Vision

​We plan on developing 3 small gardens on our school property. The first would be focused on food in the form of a vegetable garden. We put a lot of focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in our classes, and our students have shown a lot of interest in discussing food miles, food security, and equality. We would also be discussing pollination by having flowering plants in our garden. By starting them inside (in our SucSeed Hydroponic garden), students must learn to self-pollinate the plants before taking them outside to nature.

Our second garden would be a sensory garden. Students would have access to many different types of plants that they can observe using their 5 senses. With the increase in social-emotional difficulties among children, this space can be used as a calming area. It will also lead to great discussions about supporting pollinators, as the plants in this garden will attract many types of pollinating insects.

Finally, we plan on creating a sunflower circle with our students. The sunflower circle will continue to support the pollination discussions. Once our sunflowers are grown, teachers and students will be able to use this as a workspace for future lessons.

Action

For this action project, we planned and have begun planting 3 school gardens. The first garden is a sensory garden. This one will encourage all of our students to explore using their 5 senses. The second is a vegetable garden. My middle school students used this as an opportunity to discover whether our tomato plants, grown hydroponically in class, could be transplanted into our garden and continue growing. Unfortunately, our tomato plants did not survive the transplanting process, which has led to many new questions about adaptation and plant survival.

For our vegetable and sensory gardens, a group of middle school students assisted our principal in building 3 garden beds. Then, another group of students helped fill them with soil. As mentioned above, we also explored hydroponic gardening in class.

For our sunflower circle, we had each student plant one sunflower in their classroom (Kindergarten to Grade 5). They have watched them grow, and once our nighttime temperature allows it, we will plant them outside. Our students will help place the stakes that will mark each sunflower. Our project should be complete by mid-June, as planting is encouraged after the first week of June.

Reflection & Celebration

This project was incredible and will continue to be. To see how many students were engaged and excited about growing their own food is amazing. The weather here in New Brunswick has been a little tricky to plant our gardens, and that will have to wait another couple of weeks, once the overnight frost subsides. Our students have authentically discussed plant adaptations, weather and composting without being prompted. It has been so rewarding as their teacher!