Beausejour, Manitoba
What grade levels worked in the garden and did you or another teacher link some of your curriculum outcomes to the garden?
Grade 6, Grade 10, Grade 12
Grade 6's looked at diversity with the plants. In Grade 10 diversity and sustainability was explored. In Grade 12, students explored plant diversity and the physiology of plants.
What vegetables/fruit do you grow in your garden? What do you have a difficult time growing in your school garden?
In the aerogardens, mostly herbs and some tomatoes and peppers.
In tower gardens, beans, peas, leafy vegetables, strawberries, cucumbers.
Who manages the garden day to day? Who manages the garden over the Summer break?
Because our gardens are mainly hydroponic, we have some students who take care of adding nutrients and water throughout the week. We also have students who are in charge of harvesting and pruning some of the plants.
Over summer break, our outdoor garden is mostly root vegetables which do not need much tending.
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?
We have special needs students who do a majority of our harvesting and make the produce available to be used in our foods room. They also harvest basil to make pesto which is then sold with the proceeds being donated to a charity of their choice.
Students will be starting flower seedlings after spring break to make flowers available for purchase by other students for Mother's day. Proceeds from this will also go to a charity of their choice.
Do you have community involvement? Do you have parents and volunteers? Have been able to source other funding to help your garden grow?
Not quite at community involvement. Students did sell some pesto during the parent teacher evening. This is helping raise awareness of what they are doing. We also apply to our own school division to get sustainable development funding to continue buying seeds and other gardens.
What are your future plans for the school garden?
We want to continue to expand student involvement and continue to use the gardens for teachable purposes.
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