Dozens of students from Willoughby Elementary school didn’t mind the hail and the rain and the cold when they attended an outdoor education class at Maples Discovery Gardens Co-op last week.
They turned over chunks of heavy sod, dug in new soil and manure, weeded and raked in preparation for planting spuds and other vegetables.
Despite the weather, “they were having so much fun they didn’t want to go back to class,” said Olivia Carnrite of LEPS, which organized the class with Maples Gardens.
For many children, especially those who live in condos and townhouses, the experience was a welcome novelty because some have never sown a seed, except perhaps in Kindergarten, Carnrite said.
Carnrite took four students away from teacher Dameon Lorensen’s Grade 7 class to prepare a garden bed for potatoes. Yeji Lim, Connor Fleming, Annie Chang and Juwan Richards were all excited about the prospect of sowing and weeding, and enjoying the fruits of their labour in a few months.
Back at Lorensen’s patch, two dozen students were digging away when he and another student pulled out a heavy sheet of plastic. With splashes of red print still vibrant, the plastic had the appearance of having been buried for a long, long time, giving Lorensen the opportunity to explain that plastic does not decompose and harms the environment.
He said that not only do students receive hands-on experience, they learn about the environment, and the local ecosystem and how it relates to the broader environment.
Willoughby’s Grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 students had the opportunity to take part in the workshop, learning where food comes from in a new program called Nature’s Classroom.
Developed in partnership with Envision Financial, Maples Discovery Gardens Co-op and Langley Environmental Partners Society, Nature’s Classroom allows students to grow their own food while becoming stewards of the environment.
“We’re really excited to support Nature’s Classroom because it’s a great opportunity to promote environmental awareness and responsibility in the community,” said Susan Byrom, Envision’s manager of corporate citizenship.
“This is a fantastic learning opportunity for kids and hopefully it will have them thinking greener.”
Students in six classes from Willoughby, Langley Meadows, and Alex Hope elementary schools will attend six workshops at Maples Discovery Gardens Co-op over a 12-week period from April to June.
During this time they will design and plant their own vegetable gardens at Maples Gardens, learn about soil and composting, discover what plants need to thrive, and learn about the watershed they live in and the ecosystem of Latimer Creek, which runs adjacent to the gardens.
The students will also attend a harvest celebration with teachers and volunteers at the program’s conclusion.
And while they will eat the vegetables they raise, the students will donate part of their harvest to Langley’s Meals on Wheels.
