Children's Gardens

From IslandVision

The intent of this project is to involve children in gardening from an early age in order that they can become familiar with how food is produced and show that it does not originate at the super market or fridge. Additionally it is hoped that the children will develop a love for gardening which will last a lifetime. Originally it was hoped that a central garden would be the prime focus of our efforts and although this is still an eventual target, working with schools has become our initial focus.

We wish to work with schools on the Island to establish gardens which will grow as diverse a series of crops as possible. The intention is to involve students and staff in the full process of vegetable, fruit & flower gardening and to work all the associated information and knowledge into the curriculum. It will be essential that school staff and hopefully parents too become involved. Ideally crops grown would be incorporated into schools lunch menus, but the gardens are seen as outdoor classrooms which can help in the areas of math, science, etc.

We have already opened dialogue with the Principal of Lakeridge School & the JCC and after a meeting with the Principal, are currently awaiting a response before moving on to the next stage.

At Lakeridge there is the remains of a previous successful garden and our initial intent is to add a further raised bed, a composting site and a worm bin. We should also add a fence & gate to contain these and future expansions. We intend to build up the soils, plant & maintain initial crops, develop a summer program, to continue maintenance & harvesting and to continue the program with appropriate expansion indefinitely. As we gain experience we hope to expand this program to other schools on the Island.