Vision

Our vision for our School and Community Green Space involves a mentorship program that teaches students environmental stewardship all the while helping them to form positive relationships with members of our surrounding communities. Many of our students are looking to belong and find purpose. In our small rural school, apathy was at an all-time high and if you didn’t belong to a sports club or team, there was little opportunity for growth outside of academics. In addition to this, there is little community involvement in our school, so we are only too happy to coordinate volunteers to work with our students to share their expertise and traditional subsistence skills. We know our green space will be a game changer. It is our vision to grow this from a small club of 15 members to encompass nearly every class through curriculum related initiatives as well as an after school program. Our students are responsible for designing a garden, as well as implementing environmental initiatives such as rain water collection and composting. Working alongside community members, they will grow and tend flowers, and vegetables and develop lifelong skills and a connection to the environment. In the true spirit of citizenship, our fall harvest will be donated to local families in need.

Action

Our green space has grown so much in such a little amount of time. We have purchased a small 10’ x 6’ greenhouse. As well we have constructed 6 4×8’ garden planters. The students have selected a variety of healthy fruits and vegetables, and environmentally friendly flowers and designed a garden that will grow in our climate and still have good yields. Every day students follow a schedule and tend to their garden and each week, we meet as a group with volunteers and work alongside one another moving dirt, planting and tending the garden. We have implemented a composting program and the students have become advocates for reducing and reusing food waste. Each week they collect the food waste from smaller bins and transport it to our larger outside bin. They have been setting great examples and spreading the word about composting.

Where we are located, water supply is not always dependable. Thus, we are implementing a water conservation system and are purchasing rain barrels to help irrigate our crops.

As an early component of our giving back program, the students have recently potted some tomato plants and delivered them to families in our communities. In the fall, with the help of teachers and volunteers, our donations will expand greatly. Our goal is and always will be to give students a purpose while connecting them to the environment and people around them.

Reflection & Celebration

While the program is in its early stages, it has had tremendous success. Each day that I come to school, I see students running to the green space, to ventilate the greenhouse, tend the plants and watch the growth. Non-green space members are regularly checking the progress and there is a buzz at our school about all the positive changes. We have had messages and calls from parents and community members about the difference they are noticing in our students. Each day more and more people join us and everyone has a role to play. There is a momentum growing, and we want to see it continue! Stay tuned!