ST THOMAS AQUINAS CSS

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About our Garden

Please describe your garden, is it raised beds, in the ground, do you have a greenhouse?

Our gardens are in the ground for the first year, however, we are transitioning to raised beds.

What vegetables/fruit do you grow in your garden? What do you have a difficult time growing in your school garden?

Cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, asparagus. Currently, we have difficulty growing everything to the fruiting stage. Many animals are eating our seedlings before they can grow to such a stage.

Why did your school decide to add a school garden?

To provide an opportunity for students of all abilities to be part of a non-competitive community. The goal is to help students understand the importance of being able to grow their own food. This will help support our hospitality program. As well, the gardening club would like to begin donating any excess fruits and veggies to local shelters and community homes in need. Lastly, we wanted to provide a way to help develop life skills for our special needs students.

What classes participate in the garden, what subjects are taught in the garden?

Currently, no classes are taught in the garden. The club runs during lunch and after school. The Special Education class helps with planting new perennials until we are able to collect resources to start a program with these students.

Who manages the garden day to day? Who manages the garden over the Summer break?

The volunteer teachers and students part of the club manage the garden on a day-to-day basis. One teacher manages the garden over the summer, however, there is a plan to introduce community service hours over the summer for students to participate in the maintenance of the garden.

What do you do with the harvest from your garden? Do you have a harvest celebration? Do you use it in the cafeteria, or culinary classes? Do you donate some of the produce?

The goal, after having our first successful harvest, is to supply the hospitality class with fruits, vegetables, and herbs. If we have enough to supply the hospitality class and still have some leftovers, they will be donated to food shelters and community homes in need.

What are your future plans for the school garden?

With such a large area for our garden, we would like to incorporate flower gardening for and design a flower bed for the school. We have also expressed interest in having First Nation members teach and help us grow a medicine garden. Lastly, we would like to have several garden tables/ raised garden beds for our fruits, veggies, and herbs. It would be ideal if we are able to set up an indoor growing area to begin germinating and growing our seeds over the winter.