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Showing posts from April, 2013

Spring Planting at L’Ecole-Bilingue

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Last week Marnie was busy at L'Ecole-Bilingue.  Kindergarteners who previously explored the importance of soil got out into the garden to plant spring crops: nasturtiums, carrots, kale, lettuce and peas.   The keen group were eager to plant and see how the plants grow.   They learned about the different parts of plants and are excited to taste fruits, roots, leaves and even flowers in a few months time. little seed, little hole   Has it grown yet?  Garlic Bed  garlic  wheelbarrow herb planter mural strawberries spring crops

The thing kids say

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Yesterday I was working with a small group of grade 2 kids fertilizing and hilling up the potatoes, and took the opportunity to quiz them on what the garden means to them... "It's just all so amazing" "We garden to save the planet" "What, some schools don't have gardens?  That is so sad" "because of the Pac Choi and Kale flowers" said one kid with a mouth full of yellow blossoms! These kids are lucky, they have been involved with Catriona and the QE school garden since Kindergarden, so it makes sense to them that people should grow food, appreciate nature, and eat well. mmm, yummy nutritious kale flowers! ~ Allison

SPEC in the classroom

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In addition to creating school gardens, Catriona Gordon, and Marnie Newall, the SPEC School Garden Educators, are constantly in the classroom, teaching a variety of science-curriculum based courses they have developed over the last 4 years. In early March the topic is potato planting, which starts with a lesson on plant propagation via seed, bulb, cuttings and tubers then moves on to a talk about what part of a plant is a potato.   Finally potatoes are planted in tubs in the classrooms, to get a head start on the season, to be moved outside when the weather warms in mid-April, and eaten in June at the school garden harvest parties. In Mid March students direct seed cold season crops outside in the garden beds.   A few weeks later the students get a lesson on warm season crops, planted inside, and raised on windowsills or under lights, to go out in late May.   In the Spring, the students get to create their own imaginative garden designs, which are often posted around the sc