Harold Bishop Elementary celebrates new garden space

Things are looking a little greener around Harold Bishop Elementary following the installation of new garden beds this past weekend.

The new features are thanks to The Garden Grant Program by Foresters Financial and Whole Foods, as well as the Farm to School Start-Up Grant. Both grants provided a combined $4,000 for the school to purchase the new amenities. The space features four new planter boxes, gardening equipment as well as storage shed for equipment.

Over the weekend, volunteers from the school’s Garden Committee, as well from Forester’s Financial and Farm to School BC, were on hand to help with the installation of the green space.

“It’s been really amazing to see it all come together,” said Jason Johnson, principal at Harold Bishop. “We would never have been able to get something like this put together on our own so to win this grant and have the support in getting it all put together has been fantastic.”

According to Johnson, the school pursued a nature-focused grant due to the outdoor learning that’s become such an important part of their school’s curriculum.
 
 “Our school is uniquely located right next to the Serpentine Creek and so we’ve already been implementing a lot of outdoor learning and educational opportunities involving classes going down and doing nature walks in that area,” he said. “With these new garden beds, we can expand that outdoor learning to include things like pollination and explore how to grow and maintain various types of plant life.”

Johnson is also excited to see the student ownership aspect that the garden presents, with  students to taking part in the naming of the various garden beds, and other responsibilities.

“We’re going to have them come up with garden protocols on how it should be cared for and how it should be used,” he explained. “We really want the students to take an active role in the caring of this space and to have that buy-in right away makes it so much more impactful for them.”
 
To learn more about the Farm to School Start-Up Grant, click here.

To learn more about the Forester Project Grant, The Garden Grant Program by Foresters Financial and Whole Foods, click here.