ABOUT

By SPEC School Gardens

Mission: The SPEC School Gardens Program connects children with their food, each other, nature, and their community, by integrating gardening and healthy food education into the regular classroom curriculum. We believe that school gardens inspire and empower the next generation to contribute to healthier and more sustainable communities.
Access our free PDF Garden Lesson Book called Green Thumbs at School: SPEC Food Garden Lesson Book. We hope this information will support teachers to deliver garden-related lessons to their classrooms directly. This curriculum is also accessible to the public through the SPEC website.

Community Partners: SPEC has worked with the following schools to explore the relationship of our food systems, teach hands-on gardening skills and build community in nature. 

  • Admiral Seymour Elementary 
  • Bayview Community School
  • Britannia Secondary School in partnership with Grandview Woodland Food Connection
  • Champlain Heights Annex 
  • Ecole des Colbris 
  • General Brock Elementary  in partnership with Riley Park Community Garden and Little Mountain Neighbourhood House 
  • Henry Hudson Elementary  
  • John Norquay Elementary 
  • Kitsilano Secondary 
  • L'Ecole Bilingue
  • Lord Selkirk Elementary
  • Simon Fraser Elementary 
  • Queen Elizabeth Elementary
  • Sir Wilfred Grenfell Community School 
  • Thunderbird Elementary
  • Tillicum Community Annex 

Acknowledgement: We support the schools we work with by maintaining and watering the gardens during the hot, dry summer months with the assistance of our School Gardens Program Coordinator and summer intern. 

Community Support: SPEC volunteers and staff are fortunate to work alongside an amazing community of school garden champions, including dedicated parents, support staff, teachers, and principals at our partnering schools; UBC’s Think and Eat Green @ Schools Program, the Vancouver School Food Network (VSFN) and the Vancouver School Board. 

Funding Support: We would like to extend a thank you to our generous donors who have supported SPEC's School Garden Program:

  • Art Knapp (Surrey)
  • Acme Delivery Company
  • BC Gaming Community Grant
  • BC Hydro Community Champions Program
  • Canada Summer Jobs Grant (Fed. Gov)
  • Canadian Tire (Bentall St.)
  • Gaia Green Products Ltd.
  • Gandy's Home Hardware 
  • Home Depot
  • Lululemon Athletica
  • Millard & Gow-Jarrett Family
  • PACs
  • SPEC individual donors
  • TD Friends of the Environment Foundation
  • Telus
  • UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems: Think & Eat Green @ School
  • UBC Botanical Garden
  • West Coast Seeds
  • Whole Foods Market
  • Whole Kids Foundation

    To help support this program, please consider making a donation through our website:  http://spec.bc.ca/donate

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