Voici notre jardin !

Chris Hadfield School community garden

To view pictures of
the harvest, click here

We call our garden “a community garden”, because members of our local community contribute to it.  Students, staff, and community members work together to plant, tend, and harvest.  It is a source of great food! But it is also like a classroom for students, because teachers bring their classes out to work on it, or just to teach their class in a different environment from a classroom.  Teachers take their classes to the garden to teach about ecology, water conservation, local food, composting, plant growth, measurement, art, nutrition, and photosynthesis.

We started our garden last May and we are proud of what we harvested last fall.  We made sauces and salad dressings using produce from our garden!

The garden project was started by teacher Erin Walsh, principal Sean Marks, and parent Bruce McAdams.  They used a 10m x 25m piece of land beside the school.  Secondary school (High School) students from another school in town designed the layout as part of their horticulture program.  Community members built raised beds and filled them with soil and mulch.  In May and June, every student had the chance to work in the garden or to plant a seed or seedling.  Community members continued to care for the garden throughout the summer.

The school successfully grew a variety of: peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, chard, kale, strawberries, onions, spinach, pumpkins, sunflowers, zucchini, Indian karela, eggplant, basil, and nasturtiums.  There were carrots, but rabbits ate them!  There will also be raspberries next year.

Eggplant / Aubergine

Nasturtium

Kale

Ms Walsh likes the facts that the garden will continue to provide an opportunity for students to understand where our food comes from, to raise students awareness of their environment, to feel connected to their local land, and to learn their curriculum in a “hands-on” way.

zucchini

Mr. Marks likes that the garden teaches students the values of responsibility, initiative, and organization.  He says that one obvious benefit has been healthy eating.  Students learn to examine their own food choices and eating patterns.  Then they make decisions and set nutrition goals, including turning to Canada’s Food Guide for help. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-fra.php)  He also likes that students learn about patience, attention, and perseverance, as they wait for the food to grow.

Indian Karela

As well, students learn about Canada’s First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people, how they understood their environment and relied on it to grow food.

Chard

Milton is the fastest-growing community in North America, and its population is very diverse, with many cultures and faith groups living together.  Ms Walsh loves the fact that working in the garden has helped to bring diverse community members together.  Families have a way to be connected to each other and to the community.  This project allows everyone to use their knowledge of food growing from a variety of cultural backgrounds.  It also helps to break down and eliminate barriers created by language, background, age, or socio-economic status.

In October of 2012, we had a “Harvest Day” to celebrate the success of the garden.  A locally famous chef volunteered his time to come into the school and help students to harvest some food and create a menu of meals to sell and serve.  This included making 100 jars of “Hadfield Garden Ketchup” filled with “fall harvest flavours”.  A salad and vinaigrette were also made.  Donations at the celebration helped to buy seeds and seedlings for 2013’s planting season.  The chef hopes that students learn about the value of sustainability and about supporting local farmers.

“We are very grateful to have Chef Jason join us.  He helped the students to appreciate locally grown food.  The harvest celebration helped to bring the entire project “full circle”, from planting to harvesting and then back to planting. 

Nicole Currie, chairperson of the school’s Parent Council, says the garden is going to continue to teach students wonderful lessons.  “It’s a practical learning project – students are planting, harvesting, and cooking the food,” she says.  “The community has totally embraced it.”