Hello everyone! Today we have Gen and Cody taking over the blog, and we’re so excited to share what we’ve learned! It’s been so much fun getting to see different gardens across our community and explore different ways they can be used and learned from. Today we ventured to David Thompson Secondary to visit another school’s garden; this time being run and organized by Fresh Roots, and it was incredibly inspirational to us future educators!
Fresh Roots is a non-profit organization committed to bringing agriculture and fresh produce to schools and the local community. They run a variety of child and youth programs and camps with their gardens that allow for plenty of hands-on outdoor learning! This garden in-particular is vast and varied, with rows and rows of different produce. Touring the garden, we saw, smelled, and tasted so many different plants. They also have areas set aside for learning and exploration, such as their sensory garden that allows students of differing abilities to engage with the garden. The dedication to getting kids and youth interested in and engaged with the outdoors and gardening is evident in every aspect of the space, and inspiring for us to see!
We took some time to individually explore the garden beds to find a plant that we had not previously talked about on the tour. This was a fun, engaging activity as we used our phones as a tool to investigate certain plants that we may see everyday but may not know the name of. By using our cameras on a smart device or downloaded app we were able to come back to the group and share many different discoveries! This activity really showcased that technology and outdoor learning do not have to be seen as separate functions but rather can successfully compliment one another.
We also spent some time helping out, with some of us taking on weeding between the garden beds while others harvested some lettuce and radishes to make a fresh salad for lunch! The storytelling and conversation came with so much ease and was vibrantly alive as we took on the garden work as a group–which left us with smiles on our faces! Seeing our food go from being in the ground to on our plates was fun and exciting, and also demonstrated to us how accessible these processes can be once a garden is established at our schools. This was a great experience and super motivating in wanting to incorporate more outdoor learning in our future classrooms. Thanks again, Fresh Roots!
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