Well, we definitely lucked out
with the weather today- what a beautiful morning we had in the garden! The
weather was warm and sunny for our group of 20 grade 7/8 students from Chris
Hadfield and Irma Coulson Public School. It was great to have an advanced group
of “Eco Hawks” and “Garden Managers” to teach them some more in-depth aspects
of organic farming. We started the morning with a tour of the garden and
informative talk by University of Guelph Professor Bruce McAdams about crop
rotation, companion planting and what it means to be an organic garden. The
student were able to try and one peppery tasting flower which is used to keep
caterpillars from eating the garden’s lettuce.
After the garden tour, our Garden
2 Table team spoke to the students about what kinds of classes they can take in
high school relating to sustainable, organic farming and gardening in
preparation for University. They learnt that there are vast opportunities
including clubs and school gardens they can get involved in once they’re
graduated elementary school.
We were grateful to have Hannah
Batten, a University of Guelph student who works and volunteers in the garden,
to give a thorough tour of the types of plants grown in the garden and when
certain plants are harvested. The children (and volunteers!) were surprised to
learn that one year the garden manager, Martha Gay, used lion poop to hang in
stockings around the garden to keep deer and other hungry critters away from
her crops!
After Hannah finished her tour
around the garden, Martha showed the children what celeriac looks like once
harvested and how to process it for consumption. The children learned what a
labour intensive job it is to harvest all the vegetables for the weekly farmer’s
market on campus. To finish up the afternoon, everyone moved to the greenhouse
to start bundling sage, tulsi basil and Greek oregano to take home to their
families. The children were in interested in learning about not only the edible
aspect of herbs, but also their medicinal properties.
Next Monday, the children will be
returning to PJ’s Restaurant on campus to try cooking with celeriac and various
other herbs that were harvested in the garden. We can’t wait to have them back
for another fun, educational day in the kitchen!
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