Butterflies Set Free

All of the K-4 students met in the Garibaldi Garden to set the butterflies free! As each butterfly flew out the top of the “zoo”, they were greeted with cheers. Very cool! Thanks so much to Jana, Maya and Julian’s mom, for her help with this special project!

 

Grade 4 students train all students in the school to do garden tours

Grade four students have been busy sharing their expertise about the garden with younger students in the school. We are ready to give tours to parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbours, and visitors to the school.

 

Girl Power in the Garden!

Last year a boy scarecrow stood watch over the garden.  This year we have a fashionista with lots of sparkles and jangles.  Hopefully she scares away the crows and doesn’t attract them!  Any ideas for names?

 

Division 1 Plants Bulbs

Arianna’s Mom donated bulbs to Garibaldi School. We were suppose to plant them before the first frost. We didn’t get them in the ground on time. We planted them in our class garden and the fence by the parking lot. We are hoping they grow. We know they might not. grow. We saw LOTS of worms. They are very healthy and some are HUGE. We also saw centipedes and things we call “rolly pollies”. Please don’t pull out the bulbs. There are still some bulbs left if someone else want to plant more.
by Jesse, Annie, Cris and Natalie

 

February 2012 Proposal for 4 more raised garden beds

Garden Proposal Feb 2012

February 9, 2012
Garibaldi Annex School Community Garden Proposal for Development
Background Information:
• The Garibaldi Annex school garden was planned, built and officially opened with a beautiful community ceremony in the Spring of 2009. Since then it has steadily taken on more importance in the school life, as students learn about gardening and have developed their observational skills. The garden is currently a mixture of vegetable and herb beds. One garden bed is assigned to each division but only three of them are currently raised beds. Annual and perennial flowers decorate the perimeter of the garden itself. We also have a small apple and butternut walnut tree in the garden. In 2011, a large animal-proof composter and a tool shed were added to the garden. In the fall of 2011, the students were able to enjoy a “stone soup” made from the produce grown by the Garibaldi Garden Club. This springs, student designed signs will be installed to facilitate garden tours. For additional information, visit the Garibaldi Garden blog at
https://garibaldigarden.wordpress.com

Plan: To build four additional raised beds. See plan below.
Rationale:
Our plan is to decrease foot traffic through the growing areas and also to make gardening more ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing. To build the four raised beds (see the sketch below for dimensions and locations), we will need about 150 ft of fir 2”x 12”planks at a cost of $1/foot. Estimated 4 hours of labour will be needed to cut and screw the beds together. The wood will then be treated with Cedar Shield oil to preserve it and increase its life-span. Cost is $200/5gallons. Left-overs can be used for treating our tool shed and composter.
The beds will be filled with soil immediately to make them immovable.
Cost of Materials and Labour: To be fundraised by the Garibaldi PAC / Small Neighbourhood Grant
Timeline:
Our second organic manure sale is scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 25th / 26th, 2012.
The plan is to have the raised beds built and treated by that date so that the raised beds can be filled with compost, manure and soil. We are hoping for an early approval date to make this happen.

 

2nd Annual Garibaldi Garden Manure Sale

 

Garibaldi Garden Map of school beds

Map of garden

This map is not to scale but does show the location of the school beds.  There is a bed for each class in the regular K-4 program and one for the Home Learners’ program.  There is also a shared vegetable garden bed, raspberry patch and a strawberry patch.  The last three beds are enthusiastically tended by the Garden Club sponsored by Ms. Froese.

 

VBE Garden Policy

VSB Garden Policy

Click on the VSB Garden Policy link for the current guidelines for food gardens.   The updates I mentioned at PAC have been sent back for revisions.  Apparently the VSB will build the the raised beds but we are also allowed to build them on our own.  I’m investigating whether treated lumber is to be avoided. 

A number of people are expressing interest in our Spring Manure Sale.  If we have a flyer, I can post it on this site and send it out when requested.

 

Small Neighbourhood Grant

• Last year we were the proud recipients of a Small Neighbourhood Grant of $400.00. Students selected part of the garden that they were interested in learning about and started an observational study. This was followed up with research and the process of drafting, editing and proofreading their work. The goal was to create signs to facilitate Garibaldi Garden Tours. Our Gr. 4 students, Javin, Michael and Jayson took a leadership role in planning the signs that would be required.  We hired a student to publish the signs using photoshop. These signs were completed by the end of June.

The next decision was when the perfect time to unveil the signs would be. We decided that the harvest of the Stone Soup Garden would be a good time. However by then, many of the signs would no longer be accompanied by the plant.

Our latest and greatest plan is to put the signs in the ground for Spring. Then students will be able to read the signs and start giving tours. People in the neighbourhood will also be able to give themselves self directed Garibaldi Garden Tours in the evening.  Take a look through the Garibaldi Garden blog to find the signs created during the 2010-2011 school year.

 

A Soul Sister Story Party

Jacinda Oldale and Keira McPhee met in the Garibaldi Garden with participants in the Caring Community Project sponsored by Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House.  Small dolls were made using calendula from the Garibaldi Garden and stories of compassion were shared.  Part 2 took place in the Garibaldi Library due to the shift in weather.  This project is dedicated to creating a more compassionate neighbourhood for children and fits in beautifully with our school goal of creating a respectful and nurturing school community.