 30, 2011)

Our kids are doing an incredible job in Our Garden! In early May, our Secondary IV students finished building our raised cedar garden beds! Around the same time, our Secondary III students planted trees: 6 fruit trees, 3 Viburnums, and 6 Elderberry trees. Five of our ten beds have been planted by our Secondary II students with: garlic, onions, pumpkins and squash; strawberries; raspberries; blackberries; potatoes and asparagus. This afternoon we'll be planting our culinary herb garden, and at the end of this week, our tomatoes will be transplanted in by our Secondary I students and carrots, beets, and radishes will be sown! Science Club has also been coming out at lunch times to help with the beginning of the weeding process. We're having a great time! Thank you, Imagineaction!

Update (June 7, 2011)

Yesterday we celebrated the official opening of our garden with a Garden Gathering Ceremony! It was truly wonderful! Our Secondary IV students were there, and student representatives of Secondary I and II were also present. Several students shared their experiences of their time in the garden, and the Secondary Is held the vine which two Science teachers cut to show that the garden was now open to all visitors! Students also thanked those who had contributed donations to the project with cards, pins, and seedlings they had planted: The Richmond branch of The Legion, locals Rick Lockwood and Sebastien Michon who had donated time and tools, Nancy Gagnon of Les Tabliers en Folie, and Sara from Imagineaction. Thank you, Imagineaction!