< All news

What’s your community’s nutrient story?

With celebrations for Canadian Agricultural Literacy Week from February 28 to March 5, over 2,000 students across Canada were visited in their classrooms by farmers and industry representatives sharing their stories from coast to coast about agricultural education. Nutrient for Life’s educational coordinator Tamara Sealy discussed soil science and agricultural sustainability with students during Canadian Agricultural Literacy Week throughout the Maritimes.

In beautiful Prince Edward Island, Nutrients for Life focuses on light gardens as an alternative to traditional gardens due to their climate and soil conditions. In partnership with the PEI Agriculture Sector Council, Nutrients for Life has 10, two tier portable light gardens in classrooms across the Island. These gardens demonstrate to students how to grow vegetables such as lettuce, beans, and cucumbers. Classrooms are provided with all necessary materials, including soil, seeds, and the accompanying curriculum. The PEI Agriculture Sector Council helped create the curriculum for the light gardens, ensuring a variety of class subjects and grades could participate in discovering the science behind food production.

Light gardens were introduced on the Island in 2012, beginning with five for the entire Island. Due to the popularity and excitement surrounding these alternative gardens, Nutrients for Life, in partnership with PEI Agriculture Sector Council, was distributing 10 light gardens throughout the Island by 2015. Schools in Prince Edward Island share the gardens, meaning they alternate the gardens to another school for every three months, ensuring all Island students are able to access agricultural education in a hands-on experience. With light gardens, Nutrients for Life reaches 10 classes, three times a year. This means in a school year, the foundation reaches a minimum of 900 students solely in Prince Edward Island, educating them on food production and food security.

The light garden program in Prince Edward Island impacts students by increasing their interest in science, developing their knowledge for food production, and educating them on basic gardening skills they will carry their entire lives. Light gardens are able to foster an interest for agriculture, introducing students to an otherwise unknown career path, including becoming a CCA, chef, or food scientist. The light garden program is a fantastic method of how teachers can help implement valuable, hands-on learning about food production and soil science year-round in the classroom, no matter the climate or soil conditions outside.