Outdoor classrooms
Students have hand in community gardens aimed at getting them to eat healthy
The dirt had barely settled and already a butterfly found the colourful blooms newly planted outside Empire Public School in Waterloo.
Community volunteers and students got their hands dirty at the elementary school on Thursday, planting the bed of plants to attract pollinators and constructing six raised beds to grow an array of tasty vegetables.
Seven community gardens are being planted around Waterloo Region as part of the Healthy Kids Community Challenge, giving more than 2,700 local children a chance to tend food-based gardens.
“The kids will learn about planting and growing and then harvesting,” said Nancy Hall-Jupp, supervisor of leisure and active living programs with the City of Waterloo.
Waterloo Region received $1.125 million from the province, one of 45 communities across Ontario taking part in a three-year program that started in the spring of 2014 aimed at boosting children’s health and combating rising obesity rates.
Different themes are being used to promote healthy weights in children throughout the challenge. The region just wrapped up the most recent theme called Water Does Wonders, which encouraged children to reach for water rather than sugar-sweetened beverages.
The gardens fit with the latest theme which will be promoted through various initiatives and activities: Choose to Boost Veggies and Fruit.
“We want to teach kids where food comes from,” Hall-Jupp said. “We want them to experience it for themselves.”
The school will get input from students and their families on what to plant in the vegetable gardens when classes begin in a little over
a week, and then it will be tied into the curriculum to teach children food skills for a healthy life. “They’re going to grow these things, they’re going to be excited by it and try it,” Hall-Jupp said.
The gardens will also get the students outdoors and active. They can relax while wandering through the pollinator garden, the beds creating a small labyrinth.
“Straight lines don’t happen in nature. Why would it happen here in the garden?” Hall-Jupp asked.
Various groups came this week to dig in: Rare Charitable Research Reserve, Steckle Heritage Farm, the horticultural society, Grand River Food Forestry and Seeds of Diversity. Ultimately, involving community groups will keep the program sustainable after funding ends next March.
“It’s been a group effort today,” Hall-Jupp said.