For this A+ For Energy project, this is what we've accomplished:
Garden
We have had a successful garden since 2013. The first year was exciting, getting the raised garden beds set up and starting the process. Every year classes and families were involved in the planting and watering. We learned a lot about solar energy, heat and water in the process. Any classes interested plant a section of the garden. Many classes grow seedlings for the garden, or take home. All students engage in the garden in some way.
Gardening Leaders
Grade 1-6 school Gardening Leaders plan the garden, start seedlings, and help other classes plant seeds in finished compost. They help plant parts of the garden, water it during recesses in June, and help harvest it in September.
Worm Composting
We have over 20,000 red wriggler worms in the school! On average they eat 4,000 apple cores and banana peels per year. They've turned waste that would otherwise have gone to the landfill into rich compost, and we put it in the garden to grow fresh food. The worms are in buckets in a Composting Centre inside the school.
Wormologists
Each term, up to 15 students are chosen as Wormologists. They are Grade 1-6 students dedicated to caring for our red wriggler worms. They observe closely to see if all stages of the worm cycle are present, including egg sacs, newborn worms, young worms, and adults and observe other little composting helpers, such as mites, springtails, mold & fungus. They offer Worm Workshops to other students in the school, so everyone can learn. Through Skype, they have taught classes in other school how to do worm composting.
Bokashi Composting
Anaerobic bacteria are hard at work in an indoor Bokashi composting system.
We have had a successful garden since 2013. The first year was exciting, getting the raised garden beds set up and starting the process. Every year classes and families were involved in the planting and watering. We learned a lot about solar energy, heat and water in the process. Any classes interested plant a section of the garden. Many classes grow seedlings for the garden, or take home. All students engage in the garden in some way.
Gardening Leaders
Grade 1-6 school Gardening Leaders plan the garden, start seedlings, and help other classes plant seeds in finished compost. They help plant parts of the garden, water it during recesses in June, and help harvest it in September.
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| Grade 3 and Gardening Leaders grew plants as gifts for guests during our Leadership Day. |
Worm Composting
We have over 20,000 red wriggler worms in the school! On average they eat 4,000 apple cores and banana peels per year. They've turned waste that would otherwise have gone to the landfill into rich compost, and we put it in the garden to grow fresh food. The worms are in buckets in a Composting Centre inside the school.
Wormologists
Each term, up to 15 students are chosen as Wormologists. They are Grade 1-6 students dedicated to caring for our red wriggler worms. They observe closely to see if all stages of the worm cycle are present, including egg sacs, newborn worms, young worms, and adults and observe other little composting helpers, such as mites, springtails, mold & fungus. They offer Worm Workshops to other students in the school, so everyone can learn. Through Skype, they have taught classes in other school how to do worm composting.
Bokashi Composting
Anaerobic bacteria are hard at work in an indoor Bokashi composting system.
Family Involvement
Families care for the garden during the summer for a week at a time. They eat the produce that is ripe during the week of their care (eg. peas, lettuce). Some years families babysit the worms. Parents are given information on composting and invited to join in at home. Several families have started their own worm composting.
Outdoor Composting
We put in a fenced area with a garden shed and 6 different outdoor composters in an Experimental Outdoor Composting area. Since the worms can't process all of our organic waste, the outdoor composters help with that, during the fall and spring seasons. Five were purchased. One was made for us by junior high school students at Ecole McTavish.
Fence
We had a fence installed, and purchased a shed. The shed is great for holding all our tools and supplies, and can be accessed during the summer by families needing to water the garden. The fenced area protects our outdoor composters, which would be easily vandalized. It will also allow for other more fragile growing projects.
Outdoor Composting Leaders
Our student Outdoor Composting Leaders bring out the classroom compost each week, and ensure it's properly mixed. It is an ongoing experiment to see which composters are best - for home and for school. Garden waste also goes in our outdoor composting area, so the plant life cycle is complete. We look forward to using it each spring.
We put in a fenced area with a garden shed and 6 different outdoor composters in an Experimental Outdoor Composting area. Since the worms can't process all of our organic waste, the outdoor composters help with that, during the fall and spring seasons. Five were purchased. One was made for us by junior high school students at Ecole McTavish.
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| Mr. Tremblay's students made this composter for us! |
Fence
We had a fence installed, and purchased a shed. The shed is great for holding all our tools and supplies, and can be accessed during the summer by families needing to water the garden. The fenced area protects our outdoor composters, which would be easily vandalized. It will also allow for other more fragile growing projects.
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| Our fenced experimental outdoor composting area! |
Outdoor Composting Leaders
Our student Outdoor Composting Leaders bring out the classroom compost each week, and ensure it's properly mixed. It is an ongoing experiment to see which composters are best - for home and for school. Garden waste also goes in our outdoor composting area, so the plant life cycle is complete. We look forward to using it each spring.
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| Outdoor Composting Leaders process students' lunch waste and garden waste. |
Waste Free Lunches
Our students, parents and staff have continued to embrace eating healthily and having less waste. Lunch waste has reduced by more than 70% with our Waste Free Lunches. A key to our success is putting reusable contaniers, reusable water bottles and reusable utensils on our school supply list for each child. As an Apple School we promote healthy eating, and apples and bananas are celebrated as Naked Food (not needing packaging). This was a previous A+ For Energy grant that has been sustainable.
Parent Association
The Parent Association have continued to help by choosing hot lunch items that are healthier and have less waste.
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
The RMWB supported us by building us our 5 raised garden beds, and filling them with soil. We hosted their release of their new Red Wriggler Composting Worm Mascot, RRRed. Our students, parents and staff have continued to embrace eating healthily and having less waste. Lunch waste has reduced by more than 70% with our Waste Free Lunches. A key to our success is putting reusable contaniers, reusable water bottles and reusable utensils on our school supply list for each child. As an Apple School we promote healthy eating, and apples and bananas are celebrated as Naked Food (not needing packaging). This was a previous A+ For Energy grant that has been sustainable.
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| Waste Free Lunches - healthy food has less waste! |
Parent Association
The Parent Association have continued to help by choosing hot lunch items that are healthier and have less waste.
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| Wormologists with Mayor Melissa Blake and RRRibit, during the reveal of the new Red Wriggler mascot, RRRed and the school worm composting program. |
Communities in Bloom
RMWB Communities in Bloom supported us by supplying seeds for our Home Gardening kits. We hosted the judges three summers, and are proud to have assisted our community receive high marks in youth engagement category. Our community received 5 Blooms (top marks) this year!
Community & School Gardens
We are connected with the local Community Garden, 25 families with plots. As the first school garden, we've inspired other schools starting up gardens, and shared successes and challenges. We're a large part of our school district being dedicated to environmental stewardship.
We've developed a great relationship with Farmer Mandy, of Meadowcreek Farms. She comes to our school to teach students about growing food. We have done fundraisers with her vegetables in the fall.
Dunvegan Gardens
Our local market garden is a great place for our youngest students to go on a field trip.
Through outdoor composting and gardening, our school learns of the sun's role in seasons, weather, light and temperature and learned how solar warmth is needed by the creatures that decompose waste.
For this A+ For Energy Grant Project, Gardening Leaders facilitated solar research, experimenting and gardening. Students learned about ways solar energy is used in daily life, including passive solar heating, solar cells in stop signs, and Sustainval - a carnival that runs on solar energy and recycled vegetable oil. Each class was invited to join in researching and conducting a solar experiment.
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| Each child received a Home Gardening packet, with seeds and solar energy information. |
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| We kept some potatoes to plant the next year. Some were planted in our garden and some went home in growing kits. |
Learning was shared with our school community (kids, staff, parents) through bulletin boards, school newsletters, presentations, a website and a video. Wormologists shared learning with other students through Worm Workshops, where students came, touched, dug, looked through magnifying glasses and read about worms and their compost. Other information and experiences were shared with our school district and city through e-mail, websites, a video, and the school Twitter feed.
Publicity
The Alberta Teachers Association wrote an article for their website.
The YMM Magazine ran a great article on all
the green things our school does.
So much of it is thanks to A+ For Energy!
the green things our school does.
So much of it is thanks to A+ For Energy!
