The dog days of summer are well behind us, but that’s not stopping grade 3s at Queen Elizabeth from planting some food-growing trees courtesy of Cenovus Food Forest.
While the kids may have to play the patience game over winter and wait until next summer, Hadley Monseler, who says she likes learning is just fine tending to her strawberry tree until it blossoms.
“We have to dig a hole. We have to put it in there. We have to water it, and I’m prepared to wait until next year.”
Some other schools in the Lloydminster Public School Division are also benefitting from the food-growing support including Winston Churchill and Bishop Lloyd who will be planting on Sep. 25.
School principal, Ryan Mather says the students had to follow the instructions about spacing before they got to digging holes and planting.
“We have strawberries, raspberries, cherries, saskatoons, and blueberries.”
Twenty schools were chosen across Saskatchewan for the project from numerous schools that applied. Mather says the school is fortunate to be one of them.
Another aspect of the lesson plan involves the wait for the trees to bear fruit.
“Mrs. Muir, their wonderful teacher is going to teach them about the plants. They learn about the plant cycle and what we have to do to keep the plant healthy with fertilizer, water, and sunshine. So, they are going to come here and take care of the plants and when we come back, next year, we will be able to harvest some wonderful fruit,” says Mather.
As part of the grade three science curriculum, the students learn about plants. So, taking the learning outdoors is the perfect fit for kids as the school term rolls out.
