As the James Thomson Elementary School Farm to School program enters its second year, program coordinator Francine Ulmer is pleased with the response it has received from students and the community.
Farm to School is a program designed to teach students about where their food comes from, how to grow their own food and introduces locally-produced food.
“The basic premise is to increase the consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables in the school system,” said Ulmer.
While there are more than 20 schools across BC participating in the program, James Thomson is Powell River’s first. Ulmer hopes the success of the program is a model for other schools in School District 47.
“The Farm to School program gives a lot of flexibility to each community to build the program as they see fit,” she said. “The veggies we have are all from local Wildwood farms. We have two farms within walking distance in the neighbourhood.”
This is not just education about food, she added. Students learn about sustainable farming practices, local food and traditional food sources in the area.
Ulmer asked for neighbourhood support last year and Wildwood responded with bushels of it. David Parkinson from Skookum Food Provisioner’s Co-op will be bringing in the co-op’s apple cider press and demonstrating how apple juice is made.
“We’ll do a little education around healthy drink choices and the sugar content in juice,” said Ulmer. “It’s a little education mixed with experimental learning.”
Ulmer spoke of the community aspect to the program. “Last spring each class went on a walking field trip to a local farm,” she said. “They met the farmers and built connections.”
One of the goals of the program is to give students a better sense of place. Not only do they learn about local farming but they also learn about the importance salmon holds for Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation.
“We are working to create our own unique model with the resources we have,” she said. The program organizes four seasonal lunches through the year. Students enjoyed barbecued salmon and fresh local vegetables for lunch on Tuesday, October 23. The lunch also included freshly baked bread from Nancy’s Bakery in Lund. The grain used for the bread was ground locally even though the grain was from elsewhere in BC, said Ulmer.
Gail Blaney is the aboriginal education coordinator at the school and she and others from Sliammon cooked salmon from their hatchery on Sliammon Creek. They cooked the salmon in a traditional way, by hanging the fish on stakes around a fire.
“Last year we barbecued sockeye, but this year it’s chum,” said Blaney. “It’s more traditional.”
James Thomson opened its community garden this fall and Ulmer said she hopes it will help to engage students further in understanding how food is produced.
“When they are engaged they eat more vegetables,” said Ulmer. “They see the seeds go into the ground and they harvest the carrots themselves. They get really excited and so we’re hoping to provide lots of experiential education and gardening opportunities for the kids.”
