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TTHENAAGO/NAHANNI BUTTE
Every day Sydney Hope looks closely at the soil in her miniature garden to see if any green shoots have started to poke through.

Teresa Chilkowich, top left, shows students at Charles Yohin School in Nahanni Butte how to plant a miniature garden on March 26. Students include, clockwise from left, Sydney Hope, Lekasha Tesou, Garey Ekotla, Zackery Tesou, Ruby Betsaka, Jade Tesou and Laura Vital, the school's Dene Zhatie and cultural teacher. - photo courtesy of Andrea Dunnett

Hope, 10, and her classmates at Charles Yohin School in Nahanni Butte took an introductory class in gardening on March 26 from Teresa Chilkowich with Ecology North.

Chilkowich, who's based in Fort Simpson, spent the afternoon with the younger students at the school showing them how to make a small garden in a plastic container.

"They were keen," she said.

After learning about the difference between dirt and soil and some of the components in soil, the students filled their containers with potting soil and added seeds. Many of the students wanted to plant carrots and broccoli but because of the space restrictions their seed options were limited to lettuce, spinach, green onions, chives, green and purple beans and peas, said Chilkowich.

Green beans and peas

Hope chose to put green beans and peas in her garden. This was the first garden Hope has planted. She said she learned not to push seeds all the way into the soil but instead to cover them lightly.

"It was fun," she said.

Every afternoon, Hope and her classmates take turns using a spritzer bottle to water their gardens. They also move their gardens between two different windows in their classroom to expose them to the most sunlight possible.

"The kids just loved it," said Andrea Dunnett, who teaches Grades 1 to 6.

Once the plants are large enough, Dunnett plans to have the students transplant the seedlings into pots and eventually into larger decomposable pots that can be put into a garden.

"Every day we look anxiously," said Dunnett, to see if the seeds have started to grow.

Chilkowich's visit to the school and community was part of Ecology North's Local Food Learning and Leadership Program. The program focuses on supporting food production in the community and individual gardens as a complement to food provided through traditional harvesting activities.

Chilkowich said the program provides a way for her to get to know students in the Deh Cho communities and to build contacts to do future work in the schools through her other position as the Arctic Energy Alliance's community energy project co-ordinator for the Deh Cho. After spending the afternoon with the younger students in Nahanni Butte, Chilkowich spent part of the following day gardening with the older students and discussing ways to increase energy efficiency in their community.

"The older kids and the younger kids were very engaged," she said.

Chilkowich also did a similar gardening project on March 22 with the students at Chief Julian Yendo School in Wrigley.

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