Most children aren’t as enthusiastic about vegetables as those who gathered at a Regina school last week.
But that’s exactly what the Little Green Thumbs program is trying to change.
Students from rural Saskatchewan schools in Assiniboia, Avonlea, Eyebrow and Southey joined their hosts at Athabasca School to celebrate their green thumbs and the From Seed to Salad program.
They sang the praises of peas and carrots, danced in honour of Earth and performed skits about growing their own food, which they have done in their classrooms.
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They are among 42 Saskatchewan schools participating in the program, which was first offered by Agriculture in the Classroom and the First Nations Agricultural Council of Saskatchewan three years ago.
Elementary school students grow tomatoes, lettuce, peas and other food in an indoor garden kit. The program also includes vermi-composting to help reduce food waste in the schools.
Program co-ordinator Adrianne Begg said Little Green Thumbs was founded in Calgary several years ago because of concerns about what children were eating. It was thought that children who grew their own food would be more inclined to taste and choose it over junk and processed food.
There are other benefits.
“Teachers get to use the garden as a teaching tool,” Begg said.
Students can write poems about their gardens for English class, study the chemical composition of fertilizer in science and measure plants for math.
“It’s really as far as a teacher wants to take it,” Begg said.
Some schools and communities are expanding into outdoor gardens that require care and attention beyond the school year.
At Regina’s Massey School, grade 2 and 3 students are working with seniors on their project.
Begg said the program connects students to agriculture, providing them skills to ensure food security, teaching them co-operation and awakening their curiousity.
The program began in Saskatchewan with a Saskatoon pilot project in 2007. The next year it expanded to four schools and this past year it grew to 42.
Students eat the fruits of their labour as the plants are harvested. Some classes have planted sequentially so that everything is ready in time for their celebration.
Little Green Thumbs relies on funding from governments and organizations to help offset costs to the schools.
Provincial environment minister Nancy Heppner told the students in Regina that she didn’t have a particularly green thumb and thanked them for their work.
“Taking care of the environment is a really big job,” she said. “I can’t do it all on my own. We’re excited to have partners like you to help us.”
Agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud reminded them not to be disappointed when plants don’t grow. Farmers encounter that problem, too.
“We start again,” he said. “We put another seed in the ground. We hope for rain.”
Rick Block, prairie region program manager for Heifer International, told the students they share a common thread with farmers and fishermen around the world.
“You are learning to use the resources that have been given to you,” he said.
Heifer International, a non-governmental organization working to develop communities and end hunger, is one of the program partners.
