Keeping kids fingers dirty in Delta

From the Delta Optimist.....

I cant remember the last time I have had to fill up my bird bath in January three or four times! Usually there is enough water around to float a boat in my backyard and although we have had a few storms in January, this latest weather spell is making me think that an early spring is on its way (touch wood).

I am usually a bring on the white stuff kind of guy but when I see the bulbs emerging and buds forming on everything else in the backyard, I can change my mind quickly.

I have also been spending lots of time outside over the past couple of months and I can’t wait for planting season to begin.

I have been working with hundreds of kids in the Delta School District and we are beginning to see the fruits of our labour as daffodils, garlic and other goodies begin to pop up on the school neighbourhood farms. The younger kids are enjoying their composting lessons and are thrilled with the resultant worms.

If you have children in the local school system they will likely be involved in some aspect of Project Pickle over the coming months and years. The budding partnership with Kwantlen University’s Institute for Sustainable Food Systems will see lesson plans developed for K-12 students that will observe the food system through Project Pickle based on the idea of ‘seed to burger’, a timeline curriculum that explores all of the events that result in that slice of pickle finding its way to your hamburger. 

It will show the importance of the food economy and how sectors within it create jobs across the food system timeline from farming to retailing.

The Delta School Districts’ motto of ‘Inspired Learning’ and it’s quest for innovation within its broader ‘Bold Vision’ will be featured at an upcoming student led ‘Delta Green Symposium” at Seaquam Secondary School February 21. The organizing students expect to have 100 registrants for the event that is designed to inspire learners to take action for the environment. The event is called ‘Igniting a Spark’.

Metro Vancouver Zero waste program, BC Hydro, the Burns Bog Society, Project Pickle and Kwantlen ISFS, Emterra, Encorp and others will be attending the event.

Seaquam Secondary will continue to be a busy place on the sustainability and environment front in the coming months. As you may have read in the Vancouver Sun, or heard on CBC Radio or viewed in a recent Global News segment, The Delta School District and Project Pickle will be building a raised bed school neighbourhood farm there with assistance from partner Sole Food Street Farms.

The farm will be built on underutilized school owned lands and will provide a palette for culinary students and Green Team members to design crop plans, plant, tend, harvest, sell and eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. 

Staff and educators who are keen supporters of these exciting initiatives are to be commended for their dedication to their students and their belief in the district’s Bold Vision.

Through strong partnerships and alliances, Delta is building a culture of agri-literacy that will benefit our kids and our community.