Glenwood
School Neighbourhood Garden
A Pilot
Project
The
Glenwood School Neighbourhood Garden: From Seed to Plate
is a pilot project in Maple Ridge, B.C., designed to engage
school children and their neighbourhood in learning about
the environment and nutrition. Glenwood Elementary School
was chosen in part because of its enthusiastic staff. The
project provides a wonderful opportunity to connect the
neighbourhood and the school community, to connect generations,
to teach children and citizens the importance of food and
healthy eating, to strengthen neighbourhood ties and add
to the quality of life.
This
project is supervised by a Steering Committee featuring
representation by the District of Maple Ridge, Parks and
Leisure Services; School District 42 (Social Responsibility),
Fraser Health Authority (Dietician), Canadian Cancer Society
(Community Action Coordinator) and the Haney Farmers Market
Society. This project is intended to serve as a template
for school gardens with the hope that every school in the
district will have a vibrant outdoor teaching environment
and a productive garden in the future.
Candace Gordon, a former municipal Councillor and long-time
community development advocate, has been hired as Coordinator
to implement the project with the cooperation and assistance
of the CEED Centre.
Goals
-
To
bring the community together through networking and
neighbourhood development
-
To
connect generations: students and seniors
-
To
teach the importance of food security to children and
citizens
-
To
grow and produce food, to implement school curriculum
through a living garden
-
To
increase knowledge about chronic disease prevention:
cancer and diabetes
Garden
Description
The
garden will enventually be enclosed by a living fence of
trellised grapes, flowering vines and espaliered fruit trees.
The 6,400-square-foot space contains eight masonry-sided
raised beds for individual student plantings: each student
is assigned a plot of approximately three square feet and
keeps the same plot for their entire school stay. An additional
bed is raised higher for easy wheelchair access. Two other
masonry-sided beds feature perennial fruits, such as blueberries
and strawberries.
The
16x16-foot herb garden features stepping stones arranged
in a chessboard pattern to allow easy access and to contain
fast spreading herbs. A sunflower alley provides a spectacular
approach when the flowers bloom.
Raised
soil mounds in other locations around the garden provide
the space for such kid favorites as pumpkins and raspberries,
while perennial and annual flowers offer brilliant foliage
for all of the seasons. The “Three Sisters–corn, beans
and squash” demonstrate traditional ways of companion planting.
Of
course, no garden is complete without a composting facility.
The garden is equipped with a backyard composter to receive
garden recyclings as well as the vegetative leftovers from
school food consumption. This will result in a significant
reduction in organic waste shipped from the school.
Maple Ridge municipal staff Christine DiGiamberardine
and Shawn Mathewson with Councillor Lynda King
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