TERRACE BAY — Calling all green thumbs and nature-lovers alike.
Chris Dube and his science class at Lake Superior High School have collaborated with the township of Terrace Bay to develop the Community Garden program for local residents, announced on the township’s website and on their Facebook page on Feb. 28.
Dube said the project spun naturally out of his own philosophy, which includes a mixture of “experiential learning” and “community development”.
He also pointed to ideals of global citizenry and community activism.
“One of the concepts we were speaking about in our science class is the concept of northern food sovereignty and where food comes from, how much it costs, and our ecological footprint,” Dube said.
Dube and previous classes submitted proposals for grants from the provincial government and succeeded in securing around $4,000 to fund the development of a program that addresses northern food sovereignty.
This year’s science class secured an additional $1,000 to construct accessible raised garden beds.
Dube said the program fit perfectly with the township’s strategic plan to develop a community garden.
“I thought that we could support that through our youth involvement and class involvement."
Dube met with Terrace Bay’s community development supervisor, Luke Bedard, and they worked together to identify a good location for the new community garden.
Ultimately, they settled on an area behind Terrace Bay’s seniors centre, which they felt was an “under-utilized” location.
“The students can learn from the seniors and then there can be that transition of knowledge and sharing of skills.”
Dube’s students built 15 raised garden beds and filled them with soil in the fall.
“It taught students a lot about gardening and we talked about food sovereignty. It was hands-on and we were collaborating with the township and seniors,” he said.
“Just the other day, I was talking to Luke and I said we should push them out for auction because people probably want to start growing seeds soon and they should know whether or not they’re going to be successful in receiving a garden bed.”
With just 15 garden beds, the program is limited to one box per household and residents are being asked to submit their name and phone number to the Terrace Bay Community Centre Office no later than Friday, Mar. 15 if they are interested in securing a spot.
If there are more people interested, a lottery draw will be held to determine who gets space.
Looking ahead to April and May, Dube said the class plans to build four to six accessible garden beds with the funding they recently received.
“It’s been a really great project between the community and the school – and that’s part of what we want to do here at Lake Superior High School, is provide these experiential learning, hands-on projects to our students and also facilitate community development,” he said.
Boxes are $50 per year and residents are responsible for maintenance, care, and clean-up.
