The Dawes School Edible Garden Program
Our garden program is best seen as part of a larger effort of changing the
culture around food in our school community. It also draws heavily on the
Slow Food in the Schools philosophy that “...cultivates the senses and
teaches and ecological approach to food.”
All of the students in our elementary school are involved in planting,
harvesting, and tastings around food grown in our school garden. Beginning
in late March, classes are scheduled into the garden for the planting of cool
season plants. The primary focus of this lesson is learning how to grow food
organically and sustainably for we believe that how we grow our food and how
we treat the Earth is as important to our health as what we choose to eat.
Six weeks later, classes return to harvest, clean, and taste what they have
grown. (TASTINGS) The children enjoy learning about how to harvest
different crops, healthy preparations of what we’ve grown, and then sitting
down together, we savour our freshly prepared garden food.
No sooner do we get up from the table, so to speak, then we scramble to
prepare the beds for the warm season plants. School is about to end and the
fruiting plants need to be set in. Throughout most of the summer the Dawes
community will oversee the maintenance of the garden and continually
harvest and plant.
(WORKDAYS) On their return to school in the fall children
and teachers are dazzled and awed by the amazing transformation of the
garden and eager to participate in the fall harvest and feast of the senses.
Garden Calendar
Winter
Mid-February
Start seedlings in classrooms, homes.
Arrange for local nursery to grow plants
for us.
Spring
Late March/Early April
Planting of Cool Season seeds and seedlings; each class comes to the
garden to plant.
Late April
Community Workday - Spring Clean- up in the contiguous prairie and butterfly,wooded
landscape, and attention to miscellaneous garden chores.
Late May/ June
Harvesting and Tastings of Spring Crops; each class is scheduled into
the garden. As beds are cleared, Warm Season Crops are planted.
Summer
Third Week of June
Summer Garden Work Nights Begin
On-going planting, weeding, harvesting throughout summer on Tuesday
evenings; families, teachers and community volunteers come to help.
Second Week of August
Annual Summer Garden Celebration with Slow Food Chicago
Early September
Fall harvest and Tastings begin and continue until all food is harvested.
Each class is scheduled into the garden for this lesson.
Autumn
Mid October
Community Workday - Fall Clean-up, preparing of beds for spring planting, and putting
garden to rest.
October -February
Writing of grants, long term planning including fund raisers, work on
garden activity guide, etc.
