Vision

We have a 2 fold vision. To help sustain and the ‘Long Forest’ as well as reclaiming the garden from weeds and planting a garden.

Action

Our school is fairly new (6 years old) and we are blessed with a beautiful outdoor space with a small forest called The Long Forest and a slightly larger one named the The Enchanted Forest, as well as an enclosed area with 8, 2m by 2m garden beds. The children love playing in the long forest, however over the 6 year period the long forest has been overloved and is starting to be worn and damaged . After the November youth summit the children did a presentation to the eco team members highlighting all the discussion about sustainability. In the end, the eco team decided that their action project will be to help sustain the long forest as well as plant a garden.
One of the students concerns were that the little trees were being damaged. First they decided to knit scarves for the trees to help distinguish the big trees that are hardier from the little trees that need more tender love and care i.e. should not be hung off of. They also decided that we need to plant trees to replace the ones that have died or have been damages. This spring we made a little tree nursery. Sapling were planted in pots and placed together in one area of the forest so that the children can tend to them and they can better protected from damage such as trampling. This designated area is called the ‘The Tree Nursery’ ( The sign has not yet been painted). We have planted 2 birch, 1 white cedar, 1 white pine, 3 maples, and a red oak. As we were planting the children were constantly chatting and giving names to the trees. This has given them an opportunity to take responsibility and a chance to recognise that they are a part of a larger community. The students also wanted to further educate themselves on the trees that are are on the school grounds. They continue to research to identify the trees throughout the different seasons. Next years project will be to make signs for the trees with some information so that the whole school population can learn about the trees. To help protect the forest we are building (on going) a rock lined pathways through the long forest.
Most of the garden has never been planted and was overgrown with weeds. Some of the children who were in my grade 2 class last year were eager to continue caring for the garden bed that we started last year. They wanted to continue to help the pollinators as well as the bird population which they noticed had increased as a result of our garden The rest of the eco team were excited to also work in the garden so we decided to tackle the whole garden. The eco team focused on planting vegetables, herbs, as well as some pollinator plants. We planted some plants from seed indoors in March. The kindergarten classes were engaged to help out. They planted beans, marigolds and sunflowers.
As soon as the ground was workable se started weeding. Once again the kinders also helped with the weeding. Actually, it was more like they had opportunities to discover all the living things that lived within the soil. At this point the beds have been weeded, and the seedlings have been planted. The students also made plant markers to identify the plants.
Planter 1 -garlic (transplanted) and sunflowers (30).
Planter 2 – wildflower
Planter 3 – herbs (lavender, mint, oregano, dill, parsley, and garlic with some native plants such as echinacea, black eyed susie)
Planter 4- Bug Discovery
Planter 5- 4 squashes 2 melon and 4 zucchini
Planter 6- 10 tomatoes, 2 pepper
Planter 7 – many many beans
Planter 8 – raspberries, strawberries, perennial plants.

To our dismay when we turned on the outdoor faucet to water the plants after planting we discovered that the pipes had a very large leek. Hopefully this will be able to be fixed or else we will have to rely on mother nature to water our garden. So far the process has been a very rewarding for all who participate.

Reflection & Celebration

There have been many wonderful positive experiences during this process for the 50 students that partook directly. Through hands on learning the students were able to have authentic experiences in connecting with the land. Throughout they approach all tasks with enthusiasm ready to to learn and share their knowledge. The chatter of the children is constant as they explore with a heightened sense of wonder and curiosity. Phrases such as “Look what I found”, “Check this out”, “I love eco club”, “Can we eat this”, ” I don’t want to go back to class and want to stay here in the garden”, is heard frequently. When asked what they like about planting and caring for the forest some of the responses from the students were “It is fun helping the earth”, I like being in the fresh air”, ” I find it relaxing to dig”, and “The forest makes me feel calm”. One day one of the students said “Look I’m holding a worm. I never thought I would not be afraid of them”. This was a big even because two years prior to this she would scream every time somebody showed her a worm.
As with most things it takes a village to get things done so the eco club had partnership with kindergarten as well as the early learning centre located in our school. They bring the preschoolers to the garden for different experiences such as a smelling walk, bug discovery etc. The ELC will also be helping to maintain the garden with the school age children in the summer months. The parent council is excited to partner with us as well and will be asking for parent/ family volunteers to help tend and harvest the bounty from the garden this summer. Therefore an accurate account of how much food is produced will be difficult. The biggest celebration will be when the children actually witness the garden growing and are amazed at the benefits from their efforts.