Green Up grant winners announced
Jan 14, 2019, 17:15 PMOur Green Up grant program is designed to help create or enhance an environmental program for students in elementary and junior-high schools in our service area. This year, we awarded $1,000 Green Up grants to the following schools:
Brooks Junior High School will start a grassroots program that engages students to work with experienced farmers to grow, package and market their produce within the community.
Clear Vista School in Wetaskiwin implemented a school garden in 2016, where students use their lunch breaks to plant, water and harvest vegetables. The school will use their grant to purchase trees to provide shade for those using the benches within their garden.
Duchess School created an outdoor WithOut Walls (WOW) space and outdoor learning environment project. Their grant will be used to plant grasses, shrubs and trees in their WOW space.
Ecole Lacombe Upper Elementary School will purchase a tower garden system that will be managed and maintained by their Work Exposure students. The Work Exposure students are from all grade levels who come together once per day to complete jobs for their school community.
Ecole Parc Fundraising Society is a small gardening club at Ecole Parc Elementaire in Fort Saskatchewan. Student and parent volunteers have turned a green space into a garden area and will expand the area by building another raised garden bed and bird houses for their program.
Edgerton Public School’s grade 3-4 classroom will purchase a tower garden to learn about aeroponics and plant growth as part of their curriculum.
Enchant School will purchase greenhouses to teach students firsthand how weather, fertilizers and temperature controls affect growing conditions.
Falun Elementary School challenged their students to write a submission as part of their Active Citizen unit in social studies. The student’s ideas included planting indigenous plants such as service berries, sage and sweetgrass, and planting shrubs and perennials to align with their curriculum. They will involve relatives and community groups to assist with the planting to ensure their survival.
Holy Redeemer School in Ardrossan will build a tower garden to be used by all students to meet many cross-curricular outcomes. An example of this is to plant traditional indigenous sacred medicines, such as sage and use it to teach about sacred medicines and traditions.
Iron Ridge Intermediate Campus in Blackfalds will purchase a tower garden to offer students opportunities to learn and experience a healthy lifestyle. Students will be directly involved with growing and harvesting the food.
Jean Vanier Catholic School in Sherwood Park will add spin bikes to the classroom that will charge students’ personal devices by attaching a pedal power generator, converting human effort into electricity, saving carbon emissions and pollution.
Kathyrn School will create a garden space on the school grounds creating a rich learning environment using themes of sustainability and agriculture.
Leo Nickerson Elementary School in St. Albert will celebrate Indigenous Day and use it as a teaching opportunity. Students will learn about the many uses local Indigenous cultures had for plants. The school will plant their garden with plant species native to Alberta.
Mecca Glenn School in Ponoka is being renovated to accommodate a Foods Lab. They will purchase a tower garden to grow organic products for their school community.
Mountain View School will create an apiary that all students will be involved in. They would like to do their part to ensure the survival of these important pollinators by teaching many students and adults in the community how to properly care for these important bee communities.
Noble Central School wants to build and implement a greenhouse on the school campus. Funds from the grant will assist with their fundraising efforts.
Raymond Elementary School will create a worm farm, teaching students the importance of composting and the importance of reducing waste.
Smith School will purchase a tower garden to be used in science classes from grades 6 – 9. Students will be responsible for the planting, watering and harvesting of the tower garden and will learn about life cycles of plants, what plants need to grow, along with photosynthesis in the science curriculum.
Spring Glen Elementary School in Glenwood will plant 10 trees to commemorate their 30-year configuration.
St. Thomas Aquinas School in Spruce Grove will build planter boxes for each grade level to enhance learning specific to the education curriculum for each grade level.
Stavely Elementary School will beautify their new playground by planting trees and shrubs.
Terrance Ridge School in Lacombe will beautify their school grounds by planting trees, shrubs and flowering plants.
Thorhild Central School will travel to the Palisades Centre for outdoor adventure activities. The program provides students with an opportunity to experience kayaking, mountain biking, orienteering and survival skills.
West Meadows Elementary School in Claresholm will purchase aquaponic tower gardens and grow lights for indoor gardening. Harvested vegetables will be used in their breakfast program.
