Harvesting on the playground
Mildred Hall School students pluck community garden vegetables
Evan Kiyoshi French
Northern News Services
Friday, September 11, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Tiny hands rooted through soil in the community garden boxes on the grounds at Mildred Hall School last week, picking their take of vegetables this season.
Carrots, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, parsley, peppers, radishes and more were planted by Andrea Harding's Grade 4 class in the spring.
The seeds were germinated in a classroom at the end of April, and the sprouts were transplanted to the garden boxes in June, she said.
With temperatures dropping last week it was time to pick what they'd produced on Sept. 3.
"We'll gather the vegetables for our food program, and for a feast," said Harding, while conducting her students' efforts in the vegetable patch.
The students took to the dirt like moles, piling tubers, herbs and plump vegetables for further inspection.
Ten-year-old Joshua Drygeese was one of the first students to emerge from the garden holding a bundle of roots with a nice, fat radish hanging underneath.
Ryder Lorenzen, 9, found a big cluster of potatoes during his search and Tahlea Zoe, 9, Ocean Taylor, 10, and Dana Beckwith worked together picking handfuls of yellow pole beans.
Christine Barker of Ecology North gave the students a tutorial on caring for soil prior to planting in the spring. The students learned how to perform a pH test, learned what nutrients are necessary for growing and how to properly water and drain plants, said Harding. The students even went on a trip to the composting facility to learn about compostable waste, she added. Barker said the next task after the picking was finished was to prepare the boxes for winter time.
In addition to augmenting the school's breakfast and lunch programs, the school will use the veggies in a muskox stew to be served during a feeding the fire ceremony, scheduled to be held on Sept. 17.
Twelve more boxes have been placed on the grounds at the school, and will be planted next year, said Harding. Small herbs and plants will also be grown indoors throughout the winter.
While the students were off class for the summer, residents of Northern United Place and Lynn's Place oversaw the gardening chores, such as weeding and watering.
The project was supported by the Department of Industry Tourism and Investment and was organized as a partnership between the school, the Yellowknife United Church and Ecology North.
