Gardening in the classroom!
In light of Covid-19, the Nutrient for Life Foundation is still reaching out to students in the classroom. In early October, Regional Manager Kent Lewarne was invited into Crystal City Early Years School, Manitoba. Kent worked with Mrs. Leadbeater to ensure all of the activities followed their Covid-19 school protocols to keep everyone safe.
Over the hour and a half presentation, Kent had the students busy learning about soil and what plants need to grow. To ensure the students have success with growing, they used one of the Foundations light gardens.
Here are these activities:
- “Roots and Shoots” – Wrapped paper towel around a pencil, placed it in a test tube and then placed four seed between glass and paper towel (two bean, two radish) and wet the paper towel. The students were able to watch the seeds germinate and grow of roots and shoots.
- Soil Types – Students each received two small bags of soil. One was a Sandy Soil from a local potato field. Students were led through the beginnings of hand texturing: they saw that the sandy soil made a very fragile ball and broke apart easily. We then went on to the second sample which was a clay soil from near the Red River: students saw that this soil made a fantastic ball and we could make a “snake” and flatten it.
- Which Soil is the Best? – Student received three samples of soil – a sandy soil, a garden soil and a potting soil. Students filled one “peat pot” with each soil and added lettuce Seeds. They labelled each pot with a stick and compared the growth of lettuce in the three growing mediums over the following weeks.
- Wheatgrass – finally with the potting soil the students had left we placed it in a cup and covered the surface with wheat seeds. Many students live on a farm but not many have seen wheat germinate up close. The teacher will later let them give their cups a “Haircut”. The teacher is hopeful that she can make wheatgrass juice from it and smoothies for her class if Covid rules allow.
If you would like to learn more about our Nutrients for Life or to invite us to your local school, please send an email to info@nutrientsforlife.ca. Visit our website for free downloads, soil and plant science materials.
Our Vision
The soil beneath our feet is the foundation for world food security. By leading the development and delivery of plant nutrient educational programming we ensure Canadians are informed and contributing to solutions that sustainably grow healthy plants and protect our land, air and water for future generations.
