Over 100 students at Tsawwassen's Ecole South Park Elementary spent the spring planting, tending and harvesting seed-raised organic vegetables in pots through the school's Portable Garden Project.

The project is a the result of a partnership between the parent advisory council, teachers and the school administration all working together to realize an outdoor classroom experience for students from kindergarten through Grade 4.

"This project demonstrates the tremendous capacity we have in our schools to build parent-school partnerships that enhance student learning," says Bob Thompson, South Park's vice-principal and leader of the garden project committee.

The project is founded in research that shows primary-age children that grow their own food are more likely to make fresh, whole food choices when they are older and eating independently. Working with teachers to foster Ministry of Education learning objectives in the areas of life science and social studies, the project also takes students through concepts such as ecosystem definitions, plant biology, insect lifecycles and sustainable agricultural practices.

Weekly hands-on teaching sessions have included a "salad celebration" day where students harvest the lettuce they have grown and make a salad to share with their class. One class is growing heritage wheat from seed and will harvest it to make flour in the fall.

"The project is designed to encourage students to take ownership of their garden space and responsibility for the food they are growing," says Peg Keenleyside, the project facilitator who brought the idea to the parent advisory council last year.

Each student in the program begins with their own pot of either peas, beans, carrots, lettuce or tomatoes and gets to take their pot home with them after school is out in June to continue growing their vegetables through the summer.

"The more personal the gardening experience is for a child, the more likely they are to maintain an interest in the outcome and retain the science lessons they have learned," says Keenleyside, a South Park parent with two primary-age children.

who is also an experienced organic gardener.

The initiative has also been combined with a school-wide composting program and field trips to the Earthwise Garden & Farm in Boundary Bay.

"The success of this program is something we definitely want to continue to build on in the 2010-2011 school year," says incoming parent advisory council chair Deb Salahor.