November's Newsletter is here... along with the snow!

To check out this month's newsletter click here

October's Newsletter

October's newsletter is here with great tips about Waste Reduction Week and the Take Me Outside Day Challenge

September's Newsletter

Hope everyone had a great summer! Looking forward to seeing, hearing, and working with all of you again.
Here's September's Newsletter.

May's Newsletter

May showers bring June flowers. Here's the link to May's newsletter

School Garden Day!

So I'm really excited about School Garden Day tomorrow! We've ordered all the compost and I've picked up all the plants, seeds, and seedlings. I've got all my tools charged, packed up and ready to go for tomorrow. It feels like I'm getting ready for the first day of school... I actually had a hard time sleeping last night because I was running through everything in my head. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather holds out for us!

I've picked up some serviceberry, black-eyed susans, and a can butterfly seed mix for the flower bed out front the school. With all these beauties and some weeding the flower bed should look great, plus I'll be picking up some milkweed on Sunday courtesy of our school community purchased through the David Suzuki Foundation & #gotmilkweed. I really want to transform the flower bed out front the school from decorative flowers (which sadly no longer bloom) into a pollinator garden so classes will be able to observe more wildlife.

For the garden beds I picked up some asparagus, basil, pumpkin, corn, and scotch bonnets in addition to the garlic, kale, and herbs that we already have growing. I hope that we can have a small three sisters section to our garden with some pole bean seeds that I have from last year. I also took a trip to the local lumber yard and got some new cedar boards to expand on our three and a half planting beds by adding two more.

My dream is to have a bountiful harvest in the fall of this year, have a pumpkin for each class, and be able to make pesto and hot sauces with students to raise funds for next year's crops.

I'd really like to thank Fiesta Gardens for giving us a discount on plants & tools and the Metro Green Apple Grant for the funds that have helped to make all this possible.

Project Nest Box

Though we weren't able to take part in this project this year we are signed up for it next year.
Through this project students will have the opportunity to observe bird wildlife. So don't be surprised when you see bird houses going up around the school.
"Project Nest Watch is a program aimed at getting people across Canada involved in collecting data on nesting birds. Data gathered through this project are used to follow the health of bird populations through long-term monitoring of nesting activity. The data also provide valuable information on changes in the environment, as birds are good indicators of the condition of the habitat they live in."
Check out these links for more information:
1) Clean River
2) Bird Studies Canada

April Newsletter

Earth Day is here and so is our newsletter!

Got Milkweed?

Help save the monarch butterfly and make Humewood Community School a more beautiful place.

As part of the Homegrown National Park Project, the David Suzuki Foundation will be selling milkweed plants for $5 each through its website (www.davidsuzuki.org/gotmilkweed) during April. Milkweed is the only plant that monarch butterflies lay their eggs on and the primary source of food for monarch caterpillars. Scientists throughout North America have identified milkweed planting as the most important action people can take to help support threatened monarch populations.

"Monarch butterflies are one of nature's true wonders, fluttering thousands of kilometres across North America despite weighing less than a paperclip," said Homegrown National Park Project team lead Jode Roberts. "Through the #gotmilkweed campaign we hope to inspire Torontonians to do their part to help the monarch by planting milkweed in their yards and on their balconies."

This winter, scientists raised alarms when numbers of monarchs overwintering in Mexico hit an all-time low. Severe weather and the virtual eradication of milkweed throughout much of their migratory path between Canada and Mexico have put the monarchs' epic migration back to Canada at risk.

Humewood wants to do its part to save the Monarch Butterfly and teach students the benefits of conservation within on our school grounds. During April you can order milkweed plants for $5 and it will be planted by students at Humewood as part of our naturalization project. Please make sure when you are entering your contact information when ordering that you select “make a purchase on behalf of an organization” and enter Humewood Community School.

March Newsletter

Better late than never... March's newsletter is here!

Seed Exchange

After getting at taste of the warm weather over the March break I can't help but think of getting seeds started and getting my hand dirty in the garden with the students. 

I managed to save several seeds from what we grew last year, but I also can't wait to get my hands on some new fun and interesting plants. I know that potatoes did well last year and garlic has done well every year as well as the kale, we've had difficulty growing most root veggies. My dream is have pumpkins so each class can have at least one, maybe this will be our year!

I usually get seeds from one of the many seed exchanges going on around the city. There are still a few left, so don't fret if you missed Seedy Saturday/Sunday at the Brickworks. Here is a link to some seed exchange events coming up in the future. For me gardening is about helping to build community, whether it's a community working together to grow food or you sharing from what you've grown in your own garden. You can always collect your own seeds and set up a seed/bulb exchange with fellow gardeners in your area or just trade with friends. 

Please feel free to contact me through twitter or the blog if you'd like to exchange some seeds with me. 

February Newsletter

Check out the latest newsletter!

Life Aquatic

Wow, what a great time at the aquarium!

Even though this isn't the best aquarium that I've been too, it's pretty good. The real bonus for me was that they had octopus! For a small aquarium it really packed a punch with its focus on sharks and the moving sidewalk. Based on the exhibits and the educational materials I saw I wouldn't take any student above grade 5. I really felt that the focus on sharks, the lighting, and the lack of educational materials around other aquatic life made this a sub par aquarium for field trips, but if you love life under the sea you should check this place out... maybe later at night when there aren't any crazy line-ups to get in.

Below are some pictures that we took

Aquarium Bound

I've been dying to go to Toronto's newly built aquarium and see first hand what it looks like and what educational programs they offer. Well, tomorrow night is my chance since they are hosting a teacher night! I really hope that we can get some of our students on a trip here since all our classes have been learning about water this year.

About 2/3rds of our planet is covered in water and only a fraction of that water is fresh. There is so much life that lives under water and all of them are so amazing since their environment is complete different from ours. All the different adaptations these creatures have made makes life under water so incredibly diverse. As well, do to our physical and technological limitations we have been able to explore very little of the ocean, so who know what lurks in the depths below!

I'm super excited... if you can't tell.

January Newsletter

Check out the newsletter for this month