Students, teachers and community contributors celebrated the grand opening of a brand-new garden at Armstrong Elementary School last week.
It's not your average school garden. It features 12 garden beds — one for each of the school's classes to care for — embedded irrigation to keep the garden growing over the summer, and a sturdy fence to keep all the nibblers such as deer away from the plants and their yields.
It's a horticultural hotbed that will teach students in a highly agricultural community lessons on nature, food security and the best ways to grow different crops in a North Okanagan climate.
"This garden will serve as an outdoor classroom. Kids are learning to plant, they're learning to care for, and they're learning to harvest food," principal Val Edgell said at the grand opening Friday, June 13. "This is hands-on experience in the science curriculum of the life cycle of plants, the importance of soil health, the benefits of organic gardening, and it's our hope that these lessons instill that sense of responsibility and appreciation for the environment, and also appreciation for the farmers who help provide food that they benefit from in stores."
Edgell and others thanked the many community businesses and organizations that helped make the garden possible. The Vernon She Shed donated volunteer hours to construct the garden beds, and support also came from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 35, Western Financial, Eagle Rock Plumbing and Heating, Armstrong Regional Co-op, Cedar Solutions, Bylands Nursery and Garden Centre, Askew's Foods Armstrong and more.
After a few speeches, a ribbon was cut and attendees were welcome to come through the gates and take an up-close look at the garden.
Edgell, who is the outgoing principal at Armstrong Elementary, said she can't wait to hear stories of when the kids harvest in the fall.
"I would just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, the bottom of all of our hearts, for everybody who has contributed to this project. Your hard work and dedication made this garden possible. It was truly a community effort, and it's something the community and school will be proud of for years to come," she said.
Pia Petchel-Schlater was one of the many parents who was a driving force behind the $50,000 project. Students were seated outside the garden during the event, and Petchel-Schlater asked some of them what they like most about the garden.
"It sounds to me like all of you guys like all different bits about it, and so do we," she said.
Petchel-Schlater highlighted the stepping stones that students decorated which have been implanted into the ground and lead to the entrance of the garden.
"These are your steps leading into the garden, because it's your garden," she said.
