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Growing Up Together_ Elin Marley
In 4 Toronto elementary schools, a school garden educator runs garden programs and outdoor lessons linked to the curriculum. At each school, she works with teachers, students, and the local community to design, plant, and maintain the garden. Lessons cover topics like biodiversity, composting, plant cycles, and math/science skills, with a focus on hands-on learning and cooking activities to connect students to where their food comes from. The educator aims to inspire curiosity and learning through engaging lessons in the school gardens.
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Growing Up Together_ Elin Marley
- 1. SCHOOL GARDEN EDUCATION IN 4TORONTO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS By Elin Marley School Food Garden and Outdoor Educator
- 2. WHAT’S A SCHOOLGARDEN EDUCATOR? (AKA HOW DID I GET HERE?) I run food garden programmes year-round at 4 Toronto elementary schools Also work at High Park Children’s Garden and occasionally at some other schools Background in Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, with a Master’s Thesis on “Introducing Organic Food in Norwegian Schools” Volunteered at FoodShare, Seedy Saturdays… 6 month farm internship in 2009
- 3. A DAY INTHE LIFE… 4 classes per school day Teachers sign up their classes Garden Club at lunch during growing season Mix of indoor and outdoor lessons, depending on season and teacher’s lesson choice Garden planting and maintenance with classes and/or garden clubs
- 4. THE 3 SCHOOL GARDENS BlakeSt PS Withrow Ave PS Dundas/First Nations Schools
- 5. WITHROW AVE PS Myfirst School Garden Educator job I started there in 2010 Garden was already established – they’d had garden educators before Teachers choose lessons – importance of specific curriculum links I mostly decide what gets planted choose based on what we’ll use in lessons and what cooking activities we’ll do, and experiment with different plants Funding from parent council A bit of parent/community involvement in garden maintenance
- 6. BLAKE STREET PS Istarted there in 2011 Garden planning had started, but garden not yet built when I started Garden started in cooperation with South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC) Lots of parent/community involvement Has a Garden Committee Parents, teachers, community members… Crop input from various groups Started composting in 2012 I mostly choose lesson plans, consult/collaborate with teachers Funding from parent council and school (Model Schools funding)
- 7. DUNDAS ST PS ANDFIRST NATIONS SCHOOL OF TORONTO Two schools on same site share garden Dundas is K-6, FNST is K-8 I started there in 2014 Garden planning was at very early stages Project initiated by SRCHC Built garden in spring 2015 FoodShare support for building Garden Committee parents, teachers, principals… from both schools Crop input mostly from Garden Committee First Nations School also has medicine gardens Funding from SRCHC until December 2015, then schools
- 8. DESIGNING THE GARDENS Choosing thesite Location – distance to water tap, distance from trees and buildings… Ensuring it’s safe to dig there Getting school board approval Testing the soil Design ideas from students, teachers, parents… Design drawings by landscape architect based on design ideas from school Voting/debates by students
- 9. GARDEN CHANGES: BUILDING GARDENEDGES Withrow PS Blake PS
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- 11. WHAT WE GROW Foreducation – not hoping for major food production Some “standard” crops like tomatoes, salad greens, beans, potatoes… Often choose heirloom varieties – kids like the colours, shapes… Ideas from parents and students Foods we use for cooking lessons Always try to grow a couple of things students aren’t familiar with, like kohlrabi, fava beans, spicy greens… “Kids will eat strawberries and watermelon anyway. The garden is a good way to introduce students to new foods.” gr 1-2 teacher
- 12. CHOOSING CROPS Happens differentlyat different schools Parents sometimes contribute seeds or ask for certain crops Winter 2015 I involved students more in crop selection Brainstorming favourite foods, then learning why certain crops can’t grow here Sun/shade plants Mapping Learning that garden/farm work doesn’t stop in winter
- 13. CHALLENGES Funding! Many grantsare aimed at starting new projects, but less for maintaining existing programmes and for paying wages Evaluating the programmes Important for grants/funding How to incorporate evaluation into programming time Evaluation tools to help keep track Summer maintenance Mix of community groups, parent groups, day cares… Teaching summer maintenance groups before summer
- 14. SUMMER MAINTENAN CE Different modelsat different schools: Blake St PS Various parent and community groups, on-site summer day-care Weekly schedule between groups Dundas St PS/First Nations School Parents and students – each family signed up for one or two weeks and then invited others to join on dates they chose Withrow Casual, not usually scheduled maintenance
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- 16. BIODIVERSI TY Seeds seedsaving heirloom seeds why we plant variety in the garden Pollinators plant-pollinator adaptations importance of pollinators Compost Not just worms!
- 17. CYCLES IN NATURE Seasonal cycles What’shappening in the garden in different seasons Tasks we do in the garden at different times of year Plant life cycles Seed to harvest to compost "Wait, so I get where fruit seeds are. But where are carrot seeds?“ – gr 2 boy
- 18. COMPOST AND SOIL On-site compostbins Vermicomposting Soil experiments Soil ingredients, soil composition Growing experiments in different soil types
- 19. "This soil isawesome!" - JK boy while planting seeds "I love this work! This is disgustingly awesome!" - gr 2 girl carrying compost "Soil is really interesting! It may not seem like it, but it's got all these different things in it...” - Gr 3 soil lesson “I think worms are my second favourite things after crystals.” – grade 2 girl “Mon ver de terre m’aime – it made itself into a heart shape!” – grade 1 "I remember the time you said plants need poop!" – Kindergarten boy “This worm tickles! But it's so cute! I don't ever want to let it go!" - gr 2/3 worm lesson
- 20. WHERE FOOD COMES FROM Older grades: food miles food system, people/jobs involved in the food system local vs imported food Connecting food to soil Younger grades: what familiar foods are made of (e.g. ketchup from tomatoes, cheese from milk from cows…) plant parts we eat "Someone should make a board game of the food system!" - gr 4 student
- 21. CULTURE/ SOCIAL STUDIES Traditional and historicalplanting methods e.g. Three Sisters Garden Family food stories Sharing stories of favourite meals and family gardens When we speak to plants nicely "it gives them confidence to grow.” - grade 4 during Three Sisters planting
- 22. MATH (WITHOUT REALIZING…) Measuring perimeterand area Measuring the distance between seeds Measuring “using non- standard units” Structures (e.g. how seeds travel) Estimating seeds Patterns “Oh, now I understand all the perimeter stuff we’ve been learning in class!” - Grade 5 measuring garden edges
- 24. HARVESTIN G AND EATING! 5 senseslessons in the garden Cooking in class with minimal kitchen equipment Adapting recipes and using safe tools/methods Kale chips, pesto, salsa, salad wraps, Stone Soup Send home recipes Home-school connections
- 25. "This kale pestois soooo good!" "It's better than candy!" "It's 100x better than candy!“ – cooking with Garden Club “I don’t like these kale chips. I LOVE these kale chips!” - SK girl“Ça c’est TROP bon!” – grade 1 girl about kale and herb pesto “Mom, I got to taste some dinosaur kale today!” – Kindergarten overheard in the halls"We had a DELICIOUS time in the garden!" “I’m going to make Stone Soup for my birthday!” – grade 1/2 boy “I wish I could take home some of this leftover Stone Soup for supper!” – grade 1 student Kindie comments about parsley: “It tastes like cookies! It’s delicious! It’s like candy!”
- 26. THANKS! NOW LET’S SHARESOME LESSON IDEAS… seedlingstories@gmail.com seedlingstories.wordpress.com @seedlingstories