You’ll reap the biggest benefits of the Institute if you can
attend with a small team from your school, and if you have a plan or a firm
intention to start a food garden at school.
That being said, being surrounded by creative thinkers and
problem solvers is a great way to spend a day (or three).
Each day offered choices of sessions: Tools in the Garden;
Lawns to Loaves; Teaching Science in the Garden; Watering and Irrigation;
Cooking up Curriculum and Eating the (PL)Outcomes; The Gonder’s Neck; Season
Extension in the Garden; Cooking in Cramped Spaces; Farm to School: Integrating
Local Food into the Kitchen, Lunchroom and Classroom.
In short – come with a problem; leave with a solution.
Coffee, Snacks and Lunch were provided all three days, as
well as dinner, on the final day. The food alone is worth the trip – the ideas,
the company… icing on the cake!
It was all very accessible, entry-level information intended
to help you start from zero and find a garden that suits your school community.
Of course, this can be adapted to help you expand, improve or rescue an
existing garden.
Best tip (and the hardest one to follow) –
START SMALL. (But label it clearly so that District
Maintenance doesn’t remove it.)
My favourite? Chef Steve – a few minutes of his rapid-fire
stream of recipes, ideas and innovations was totally worth the trek from
Coquitlam to UBC.
I attended with an entire district on my mind. We have a lot
of teachers and staff who would dearly love to garden with the students. I
think the TEG program would suit many of you, and I strongly recommend that you
check it out. There will be another Summer Institute next year, and if you want
local Pro D on gardening and outdoor classrooms, just let me know! That’s the role
of an LSA – to provide Pro D and support and EELSA would be more than happy to
arrange the kind of Pro D that YOU want.
