Four groups of students, including the Grade 3, 6, 8 and 10 classes, have been taking a part in the Little Green Thumbs initiative. It’s an educational-based program designed to help elementary and high school students become more aware about the where food comes from, and the importance of the environment. It also teaches about co-operation and community living, said Grade 8 teacher sponsor Bill Bradbury, who was instrumental in bringing the program to the Glenwood school.
“Through growing we create awareness about what we can do with soil and seeds,” said Mr. Bradbury. “It’s creating awareness and education, and maybe out of the kids we’re working with, there might be some potential farmers.”
The project is also designed to teach appreciation.
“A big part of it is going to the store and looking at the labels, and the importance of buying local and supporting local farmers and this kind of stuff,” said Mr. Bradbury.
The Little Green Thumbs initiative began in Saskatchewan, and has made its way to schools across the country. The organization partnered with the provincial agriculture department to bring the program to Lakewood Academy.
“We decided to take it on, so they supply us with all of the equipment. Right from the light to the seeds.”
Hearing about the project in 2013, Mr. Bradbury’s interest was piqued, and he made an effort to get the Little Green Thumbs program to the school. There was a catch – one that staff members didn’t mind sticking their hand out for.
“It was brought to my attention,” he said. “I just got in contact with the provincial co-ordinator for the program and told her we were interested in participating. She said ‘we’ll look at providing you with the units and kits, and we can get started from there. The only thing is you have to make sure staff is going to come in and get educated on these units,’ which wasn’t a problem. The whole school and administration was supportive of the program.”
Having the program at the school is of benefit not only to the science courses, but other areas of education as well.
“I think it’s very beneficial from many different approaches, especially when you look at it from a science, geography or social studies perspective. This can be part of any curriculum area,” said Mr. Bradbury. “The main thing for the students is that it does create awareness about food. It’s something everyone can get involved with.”
Kris Burt, a Grade 8 student at Lakewood, said being involved with the project has taught him all about independence.
“Before we started doing this I didn’t really care about plants but after we started, I found it interesting. It’s fun to learn about this stuff,” said Kris.
“It’s just nice to do something where you get to grow your own food, and you don’t have to rely on other people. We learned about the conditions that plants need to grow like nutrients, water, and natural sunlight.”
He’s also learned the importance of a healthy meal and where it comes from.
“A lot of foods use pesticides, but when you have plants like this that you don’t use anything on, they’re a lot healthier.”
Grade 3 students, Jared Pope and Tamera Oxford, have had an exciting time being involved with growing the classroom crops, and they’ve learned a thing or two along the way.
“It’s pretty nice,” said Tamera. “I like to try some new vegetables and stuff. We learned how some plants will shrivel if you use too much water.”
Jared also picked up some useful knowledge.
“We also learned that if you put the plants right on top of the fertilizer, they will start the burn,” he said. “We got some new seeds today, and I can’t wait to plant them.”
Nitika Calder is a Grade 10 student at Lakewood Academy, and taking part in the grow effort has taught her the everyday struggles faced by farmers.
“I didn’t think it was that hard, but it’s actually really hard,” said Nitika. “We’re changing the soil, watering them everyday, and making sure they’re the right temperature. So, it’s a lot of work.”
The Grade 10 student didn’t have much use for the knowledge before, but now that it’s in the classroom she’s ready to learn.
“I never really paid attention to it but now that it’s in the classroom, it’s pretty cool,” she said.
According to Mr. Bradbury, this is just the beginning.
“We’ll continue doing this every year,” he said. “Next year, we’ll introduce it to other classes, so by the time they go through school everybody will have an oppourtunity to get their hands dirty and grow some herbs and vegetables.”
There’s also an outdoor community garden in the works for this year.
“The kids who are doing this inside will have a chance to take those skills outside. Each grade in the school will have their own raised bed next year, where they’ll be able to grow vegetables outside as oppose to inside,” said Mr. Bradbury.
The school’s administration is also planning a harvest celebration to teach students how to appreciate the crops they’ve grown.
“During that time we’ll incorporate some of what we’ve grown into a salad, pizza or a meal,” said Mr. Bradbury.
Four groups of students, including the Grade 3, 6, 8 and 10 classes, have been taking a part in the Little Green Thumbs initiative. It’s an educational-based program designed to help elementary and high school students become more aware about the where food comes from, and the importance of the environment. It also teaches about co-operation and community living, said Grade 8 teacher sponsor Bill Bradbury, who was instrumental in bringing the program to the Glenwood school.
“Through growing we create awareness about what we can do with soil and seeds,” said Mr. Bradbury. “It’s creating awareness and education, and maybe out of the kids we’re working with, there might be some potential farmers.”
The project is also designed to teach appreciation.
“A big part of it is going to the store and looking at the labels, and the importance of buying local and supporting local farmers and this kind of stuff,” said Mr. Bradbury.
The Little Green Thumbs initiative began in Saskatchewan, and has made its way to schools across the country. The organization partnered with the provincial agriculture department to bring the program to Lakewood Academy.
“We decided to take it on, so they supply us with all of the equipment. Right from the light to the seeds.”
Hearing about the project in 2013, Mr. Bradbury’s interest was piqued, and he made an effort to get the Little Green Thumbs program to the school. There was a catch – one that staff members didn’t mind sticking their hand out for.
“It was brought to my attention,” he said. “I just got in contact with the provincial co-ordinator for the program and told her we were interested in participating. She said ‘we’ll look at providing you with the units and kits, and we can get started from there. The only thing is you have to make sure staff is going to come in and get educated on these units,’ which wasn’t a problem. The whole school and administration was supportive of the program.”
Having the program at the school is of benefit not only to the science courses, but other areas of education as well.
“I think it’s very beneficial from many different approaches, especially when you look at it from a science, geography or social studies perspective. This can be part of any curriculum area,” said Mr. Bradbury. “The main thing for the students is that it does create awareness about food. It’s something everyone can get involved with.”
Kris Burt, a Grade 8 student at Lakewood, said being involved with the project has taught him all about independence.
“Before we started doing this I didn’t really care about plants but after we started, I found it interesting. It’s fun to learn about this stuff,” said Kris.
“It’s just nice to do something where you get to grow your own food, and you don’t have to rely on other people. We learned about the conditions that plants need to grow like nutrients, water, and natural sunlight.”
He’s also learned the importance of a healthy meal and where it comes from.
“A lot of foods use pesticides, but when you have plants like this that you don’t use anything on, they’re a lot healthier.”
Grade 3 students, Jared Pope and Tamera Oxford, have had an exciting time being involved with growing the classroom crops, and they’ve learned a thing or two along the way.
“It’s pretty nice,” said Tamera. “I like to try some new vegetables and stuff. We learned how some plants will shrivel if you use too much water.”
Jared also picked up some useful knowledge.
“We also learned that if you put the plants right on top of the fertilizer, they will start the burn,” he said. “We got some new seeds today, and I can’t wait to plant them.”
Nitika Calder is a Grade 10 student at Lakewood Academy, and taking part in the grow effort has taught her the everyday struggles faced by farmers.
“I didn’t think it was that hard, but it’s actually really hard,” said Nitika. “We’re changing the soil, watering them everyday, and making sure they’re the right temperature. So, it’s a lot of work.”
The Grade 10 student didn’t have much use for the knowledge before, but now that it’s in the classroom she’s ready to learn.
“I never really paid attention to it but now that it’s in the classroom, it’s pretty cool,” she said.
According to Mr. Bradbury, this is just the beginning.
“We’ll continue doing this every year,” he said. “Next year, we’ll introduce it to other classes, so by the time they go through school everybody will have an oppourtunity to get their hands dirty and grow some herbs and vegetables.”
There’s also an outdoor community garden in the works for this year.
“The kids who are doing this inside will have a chance to take those skills outside. Each grade in the school will have their own raised bed next year, where they’ll be able to grow vegetables outside as oppose to inside,” said Mr. Bradbury.
The school’s administration is also planning a harvest celebration to teach students how to appreciate the crops they’ve grown.
“During that time we’ll incorporate some of what we’ve grown into a salad, pizza or a meal,” said Mr. Bradbury.