University of British Columbia Faculty of Land and Food Systems 107a-2357 Main Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Tel: 604 822 9986 Email: [email protected] Web: www.thinkeatgreen.ca
With the financial support:
Introduction 2014 will mark the 100th anniversary for Queen Mary Elemen-
tary! This is a major milestone for the community, made even
more exciting by the announcement that Queen Mary will
undergo seismic upgrading over the next couple of years,
with a “new” school completed by 2016. In the past, Queen
Mary students, staff and parents have been involved in
many programs, projects and events related to the concept
of “thinking and eating green” – a few examples include,
“Project CHEF”, in-class composting, Spuds n’ Tubs, Nutrikids.
At the beginning of this school year, Sarah Carten was
invited to come to our school to share the amazing growing
& green initiatives occurring throughout Vancouver schools.
A group of staff quickly saw the value in moving the school
forward in a more coordinated and systematic manner. And
that’s where Think&EatGreen@QueenMary officially began.
Think&EatGreen@QueenMary
Activities Meeting the first three objectives involved sourcing, purchasing,
sorting and storing resources, tools and materials. First, Barb Finlay
of “Project CHEF” assisted us in identifying and sourcing the items
we needed for our food preparation and food sharing bins.
Once we had the items on site, students unpacked the boxes
and sorted the items, creating an inventory list that will be used
with the bins for checking and tracking. Students did well in
identifying the names of the cooking tools and utensils. Two City
of Vancouver compost bins were purchased, as we are not yet in
a position to install a more permanent type of composting
system. In fact, the composting initiative was put on hold until we
have a bit more information regarding the construction zones for
the seismic project. The goal is to start small in September, and
then roll-out composting to involve all students and staff as we
move through next school year – perhaps implementing and
testing a variety of composting solutions!
Almost half of our divisions planted seeds or seedlings and
enjoyed growing food and other plants. Students in two classes
enjoyed in-depth growing, food analysis and food preparation
through the ‘Growing Chefs’ program! The focus of learning in
another class was on plants as food, plants as medicine and
plants as poisonous substances… while the students actively
grew plants in their classroom as well. Yet another division, on the
initiative of one of the students and his parents, created a twist
on the ‘living wall’ concept by attaching a wooden palette
garden and recycled coffee container pots to the intermediate
playground fence. Other classes utilized limited space in existing
outdoor planter boxes that contain established trees. In addition,
all sorts of cooking and food preparation took place in these and
other classes – for example, a Grade 6/7 class enjoyed a
sushi-making extravaganza!
A small, but important, foray into the parent community began
with a presentation to the PAC regarding the grant received
from Think&EatGreen@Schools, what we hope to achieve
long-term and a glimpse of the great things already occurring
throughout the district.
Finally, an excellent team of UBC dietetics and nutritional
sciences students was matched with our team. Over the course
of two months, a very professional “Think&EatGreen
PASSPORT” (with direct linkages to grade level curriculum AND
food cycle components) was developed. It can easily serve as a
school-wide launch!
“I love helping cook at home, but we don’ t do a lot of gardening or composting, so it’ s great to be doing this at school.”
Objective The project team at Queen Mary put forth a proposal
focused on the following five (5) objectives:
1. Enhance existing resources and materials (posters, books,
DVD’s, etc.) within the school, related to the various
aspects of sustainable food systems.
2. Investigate and initiate composting, on some level.
3. Establish “Project Chef” style food preparation and food
sharing bins in order to make cooking, food preparation
and food sharing activities much easier and more
sustainable for all staff/students.
4. For 50% of our divisions to engage in some type of food
growing inside classrooms or in temporary exterior
locations.
5. Deliver or host low or no cost presentations for students,
parents, or staff on any topic related to food systems/
sustainability/thinking & eating green, etc.
PROJECT Report
Outcomes and Reflections This was a slow but important beginning for Queen Mary. The re-
ality is that the seismic project (current planning & future con-
struction) has and will continue to hinder our progress in a few ar-
eas. In a way, though, the seismic upgrade goes hand-in-hand
with the kind of renewal and careful collaboration that will also
b e r e q u i r e d a n d r e a l i z e d t h r o u g h t h e
Think&EatGreen@QueenMary initiative.
Momentum is building: a number of parents are already asking
to come on-board, a ‘QM team’ will attend the Summer Institute,
new resources are ready to be used, a team of staff/students/
parents will come together to envision garden design as part of
the seismic landscaping plan. Most importantly, student leader-
ship needs to be established in order to maximize student en-
gagement in moving us towards a living, breathing food system.