Winston Churchill High School gardening program a big hit with students

Farmers are working to pull in the last of the year's harvest, as a group of local high schoolers are hard at work on their own harvest.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta.- Farmers across southern Alberta working hard to bring in the last of this year’s harvest have some company this year.

A group of local high schoolers are also hard at work on their own harvest.

Students at Winston Churchill High School are taking their learning outside the classroom.

Instead of writing tests or doing projects, they’re harvesting pumpkins and butternut squash, among other vegetables.

It’s a part of the school’s agri-gardening program.

“There are other schools that have community gardens on their property. However, for us, we’re the first in our school division to actually offer a class that goes with it,” said science and biology teacher Geoff Waugh. “So, students, when they come and they work outside, we also have an indoor portion as well. Students get credit for their time in this class as well.”

Teachers Joel Heyland and Waugh came up with the idea about three years ago.

After lots of hard work and community donations, the garden is flourishing.

“Just one staff meeting, (I) put a little bug in [Geoff’s] ear and said, ‘I like gardening. I’ve been doing it for the last several years in my house. It’s in the CTS curriculum. Would you be interested in pitching a course to our admins, see if we can get approval?’” said Heyland.

About 36 students are able to take the program each semester.

Students who previously had no interest in gardening now have the skills to plant their own garden at home.

“I feel like the garden space has genuinely been a really good change in the school because I feel like there’s not much of it recently,” said Grade 12 student Genesis Ortiz, “and this could actually be like a reason why people start going into more agricultural studies and universities and what-not. So I feel like it is a really good change.”

Positive impact in community

The program is having a positive impact in the community as well.

Last week, the Interfaith Food Bank harvested fruits and vegetables from the garden to be given out to families in need.

The rest will be given to students or used in cooking class at the school to make pumpkin pie, vegetable soup and more.

“Kindness lives here,” said Waugh. “And I really think that there’s no way that we can put a measure on the kind of work that these kids have put in there. They’re wonderful. They show no selfishness. They just want to provide. And they’ve learned how to accommodate the needs of others.”