{"id":31301,"date":"2020-06-09T09:46:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T16:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seewhatgrows.flywheelsites.com\/?p=31301"},"modified":"2020-06-17T18:33:43","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T01:33:43","slug":"deer-lake-school-garden-a-budding-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seewhatgrows.org\/fr\/deer-lake-school-garden-a-budding-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Deer Lake School Garden – A Budding Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

One year ago the Plant a Seed & See What Grows Foundation helped launch<\/a> yet another school garden program<\/a> in Canada, at Deer Lake School in Burnaby, BC. As the current school year (such as it is) winds down, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at the results of this worthy project. Of course, this year\u2019s spring season planting was limited, and subsequent harvesting not possible due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but this did little to stifle the positive impact that the garden project had on all who participated. Let\u2019s take a look at the feedback we have received from this proud group of green thumbs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Deer Lake School Garden Project Has Made a Positive Difference in the Lives of Students and Faculty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Fostered Collaboration, Problem Solving and Applied Design <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The connection between a school garden and horticultural education is clear, but other forms of knowledge and skill development are evident during project inception and the early stages to follow. For instance, as the project broke ground, students from Deer Lake\u2019s Grade 8 Applied Design <\/strong>class and the Grade 9 <\/strong>class collaborated<\/strong> to help analyze formal design drawings, assemble the materials, and prepare the garden site. These adolescents tapped into their cognitive and creative abilities for problem solving<\/strong> et applied design<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gave K-5 Students Tangible Insight into the Seed to Table Concept<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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One segment considered among the primary stakeholders (so to speak) for this project are K-5 students and WOW did they shine bright! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They took on the responsibility of planting in the garden beds, putting to soil a large variety of nutritious crops-to-be, including radishes, peas, carrots, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, onions, watermelon, herbs, nasturtium, rhubarb, beets, corn, kale, spinach and sunflowers. As the 2019 school year came to a conclusion, they were able to harvest some of the fruits (or should be say vegetables) of their labor. The harvest was used to contribute to the school\u2019s lunch program, which allowed students to witness the seed-to-table concept<\/strong> in action. But the harvest kept on giving beyond the end of the 2018-19 school year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe small garden the K-5 students planted had a huge harvest. Throughout the summer our support staff and various teachers who dropped by were able to enjoy vast quantities of fresh tomatoes, peas, green beans, corn and lettuce. In the fall of 2019 when school resumed , there were still many cherry tomatoes, kale, lettuce, sunflowers and watermelon ready to harvest and explore. Cleaning the beds for winter enabled students to study all the parts of the plants. We were also able to harvest some spinach, kale and lettuce all during the winter months, even in the snow! Students could freely snack on them during recesses. In fact, there was so much harvest from the garden that our own staff couldn\u2019t keep up with it all and it sparked the idea to do more this past summer to connect with the Food Bank, or with Quest Food Exchange, to receive some of our extra vegetables.\u201d  <\/em>– Gaileen Woytko, Director of Operations, Deer Lake School<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Provided a Sanctuary for Much Needed Pollinators<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Pollinators are a critical part of our ecosystem. If they don\u2019t thrive, we don\u2019t thrive, and now participating students (our future) understand this very well. Deer Lake School\u2019s Grade 7 class took on a very important role, planting and caring for a pollinator garden<\/strong> that produced a healthy variety of wildflowers that will continue to attract an array of essential pollinisateurs<\/a> for years to come. The entire Burnaby, BC community is in good hands thanks to these young gardeners!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Opportunity for Mentorship<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There were mentoring opportunities throughout the school garden project. Sure, older students provided guidance to their younger peers, but to the delight of teachers they found the opposite to be true too. The results were not only inspiring, but downright adorable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeachers found some unique learning opportunities within our school where younger students taught older students about the garden. An example for us was with kindergarten students who planted daffodil bulbs and learned what care they needed, their life cycle, and so they had an opportunity to teach the Grade 3 class how to water and care for the bulbs. It was an unexpected benefit of having various grades involved in the garden.\u201d –<\/em> Gaileen Woytko<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Provided Opportunity to Get a Healthy Daily Dose of Fresh Air<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Beyond recess and lunch hour there is little opportunity to get outside in a traditional school setting. However, with a large number of studies validating a strong shift towards outdoor learning experiences<\/a>, schools across Canada are looking for ways to incorporate the great outdoors into their respective curricula. A school garden is a perfect channel for this, and Deer Lake most certainly took advantage of it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt got kids outside in the fresh air and kept them physically active for several weeks.\u201c <\/em>– Gaileen Woytko<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Unexpected Benefits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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K-5 students learned all about the seed-to-table process. Grade 8 and 9 students explored more intensive concepts of growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items. Grade 11 students dug deep into life sciences, studying plants and the variables that affect plant life from their very own school garden. All of these tremendous learning experiences were anticipated in some shape or form. However, there were some unanticipated benefits that were realized throughout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

i) Supported First People\u2019s Principals of Learning<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When Deer Lake School planned to build a garden, they did not anticipate that it would have to support their First People\u2019s Principles of Learning<\/a>. The garden turned out to be a tremendous asset in that regard, through the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n