Students from Jasper Elementary School (JES) weren鈥檛 afraid to get a little dirty to learn about the benefits of locally grown food, May 18.
Marissa Kidd and Jamie Orfald-Clarke, members of the Jasper Local Food Society, spent the morning teaching students about gardening and where their food comes from.
鈥淭he goal is to get kids connected back to the Earth again and to one another,鈥� said Kidd.
Before rolling up their sleeves, Orfald-Clarke had children circle around him as he dissected a store-bought sandwich piece by piece to discuss where each part of the sandwich likely came from, such as the lettuce and the tomato.
Using a measuring tape as a teaching prop, the group talked about how many kilometres it would likely take to get each piece of the sandwich to Jasper. By the time they were done, the measuring tape was 85 inches in length representing the equivalent of 8,500 kilometres.
The students then talked about how they could make the same sandwich with ingredients grown closer to home, such as growing lettuce in their own gardens or buying tomatoes at the local farmers鈥� market. In the end, the tape measure was significantly shorter, measuring approximately 15 inches or 1,500 km.
鈥淚n a place like Jasper, where most of the food comes from far away, it鈥檚 a lot more difficult for them to connect to what it means to grow your own,鈥� said Kidd.
鈥淲e live in national park so there鈥檚 a different kind of idea that kids in Jasper grow up with about what our relationship with the environment is because it鈥檚 very much hands off. So I think it鈥檚 important for kids to connect to the Earth in a really hands on way to be able to eat the food that is grown in the park.鈥�
Following their short lesson about locally grown food, students got an opportunity to try their own hand at gardening by mixing manure, bone meal and ash into the soil.
Kidd also showed them how to properly plant their sunflower sprouts and taught students how some plants grow better together than with others before planting a few bean seeds themselves.
Earlier this year the Jasper Local Food Society with the help of the local shop class at the high school built and designed three garden plots located at JES.
鈥淢y understanding is when the school moved the gardens didn鈥檛 move along with the school so the Local Food Society has partnered with the schools to revitalize the garden project that Jeanine D鈥橝ntonio originally envisioned,鈥� said Kidd.
鈥淲e have one plot for each school, but the idea is that this will bring the schools together around a communal thing, which is food.鈥�
She said there is a lead class responsible for each garden to ensure it鈥檚 properly watered and taken care of through the summer.
In addition to building relationships between the three schools, Kidd said the plants will also help to get the food society鈥檚 local seed library up and running.
Earlier this year the Jasper Local Food Society announced it was creating a seed library pilot project at the Jasper Municipal Library.
Not to be confused with a seed bank, which is designed to stockpile seeds in case of prolonged war or severe drought, a seed library is alive, allowing gardeners to borrow seeds, plant them and harvest the spoils before returning a fresh set of seeds at the end of the plant鈥檚 cycle.
鈥淭he idea is the kids can plant it and eat all the food, but also learn about seed saving and be able to give back to the seed library on an ongoing basis,鈥� said Kidd.
For more information about the Jasper Local Food Society or the seed library, visit the non-profit group鈥檚 Facebook page.
Paul Clarke | [email protected]
