SPEC School Gardens Program

The weather has been so cooperative that Queen Elizabeth was faced with a glut of greens.  After classes had harvested and eaten salads for afternoon snacks the boxes were still full, so they held a pop-up greens sale before and after school one day.  4 large plastic tubs of greens were harvested and at $2 and $4 a bag, sold out almost immediately, raising over $150 for the QE School Garden Fund.   Now plans are underway for a bigger and better greens sale next year....

Many collaborations have grown up because of Catriona's involvement with the school gardens.  Recently Queen Elizabeth donated two flats of strawberry plants to Thunderbird garden. Catriona and a flat of strawberries just needs a bit more sunshine...     Through her contact with Russ Evans, of Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School's woodworking program, planter boxes, storage units and 3 bin composters have been built and installed in many schools throughout the city, often with the Tupper students mentoring and leading elementary students through the construction process.    part of a composter, note the wire mesh for rodent proofing Hammers Mentoring moment pre work team meeting    

Queen Elizabeth Annex started developing a school garden a few years ago.   This year, one of the parents suggested bringing SPEC in to consult on the garden, and teach some classes.   The entire school, K-3, spent the day with Catriona learning about “what lives in your compost” , finding all the critters that live there, and setting up a composting system for the school.   A group of active parents have built a 3-bin compost system, and now the school is actively diverting waste from the landfill, and will be using it to enrich their food garden.   The school is hoping to bring SPEC on board next year to teach more classes, and to make sure the new Kindergarden students get a lesson on composting as they start their elementary education.