Alf Cuthbert School

About our Garden

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

Raised beds, Greenhouse/potting shed.

What grade levels worked in the garden and did you or another teacher link some of your curriculum outcomes to the garden?

The main focus will be grade 5-8 with some time in the greenhouse and gardens with the K-4 as well.

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

At this time, we have apple trees, haskaps, saskatoons. In the raised beds, we grow a variety of vegetables; peas, beans, sunflowers, radish, lettuce, carrots, beans, etc.

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

The main focus will be grade 5-8 with some time in the greenhouse and gardens with the K-4 as well.

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

Students day to day. The custodian, neighbor and myself as the principal all work at looking after the areas during the summer.

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 harvest is given to the groups who planted it from the raised beds. The fruit is shared amongst the schools. As the trees/shrubs produce more, we hope to be able to teach the kids to preserve the fruits as jams etc. If we manage to get our canteen going again, the harvest will be used there as well.

Do you have community involvement? Do you have parents and volunteers? Have been able to source other funding to help your garden grow?

We sourced funding through a variety of grants. We have parents who help us as asked. There are many parents who have asked to be able to help this spring in the greenhouse/potting shed.

What are your future plans for the school garden?

We hope to create a medicine wheel garden as well as share our plants out to other families, the manor and the RM of Gramahdale Office in Moosehorn.