This spring, Growing Chefs partnered with Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture for a new way to get elementary school classrooms growing. Our new Seedlings for Sandown project meant kids got their hands in the soil, planted seeds and shared in the joy of the growing season, while learning about how food is grown and engaging with their community in a healthy way.
In April, Growing Chefs provided 230 students in 12 Greater Victoria Area classrooms with windowsill gardening kits. Each kit included sunflower and popcorn seeds from Metchosin Farm - a local farm and seed producer on the island - as well as a classroom gardening resource guide with information on the plants they are growing, and interactive activity guides for teachers to incorporate the gardens into their teaching. Students had the opportunity to plant seeds and nurture them into seedlings, while learning about the parts and life cycle of a plant, how they grow, soil, and our food system.
“Our corn seeds started to sprout this week ….. Yeah! The students are very excited and eagerly visit them first thing every morning! We talk to our plants and give them kindness to make them grow fast and healthy! We just planted our sunflower seeds yesterday so we are anxiously waiting for them to sprout soon.”
In June, over 250 seedlings were transported from these participating elementary schools to the Sandown Centre’s new 83-acre regenerative farm site, where they were transplanted by a group of students from the nearby Parkland Secondary School. The Parkland Secondary class then had the opportunity to get their hands in the dirt while learning about regenerative agriculture. They heard from a few of Sandown’s farmpreneurs to learn about their start in a career in regenerative agriculture. The seedlings will grow to maturity at the Sandown Centre’s regenerative agriculture site - helping to break ground, regenerate the soil, and brighten this new community space!
