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Place-based Activities: Engaging educational projects for community and school
  • Place-based activities
    • Educational research on placed-based activities >
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    • How to include examples of your place-based activity
  • How to get started
    • Establishing community relationships
    • Examples of schools that have started community projects
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  • Types of Place-Based Activities
    • Do It Yourself school projects >
      • School projects centred on social justice and meeting community needs >
        • Examples of projects related to community housing
      • Building community gardens >
        • Garden links to community
        • Garden: Your school location considerations >
          • The climate of your school garden
        • Composting organic materials >
          • Building a school composter for a school garden
        • The resources you have for your school garden
      • Building Shelters to Meet Community Needs >
        • Housing for humanity projects
      • Making a Community Video
    • Activities that monitor environments >
      • Monitoring Natural Environments >
        • Terrestrial environments >
          • MUC Key
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          • wildlife habitat, wildlife trees
          • Forestry Field Notes
        • Aquatic environments >
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            • Rivers and Streams
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              • Water temperature
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              • Water Dissolved Oxygen
              • Nitrates in water
              • Water conductivity
        • Marine environments >
          • Intertidal monitoring >
            • Intertidal monitoring >
              • Intertidal data sheets
          • Intertidal populations
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        • Soil environments >
          • Soil Analysis
        • Snow and Ice environments
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          • GPS Eco-Cache
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        • Invasive plants and animals
        • Human impacts
      • Monitoring built environments >
        • Monitoring the urban landscape
        • Monitoring urban waste management
        • Monitoring urban transportation
        • Monitoring urban encroachment on natural environments
    • Community Action projects >
      • School projects that reduce barriers
      • A comprehensive community planning process
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      • Involvement in a "big" community topic
      • Examples of schools leading a community action
      • Schools encourage community consensus
    • Activities that resonate with community culture >
      • Reinforcing cultural values and traditions
      • Activities that explore cultural roots
      • Exploring cultural ties to the land
    • Arts and Community Activities >
      • Community Activity through Performance
      • Community Activity through Visual Arts
      • Community Activity through the Written Word
    • Place-based activities that explore big picture topics >
      • Activities Studying Ocean Health
      • Energy and Our Ecological Footprint
      • Activities that examine sources of energy
      • Activities that explore climate change
      • Activities that examine human health
      • Activities that examine global distribution of wealth
  • Resources and tools
    • Resources and tools that schools use in a variety of DIY projects >
      • Resources for school gardening
    • Tools and resources needed for monitoring natural environments
    • Tools and resources needed for monitoring built environments
    • Resources and tools that help schools start community projects
    • Tools and resources that can be used in generating a community involvement
    • Tools and resources that help schools encourage community consensus
    • Resources and tools that help schools take a lead in community action
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School and Community Gardens

A host of reasons exist for getting your school involved in community/school gardens: students learn all aspects of the food cycle from seed to table and are exposed to key concepts in environment, food production, nutrition and ecology. School gardens teach children where their food comes from and encourage good eating practices by fostering an appreciation for natural foods.

Ethno-botanical gardens provide an excellent opportunity to teach students about plants traditionally utilized as food, materials and medicines by First Nations. Students can experience First Nation cultures and traditions in a hands-on manner with activities like planting a Three Sisters Garden of corn, beans and squash.

Students gain understanding of natural cycles and the interdependence of all living things. A plot of wheat can teach students the full cycle as they plant, cut, and stook, thresh, grind and bake bread. This activity not only fosters eco-literacy, it encourages a healthy respect for the early settlers by exploring crop production as it was done by pioneers. School gardens and greening projects provide healthier living spaces for the entire community. By encouraging student, parental and community involvement in the planning and maintenance, the school community garden fosters a shared sense of ownership and pride in the school grounds.


School gardens and greening projects do not come without challenges. Proper planning and involvement of all the stakeholders during every stage of development will assist in overcoming these barriers. A “team” approach will help to ensure the longevity of the project. The vision may well have been ignited by a single individual but it requires the support and enthusiasm of many people if the project is to be sustainable.


http://www.saskschoolboards.ca/old/ResearchAndDevelopment/ResearchReports/StudentsDiverseNeeds/07-06.pdf
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Raised beds are more suitable for colder climates and are more manageable.

Building a Community Garden

There are a number of factors a school will want to consider before beginning a school garden.  These include:
  • your links with your community
  • the location of your garden
  • your climate
  • the resources at your disposal
Each of the factors listed above are examined in more detail.  Just click on the factor for more detailed information.
For a school garden to work effectively, the school will need to develop relationships with the wider community.  A neighbor or community member needs to be there when school is out of session and needs to share a sense of responsibility for the gardener and the fruit and vegetables harvested. The school will also need to understand the resources (financial, land, labour, time and commitment) needed to sustain a garden. 
The kind of garden your school will be able to operate will depend on your climate, the land you can use, the proximity to the school, the size of the plot and the resources you have to put into the school.  A school garden can be the initiator of a community garden.  As such, a school may be the nucleus for starting a community growing food locally.

Some Basics:
  • You are more likely to have success with your school garden if it is in raised beds, preferably higher than 40 cm.
  • You will want to locate your garden "out of harms way."  Avoid areas of active play.  Raised beds located along a fence line that receives little use is a good place, even better if it has a southern exposure. 
  • Arrange your beds so they can be covered with plastic to minimize frost damage.
The last section related to school gardens provides access to a website designed for gardening in northern climates with cold winters, relatively short frost free periods and wide variation in solar energy.  This site provides design considerations for using greenhouses that cost little to heat and maintain.  see: www.yukongreenhouse.weebly.com
Building and growing gardens in colder climates provides wonderful opportunities for high school classes in physics, biology and chemistry to take part in various aspects of cold frame and green house dynamics. This may include:
  • Studies on heat exchange
  • Studies in soil chemistry
  • Studies in growth of plants and optimal conditions for growth
  • Studies in genetics, extended over a number of years



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