Vision

Our vision was to create a forest garden behind the high school to show people that polyculture is easy, beneficial for the environment and productive for people as well. There are many lessons that can be taught using a forest garden from health of the soil, companion planting and insects, plant maintenance, harvesting, preserving, and many more.

Action

We researched which plants would be successful in our zone 2 environment. Then we researched which plants are considered beneficial companion plants to support the growth of these plants. Once we had our list, we created a plan. The actual creation of the garden happened pretty quickly, because our spring is short and we needed to get it done before black fly season. We dug up the grass, applied soil, manure and other composable materials. Then we planted the trees and shrubs. Around them, we planted some of the larger perennial flowers and marigolds. Following this, we worked on our living mulch layer of clover, strawberry, lettuce, nasturtiums and annual wildflowers. Now we just have to wait for them to grow!

Reflection & Celebration

My experience is that students are sometimes resistant to hard work and getting dirty, which is exactly what gardening is all about. However, as they were working in the garden, they started to feel good about it and enjoy it. Some of them even took their shoes and socks off and talked about how good it feels to be barefoot outside. This seems like a little thing, but often as a teacher I talk about our lessons as “planting seeds”. We really don’t know which things will stay with them, which ideas will continue to grow. However, if a student feels good doing something, it means that they are most likely to continue it on their own. That is exactly what I hope for when getting students outside learning and working in the dirt.