Gardener's DelightBorageRostov

Grassroots Garden Learning Centre
"See How We Grow!" - Exploring the natural consequences of our food choices

History
In 2011 Wagalus School and Grassroots Garden Society partnered to develop an elementary school program whereby young students would learn about the consequences of food choices starting with plants - why are they important, what is photosynthesis, how do plants grow, how we can grow, prepare and eat them.
This partnership grew as Port Hardy Secondary School helped with propagation space and gave a home to the program's fundraiser, the Reel North Island Film Festival. North Island Secondary School joined and hosted the harvest celebration feast.

In the fall, tots from the pre-school program stopped by to select and harvest a mini-pumpkin from the pint-sized pumpkin patch.

Thus the first year saw the involvement of students pre-school up to grade 12, from throughout the North Island.

Program outline
"See How We Grow!" consists of classroom activities, field trips, and a harvest celebration. The emphasis is on experiential learning, meaningful knowledge, students as teachers.

Classroom Activities
Lesson plans and materials are available in conjunction with school field trips.
The activities are age appropriate, linked to BC learning outcomes, and designed to foster an affinity with the natural world and an understanding of the impact of food choices on the individual and the planet.


School Field Trips
We are pleased to welcome students from regional elementary schools on field trips to the Grassroots Garden Learning Centre. The program is also adaptable to visits to local farms or gardens, or to an existing school garden.


Harvest Celebration Feast
The culmination of the program is a harvest feast celebration in the fall. The gardeners learn to prepare the food they grow, it is shared at the feast, and there is music and celebration.
 

 

North Island spring field trip dates:
April 30 - two elementary classrooms
May 4 - an elementary school
May 18 - an elementary school & 2 high school classrooms
June 1
June 8
June 15

A number of new schools and communities on Vancouver Island have expressed interest in participating in the program. A meeting will be held in Nanaimo on May 11, 2012 to discuss expansion.