Less than 0.5% of schools in Canada have food gardens - compared to over 10% of schools in the UK and 30% in California.
TORONTO, ONT. (June 9, 2006) --- Withrow Avenue Public School today opened its new vegetable garden located on its school grounds. The food garden is a new initiative that is part of a growing trend on school grounds around the world. Teachers are using the garden as a true outdoor classroom to deliver curriculum to students of all grades - including lessons on plant growth, sustainability, history, math, science, nutrition and health, all through direct, hands-on experiential learning.
"If you ask a student where a carrot comes from, most will tell you 'the grocery store,'" says Elaine Alexander, principal, Withrow Avenue Public School. "This vegetable garden offers an important life lesson about where food comes from and what it takes to get from seed to table. Bringing nature and natural processes to the school yard gives students an opportunity to touch and see - which is a much richer experience than sitting inside listening as we show pictures."
According to Evergreen's research, only 0.5 per cent of Canada's 16,000 schools have food gardens - in the United Kingdom five to ten per cent have food gardens and in California it's as high as 30 per cent. Canadian schools are still figuring out how to make their food gardens thrive - Withrow School is setting its garden up for success by involving students, teachers, parents, the daycare, school caretaker and by employing a garden coordinator. The school is also experimenting with an innovative nature-based design idea inspired by spider webs, with radiant beds and a teaching circle rather than the standard garden rows which don't hold children's attention.
The benefits of growing food on school grounds are numerous, from making highly nutritious snacks available for students, to encouraging children to eat vegetables (children love to eat what they grow themselves). Gardening at schools can also help to build community, as well as offering many curriculum-related activities.
"Toyota Canada and our Dealerships have helped green 715 school grounds over the past six years, teaching children at an impressionable age how to care for and nurture the environment," says Kenji Tomikawa, president and CEO, Toyota Canada Inc. "This is one of the first school ground food gardens that Toyota is funding, and we are proud to be a part of this initiative."
"This is such a great opportunity to extend the classroom outdoors and give students the chance to learn through touching and seeing first hand what their efforts produce," said Rick Telfer, Trustee (Ward 15). "This vegetable garden will provide such a rich learning experience for students versus sitting in a classroom."
Examples of how Withrow Public School's vegetable garden is being used as a teaching tool:
Grade 1: Creating garden etiquette rules
Grade 2: Preparing and looking after worm compost bins
Grade 3: Conducting soil surveys
Grade 4: Learning about medieval life through growing and using herbs
Grade 5: Using mapping skills to help plan the garden
Grade 6: Science lab exploring communities, soil and plants
The largest grant secured to date for the creation of the food garden has been received through the Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program (Evergreen's national program, sponsored by Toyota Canada Inc.). The grant program brings teachers, students and the community together to create healthy and safe school grounds where students can play, learn and develop a genuine respect for nature and each other. Mr. Tomikawa, and Brian Rowntree, owner of Yonge-Lawrence Toyota presented the $1,200 cheque on behalf of Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds to the school today.
TORONTO, ONT. (June 9, 2006) --- Withrow Avenue Public School today opened its new vegetable garden located on its school grounds. The food garden is a new initiative that is part of a growing trend on school grounds around the world. Teachers are using the garden as a true outdoor classroom to deliver curriculum to students of all grades - including lessons on plant growth, sustainability, history, math, science, nutrition and health, all through direct, hands-on experiential learning.
"If you ask a student where a carrot comes from, most will tell you 'the grocery store,'" says Elaine Alexander, principal, Withrow Avenue Public School. "This vegetable garden offers an important life lesson about where food comes from and what it takes to get from seed to table. Bringing nature and natural processes to the school yard gives students an opportunity to touch and see - which is a much richer experience than sitting inside listening as we show pictures."
According to Evergreen's research, only 0.5 per cent of Canada's 16,000 schools have food gardens - in the United Kingdom five to ten per cent have food gardens and in California it's as high as 30 per cent. Canadian schools are still figuring out how to make their food gardens thrive - Withrow School is setting its garden up for success by involving students, teachers, parents, the daycare, school caretaker and by employing a garden coordinator. The school is also experimenting with an innovative nature-based design idea inspired by spider webs, with radiant beds and a teaching circle rather than the standard garden rows which don't hold children's attention.
The benefits of growing food on school grounds are numerous, from making highly nutritious snacks available for students, to encouraging children to eat vegetables (children love to eat what they grow themselves). Gardening at schools can also help to build community, as well as offering many curriculum-related activities.
"Toyota Canada and our Dealerships have helped green 715 school grounds over the past six years, teaching children at an impressionable age how to care for and nurture the environment," says Kenji Tomikawa, president and CEO, Toyota Canada Inc. "This is one of the first school ground food gardens that Toyota is funding, and we are proud to be a part of this initiative."
"This is such a great opportunity to extend the classroom outdoors and give students the chance to learn through touching and seeing first hand what their efforts produce," said Rick Telfer, Trustee (Ward 15). "This vegetable garden will provide such a rich learning experience for students versus sitting in a classroom."
Examples of how Withrow Public School's vegetable garden is being used as a teaching tool:
Grade 1: Creating garden etiquette rules
Grade 2: Preparing and looking after worm compost bins
Grade 3: Conducting soil surveys
Grade 4: Learning about medieval life through growing and using herbs
Grade 5: Using mapping skills to help plan the garden
Grade 6: Science lab exploring communities, soil and plants
The largest grant secured to date for the creation of the food garden has been received through the Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program (Evergreen's national program, sponsored by Toyota Canada Inc.). The grant program brings teachers, students and the community together to create healthy and safe school grounds where students can play, learn and develop a genuine respect for nature and each other. Mr. Tomikawa, and Brian Rowntree, owner of Yonge-Lawrence Toyota presented the $1,200 cheque on behalf of Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds to the school today.