Hi there, it’s Vivian and Cody bringing you the blog post today! As this is my first post, I’ll give you a little e-introduction. My name is Cody and I am a Bachelor of Education student at UBC. I have recently completed my practicum with a Grade 3 class in Vancouver. I come from a very outdoorsy family, having grown up on Vancouver Island, I really believe that connection to the land and learning from the land is very beneficial for young kids/adults to partake in. Adapting more so to the city lifestyle of Vancouver, I find you have to be more intentional with your natural surroundings. I am super excited to be a part of this community experience and explore these lands, areas, and gardens!
Today, we had the pleasure of walking through the Nitobe Memorial Garden and were very fortunate to have had the whole space to ourselves. Having learned more about Dr. Inazō Nitobe’s vision of connecting and bridging the gap between two cultures, it set the tone to lead us toward a better understanding of the path we chose to be on. It showcases that gardens can become political and demonstrate different meanings than what we normally expect from gardens.
We all took a walk amongst the garden on our own time to take in what stood out most to us. The garden allowed us to make connections to ourselves, others and curriculum/outdoor learning as well. As a group, we brainstormed ideas for thematic lessons on topics of relationships/history, mindfulness and life cycles. Having explored these reasons we then built poems based on these themes (having incorporated every group member's words or expression). As new teachers, an idea was shared today about the bridge: one side representing curriculum as planned and the other side representing curriculum as lived; which resonates well with westernized view points and non westernized view points.
We stopped by the greenhouse and planted avalanche beets and radishes (French Breakfast). Back in the garden, we planted Thimbleberries and watered and fertilized the veggie plants (tomatoes and peas). It was a great opportunity to learn how to mix the fertilizer solution with water to feed the seedlings. The corn plot looks great after completing some weeding work. Great work, everyone!
We are looking forward to our second week of working in the garden.
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