Cityfarm Little Green Thumbs Program
Our 2010 Programs will be starting in January we encourage you to apply today.
NEW: Growing Assistant Service Program
A NEW volunteer Growing Assistants service program will train University students and seniors to provide
quality, practical, and personal assistance to school teachers and agency leaders in the Cityfarm Little
Green Thumbs Program who often lack horticultural skills and experience. Volunteers may be considered
for a Growing Assistant position to help us enhance our capacity to provide horticultural and learning
supports at Cityfarm Little Green Thumb sites. A green thumb is not a pre-requisite. However gardening
experience and a passion for children and youth are an asset. Contact susan@city-farm.org for more
information
How to Participate
The Cityfarm Little Green Thumbs Program is a powerful tool to engage students in learning
and caring about the plants and the environment that sustain us. Hands-on, experiential learning gives children a
direct and personal understanding of how living things thrive.
Cityfarm provides Edmonton schools or agencies with indoor gardens and support, such as classroom sessions,
technical and horticultural advice and program resources for the duration of the program.
The indoor garden consists of four grow boxes, soil bags and a grow light, as well as seedling trays and fertilizer.
The grow boxes hold approximately 40 litres of water and therefore the plants do not dry out over the weekend or
during a short holiday.
While conducting a pilot with four schools, we learned that children have a fascination with living plants and
a need for multi-sensory experiences and real-life projects that give them a sense of belonging and control of
their environment.
The beauty of this indoor garden system is the opportunity for children to experience personal growth, acquire a wide range of skills and knowledge during the complete growing cycle of plants. The children participate in:
- Planting seeds and transplanting seedlings;
- Caring for plants on a daily basis (i.e., watering, fertilizing, pruning, staking, checking for problems, etc.)
- Watching the plants’ growth and help solve problems, such as the lack of natural pollinators;
- Harvesting vegetables and herbs;
- Preparing and enjoying the fruits of their labour.
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The garden is a springboard for a wide range of activities related to the teacher’s learning goals. Taking
care of a classroom garden fosters social development, healthy living, science and math skills, and
environmental and local food awareness.
Click here to see the photo journal
of our test garden at the office. Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
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“…having the students learn the joy and fulfillment of actually watching our food grow from a tiny seed to food
they can eat and learn the value of healthy food choices and how much better food tastes right from the indoor
garden.”
Karen, Grade 2/3 teacher
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Description of a transplanting day at one of our participating schools.
Want to see what other schools are doing? Click on the following link and select "Special Projects".
"Seeds to Salad" project at Riverbend Junior High School
A similar program is also very successful in Saskatchewan.
Little Green Thumbs Saskatchewan
The sponsors for the indoor growing program this year are Telus, Growing Alberta, and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.
Follow this link to our application information.
For further information, contact Cityfarm.
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