Vision

Getting students involved with planting pollinator friendly flowers to attract pollinators in the urban environment. This will also help to bring back the bees, or help with increasing bee populations. More than half of the world’s population now live in cities.

Action

To learn about the journey of fruits, vegetables, grain crops, nuts and seeds Culinary Arts students from James Fowler High School planted pollinator friendly plants. The seeds were sown in empty egg flats from our kitchen to reuse them for germinating seeds. Once germinated, they were then transferred to an indoor hydroponic tower to allow the plants to continue growing during the winter. The plants are now ready to be transferred outdoors as the temperatures are above 0. According to the FAO “Three out of four leading food crop types across the globe depend at least in part on pollinators. The absence of pollinators would majorly affect coffee, apples, almonds, tomatoes and cocoa to name a few”. Learning about the importance of pollinators in the culinary arts class helps students to understand the journey of food from farm to table. Plants that bloom throughout the season were chosen to help the pollinators get nectar all through the spring and summer. We have also planted native plants or indigenous plants native to Alberta to see if they attract a greater number of pollinators. This will allow us to make a comparison between native and non-native plant species as well as work towards the reconciliation with our indigenous students. They will also beautify the school.

Reflection & Celebration

The plants have been planted in the spring of 2021, and will be visited by pollinators throughout the spring and summer. Students will be able to celebrate in the fall of 2021!