Community gardens receive cash influx
TD Bank donation adds to school programs across city
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A few community gardens around town have received some cash to grow.
The gardens, which are part of programs at Mildred Hall School, Weledeh Catholic School and William McDonald Middle School, received $5,000 from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation last Wednesday.
The money was awarded to Ecology North so the local non-profit could continue to cover the staff costs associated with teaching students how to garden and harvest as part of each schools' science curriculum. The grant will also cover any supplies and equipment needed to maintain the school community gardens.
For six weeks, students learn how to prep garden beds and plant, water and maintain the garden and then harvest in early September - they even farm worms in compost.
District VP for TD Bank Todd Linnen visited Grade 5 and 6 students at Mildred Hall School to present the cheque.
He said community garden programs such as these are exactly the kind of initiatives the Friends of the Environment Foundation wants to fund.
"It's great to have the kids involved," he said.
"Taking it right from - no pun intended - the grassroots part where they would start with earthworms, building the fertilizer and then planting the plants and then going outside and seeing it to harvest."
Ecology North education program manager Rose-Marie Jackson said it's important for students to have hands-on learning experience when it comes to food.
"We are trying to help people produce their own food here in the North," she said.
"Local food is essentially better for you because it has a higher level of nutrients - when you pick fresh produce and eat it right away, it has more nutrition in it than something that gets shipped from halfway around the world ... It's very empowering for students to know they can grow food that they like to eat and they see that it is not as complicated as they think it might be."
Grade 6 student Ashley Sisson-Carlson said mixing science class with gardening taught her life skills.
"I've learned to have patience with plants growing," she said.
"I've basically learned what to give a plant and what not to give a plant."
Grade 6 student Gordon Kwong said his favourite aspect of the program was the learning process.
"I liked the process of learning about the plants and understanding what not to do and what to do," he said.
TD Friends of the Environment Foundation is a national charity that aims to protect the environment and green communities across Canada. It supports a wide range of environmental initiatives with a focus on revitalizing, animating and stewarding public green spaces.
